This is perhaps the newest and cutest clothing brand in the Netherlands that has secretly been around for a long time. And guess what? It's already in your wardrobe! Meet FREE FASHION, where you can shop and bring in second-hand clothes for free. With temporary pop-up shops and a big dream to have a permanent (!) presence in every shopping street, founders Lot and Dieuwertje show that fashion can be sustainable, free and fun.
FREE FASHION?
Yes, free fashion. FREE FASHION is a fashion brand that makes sustainable fashion accessible to all and wants to show that second-hand clothes can compete just fine with the Hennes, Mango, Zara and Pull & Bear of this world. The pop up - announced in advance on Instagram and via the website - prove it. The shops are beautiful styled and items hang neatly by colour, indistinguishable from a fast fashion shop. And that is the intention.
You only notice it once you look in the price tag or on the receipt. All items are free! Or as the receipt says: ‘good for each other, good for the world, good for your looks. In short, priceless!’ According to founder Lot van Os, this is much needed: ‘We want to be an established fashion brand that has to compete with fast fashion. This is much needed, because we buy too many clothes, wear them briefly and then throw them away.’ At FREE FASHION, they prove that there are already more than enough beautiful items, and that sustainable shopping is possible for everyone.
A fashion shop where you can score free fashion. A dream? It exists! And it's called FREE FASHION!
Free clothes shopping
The concept is simple: you can drop by once a day and get three tickets with which you can pick three pieces of clothing. The collection consists of contributed items from others as well as sometimes rejected pieces from well-known brands; in Amstelveen, for example, we spotted great shoes by Steve Madden. ‘Everyone is welcome! We see some customers hesitate, because they think free clothes should go to the people who really need them first. That's definitely a nice thought, but there are so many clothes surpluses in the world. We are only really doing everyone a favour if we all start reusing more. I recently read a shocking statistic that there is already enough clothing in the world to clothe the next six generations,’ says Dieuwertje Vorstenbosch.
Will you also come and browse at a FREE FASHION shop?
FREE FASHION is using the textile mountain to show: so much beauty is already there and it's even free. With pop ups in major shopping streets, they want to reach as many people as possible and show that we can stop overconsumption in a fun way: by wearing what is already there. ‘Sharing is the new buying’ is therefore their motto. The idea started in mid-2024 with a pop-up shop in Tilburg. This was followed by a shop in Amstelveen, which - quite appropriately - opened on Black Friday. What comes next? First, possibly a location in Utrecht Hoog Catharijne, but ultimately, the goal is clear: to open permanent shops in all shopping streets in the Netherlands and thereby conquer a permanent place in the street scene. View the website and follow FREE FASHION on Instagram To keep up to date with new (temporary) shops.
More sustainable shopping tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: Scoring free clothes through The Clothing Loop.
- Also see: thrift shop tips.
- Also see: Get to know your style even better and give yourself a colour session as a gift.
Photo credits: Malou Franken (FREE FASHION).
