This month marks both London Fashion Week and Oxfam’s #SecondHandSeptember campaign so it feels like a good time to talk about why fast fashion clothes are so cheap.
Joining me is Clare Carlile from Ethical Consumer magazine, and we talk about the impact low prices has on working conditions and the environment.
This September Oxfam is urging us to shop second-hand in a bid to reduce the environmental impact of making new clothes.
Thirteen million items of clothing are added to landfill every week in the UK! That’s a huge amount of material that could be recycled or repurposed.
In fact much of it is probably still ok to wear. But with clothing so cheap, and new styles available every week (both the consequences and cause of ‘fast fashion’), items can be worn just a few times before they’re consigned to the scrapheap.
The problem is every time a new garment is manufactured, it takes its toll on the planet. Oxfam say 20,000 litres of water are required to make one pair of jeans and one t-shirt. For a person to drink that much would take 13 years.
And that’s not the only problem. There’s also an issue with pollution (particularly from dyes) and how often do we hear about labour issues, whether child labour or incredibly low wages. We really need to consider more sustainable alternatives.
Listen to Andy chat with fellow money bloggers Hollie and Faith about the Second-hand September campaign in this episode of the Cash Chats podcast.
And if the environmental argument to buy less new clothing is quite enough to get you away from Primark, there’s also a financial one.
If you’re guilty of buying items you hardly wear, so are other people. If they donate it after a couple of wears, then you’ll be able to buy something practically brand new for a fraction of the price. And there are other ways to get second-hand clothes without spending anything at all.
So whether you’re looking to take part in #SecondHandSepember or just want to reduce how much you spend on clothes, I’ve a few tricks to help you get involved.
Where to buy second-hand clothes
Find local charity shops
The obvious places are charity shops. It probably makes sense to hit a few in one shopping session to help uncover that gem that’s just right for you.
Some shops will be a jack-of-all-trades and sell everything from cutlery to board games, but take a look to see if there are specialist fashion stores which will have a wider range. There are also some geared explicitly at younger people.
You can use this Charity Retail Association tool to see which shops are near you and get an idea of what things are sold there.
Remember too that there are lots of charities which need your money, so you might want to choose local or smaller ones in the first instance, or ones which support causes close to your heart.
Hunt for high end and designer second-hand
If you can go to posher areas you might find that the items that have been donated are not just M&S or Top Shop. They could be high-end high street, or even proper designer. Last year a Mind shop in Kent had £50,000 worth of gear dropped off anonymously. Of course, if the staff are on to this, they’ll price the items accordingly.
Big brands sometimes even donate old or second stock to charity shops, though they might be detagged so you need to have a keen eye to spot the Miu Miu from the M&S.
Some of the bigger charity shop networks will get individual stores to send through anything obviously designer. Oxfam, for example, has a designer outlet store, while the Red Cross has specialist shops around the country.
Even so, you could still pick up something that you’d never normally afford for a fraction of the original price. And you might find a better range of donations at smaller, independent charity shops where they sell what they are given.
This article from Stylist magazine has some great tips for how to work out if what your looking at is a retro classic or cheap knock off.
Check out vintage shops
Though run for profit rather than charity, and usually at the pricier end of the second-hand market, vintage shops still fit with the sustainable and ethical approach to buying second hand. This Harpers Bazaar articleshares ten top vintage retailers around the UK.
Search on resale sites
We all know about eBay, but I think you’re better off looking for bargains on Facebook Marketplace (it’s easy to find on the app), or websites llke Debop, Shpock and Preloved.
How to get free second-hand clothes
As much as I like the idea of buying second-hand (the money often goes to good causes), you can also refresh your wardrobe without spending a penny.
Stocktake
I’m confident that if you properly had a look at what’s in your wardrobe you’ll find items you’ve completely forgotten about. And if you start wearing them again (or even for the first time), you’ve updated your wardrobe without any new spending.
Shwop
If, during your Marie Kondo style clearout you find items that are still perfectly good but not right for you, then try shwopping. This weird word is an amalgam of swapping and shopping which should give you an idea of what you’ll do.
You can go to organised events or just run one with your friends (or just informally do it with one or two mates). The idea is you bring along anything you no longer want, as long as it’s in good nick, and hang it up in a makeshift shop. Then you get the chance to take something new back home, and someone gets to give your old gear a new lease of life.
Becky, my good friend Silke and half a dozen others did this a few years ago and all of them went home with something new, as well as clearing out those items they didn’t want anymore.
Hand-me-downs
Parents do this all the time to their own kids, but there are Facebook groups set up to help parents who don’t have relatives or friends that can pass things on.
Donate
Of course, as well as not buying new clothes, it helps to not add your old ones to landfill. You’ve got a couple of options. One is to give wearable items to charities – whether shops to resell or places like refuges. Or if they’ve had better days look to donate the items for recycling.
Get free M&S and H&M vouchers for donating and recycling
Buying second-hand is a great alternative to brand new, but there will be times where you need to get items that haven’t been worn before (do not buy second-hand pants!). So how do you do this in a way that’s sustainable?
Buy it good, buy it once
Cheap clothing just doesn’t last as long. Buy something that’s better made and it should last longer. This also means you should be looking at classic styles that you know you’ll be happy wearing next year and the year after.
Make do and mend
The wartime necessity of fixing broken clothing was brought about through rationing, but there’s no reason why adopting those principles today can’t give your clothes an extra lease of life, Basic repairs such as sewing buttons back on should be within the grasp of most people (or your mum). If you have better skills then you could even look at turning old clothes into something new.
Rent
You could also consider renting clothing. It’s not just formal wear like tuxedos and prom dresses that you can get. Online stores such as Girl Meets Dress let you hire designer gear for a few days at the fraction of the price of buying it.
Secondhand doesn’t just mean clothes
Think broader than clothes too when considering second-hand. You can buy cheap books, DVDs, CDs and games from the likes of CEX and MusicMagpie, while furniture is a big thing for charity shops. Facebook marketplace is once again a good place to look for things.
If you’ve got an M&S Sparks card then check your account as lots of people have a 15% off home, beauty and clothing voucher. It’s not as good as the 20% we used to see and there’s a £35 minimum spend but if you need to nab something this is a good option. Here’s more on how Sparks works.
The online craft beer shop Honest Brew is celebrating its birthday this week by giving members a free Siren beer. Now, to be a member you need to add £10 to your account each month (you can pause it) and for free delivery you need to spend £50.
But you also get discounted prices and access to an exclusive sale tomorrow, and if you’re new you can also get £10 off your first order. They’ve just added a batch of Cloudwater beers so I’ve put my order in!
Also, Brewdog is offering free delivery and discounts on some 48 can bundles this weekend.
Another smart speaker deal from Amazon. This one is for the Plus version which has a built-in hub to control other smart devices, including the free Philips Hue light bulb included in this package. The size of the discount (down from £140) suggests to me a new model is on the way, but that doesn’t make this less of a bargain. Here’s more.
Last week I told you about a Tesco offer where you can get 25% off wine that be can be combined with other wine discounts to save even more. This week you can also get the same offer at Sainsbury’s – better for me as I’ve actually got one of these in town. Both end on Monday.
£5 off £25 Screwfix spend
Again this could just be limited to specific customers but I know a few people, including myself, have been emailed the code SBHS3 to save at Screwfix this weekend. Expect more DIY offers ahead of the Bank Holiday so it’s worth looking around.
Will it cost you more to order your groceries online?
From September 1st Ocado will replace Waitrose groceries with those from Marks and Spencer. It’s part of a 50% buyout of Ocado by Marks and Spencer – marking the first time you’ll be able to shop for M&S food online.
All three supermarkets tend to have a reputation as being pricey – and it’s often the case that they’re substantially more expensive than their rivals.
The most recent Which? report shows their sample shop of 85 items costs £117 at Ocado and £122 at Waitrose compared to £99 at Tesco and Morrisons and £79 at Aldi and Lidl. Big
Now, I have a slight issue with these comparisons, For a start, you aren’t always comparing the same quality. And if you tailor your shop around special offers you can get pretty decent value at all three – if not paying as little as you would at the discounters.
(Sadly, going online does mean you miss out of yellow stickers and reduced items – something I regularly use to spend less when shopping in actual M&S and Waitrose shops.)
And something that’s important to me is that both Waitrose and M&S have the highest animal welfare standards for their own brand meat and dairy. So yes you might pay more for a chicken at Waitrose than at Iceland, but there’s a good reason!
Of course if you don’t mind about this things, or don’t agree about the quality difference, then I doubt you shop at Ocado.
But if you do, then this big change to its delivery service will be something that will affect what groceries you buy – and how much you spend.
Here’s what it’ll likely mean for you, depending on whether you like Waitrose, M&S or Ocado.
What it means for Waitrose fans
Obviously you won’t be able to use Ocado to get your Waitrose shopping delivered. Which is a pain if you have a delivery pass.
If you don’t want to swap to M&S equivalents you can still shop online directly from Waitrose’s website.
For most customers this means your order is picked from the shelves at your local (or nearby) Waitrose shop rather than at a warehouse. This might not sound like much of a difference, but in my experience it can mean more missing items.
That’s because the shops rarely have much space to store items. Instead, most supermarkets rely on a “just-in-time” system where lorries bring in new stock just as the shelves empty.
Now, I love Waitrose – it’s my number one supermarket for quality. But I’ve regularly left frustrated when I go to my store by something that’s not there (usually fresh corriander!). And if the item is sold out in your shop then it can’t be delivered via an online order.
Of course, Ocado orders often have missing items too, so you might not notice too much difference – but it’s worth bearing in mind.
Historically there have been new customer offers, but since lockdown these have disappeared. It could be they return once the Ocado change happens as I’m sure Waitrose will be keen to get people to swap to buying food direct from them.
Delivery from Waitrose is free, though you’ll find there’s a minimum order size of £60 – less than with Ocado.
It’s good news! For a start you don’t have to trek to the high street to stock up on the items you love. You can now get them delivered.
It looks like the regular special offers you see in M&S Food stores are on Ocado too, such as the “3 for £10” on meat and fish which I think represents great value. There will also be a wider range of products, including larger value pack sized versions of M&S faves.
Plus you can get more items, often those branded ones, that the shops don’t sell. Ocado also sells a huge range of own-brand items (I recommend the nduja). And these are often on special offer too.
When you order on Ocado there is £1.99 charge on orders under £75 – and depending on the slot you choose it can be between £0 and £6.99 on top.
You can opt for a “Smart Pass”. This is £9.99 a month, £54.99 for six months for £99.99 for a year. This will mean you don’t pay anything extra for delivery and you’ll also get discounts on certain items.
Right now there’s only the “Anytime” pass, but in the past there has been a cheaper “Midweek” option. There’s often a free trial so keep an eye out for this. Oh, and if you cancel it’s worth haggling – my mum is often offered free months or discounts to sign back up.
Though you’ll potentially miss some regular purchases, Ocado has been working with Marks to produce alternatives to popular Waitrose branded food and drink. In fact there will be 6,500 M&S products compared to the 4,000 that were from Waitrose.
If you have Waitrose items in your favourites and regulars they’ll be swapped for similar items from MS&.
At the time of writing, before the changeover, I can see both the Waitrose items and M&S options. It’s hard to know exactly which items will go, but I’d expect most non-Waitrose items will remain.
And though it pains me to say it (I really do love Waitrose), the M&S items fare pretty well. A few examples:
Lamb Rogan Josh ready meal
Waitrose – £3.99 for 350g (£1.14 per 100g)
Marks & Spencer – £4 for 400g (£1 per 100g)
Minced Aberdeen Angus beef 5%% fat
Waitrose – £5 for 400g (£12.50 per kg)
Marks & Spencer – £4.50 for 500g (£9 per kg)
Cherry tomatoes
Waitrose – 75p for 250g (£3 per kg)
Marks & Spencer – 90p for 335g (£2.69 per kg)
12 large free range eggs
Waitrose – £3.50 (29.2p each)
Marks & Spencer – £3.24 (27p each)
This was just a random selection of products that sprang to mind, so I’m sure there will be cases where Waitrose items are the same or cheaper. And of course, there could be cheaper Ocado branded alternatives too! But it does show that if you tend to buy Waitrose items you might be able to save a little.
Spending less at online supermarkets
According to Waitrose 77% of us do some of our grocery shopping online – no doubt spurred on by lockdown. The term “Some” is vague so it’s hard to tell how many are doing their regular shops via the internet, but when I asked on the Be Clever With Your Cash Facebook community more than half of people still did the majority of their shopping in person.
Of course you can probably spend less on your order if you shop around and use different delivery services.
Sadly the brilliant MySupermarket comparison site closed down earlier this year so it’s harder to quickly see what the prices are elsewhere. My friends Deepak and Tom at Latest Deals have developed an app that is worth checking out but it’s quite basic.
You can also cut your spend by avoiding premium brands and going for alternatives which could very easily be made in the same factory!
Don’t forget to compare the price per unit (whether weight, volume or quantity) to see if you can save cash by buying a different size package.
This week TV’s Matt Allwright (Watchdog, Rogue Trader, The One Show) joins me to talk about his new book – The Consumer Survival Guide – as well as discuss our consumer pet hates.
We talk about ticket touts, auto-renewals, retention centres, smart speakers and more.
I’m a big fan of Amex credit cards, especially the cashback ones, but which is best?
It’s easy to rant about a bad customer service experience or call out some dodgy dealings. But it’s a lot rarer that I can unequivocally rave about something positive.
Yet there is one company which I have hardly anything negative to say about – American Express. Or ‘Amex’ as it’s often known. Out of all the financial products I use, none compare for customer service.
But of course, the main reason I’m a fan is the fact that I earn money back every time I use my card.
There are two American Express credit card which pay you in cashback – money back to your account rather than points to transfer.
They’re the Amex Platinum Cashback Credit Card and the Platinum Cashback Everyday Credit Card. On the whole they’re very similar. But there are key differences in the fee you pay (one charges, ones doesn’t) and how much cashback you earn.
You can watch my comparison video of the two cards here, or keep reading for a breakdown of which I think is best. First though, a quick rundown of how you earn money from the cards.
Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.
Cashback is earned in a few different ways, especially in the first year.
Referral bonus
When you first open the card you can either get a referral bonus from a friend who has the card, or sign up via a cashback site. This extra initial cashback is worth between £5 and £25 depending on the card and referral source.
Introductory cashback
When you first open a cashback card you can earn 5% cashback in the first three months. These introductory offers alone are pretty much unbeatable, though they are capped. You can make either £100 to £125 depending on the card.
If you’ve already got an Amex, American Express has been making it harder to earn these sign up bonuses. You have to have not had a reward/cashback Amex in your name for at least two years – though there is a work around to slightly reduce that time.
Our podcast
Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.
After your welcome bonus you can keep on earning cashback with every full pound you spend. Right now you can’t beat the cashback offered by American Express.
The rate is between 0.5% up to 1.25% back. The best you’ll get on everday spend on Visa and Mastercard is 0.25%.
Additional offers
Then there are the frequent “statement credit” offers. In the last few years I’ve claimed rewards (ranging from 5% to £20) from places like NOW TV, the restaurant Hawksmoor, Beer52 and hundreds more from the annual Shop Small promotion.
You activate these in the app or online account and they’re paid soon after purchase back into your account.
Editor’s pick: £100 savings bonus
Effective 6.45% rate for six months as a new Raisin customer
You get the money from the welcome bonus, referral code (except from cashback sites) and ongoing cashback paid on the anniversary of opening the card. So you do have to wait 12 months to get it.
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+ Get a £20 Quidco bonus (new members only). More details
The best American Express credit cards in the UK
I think the two Platinum cashback credit cards are the best options for most, though you might want to checkout the rewards and points cards.
Platinum Cashback Credit Card
Cashback rates
Tiered cashback for every full £1 spent
1% cashback on spending up to £10,000
1.25% on spending over £10,001
Welcome offer
5% cashback for first three months
Max of £125 in this time, which would require a £2,500 spend
Both are decent cards, but I think the one with the £25 fee is the best of the two Platinum cards. Despite the fee, you’ll make most of that back from a higher referral bonus, and you’ll earn more in the first year with the increased introductory offer and higher cashback rates.
If you choose to keep it for the second year then you’ll need to spend £5,000 over 12 months for it to break even with the Everyday card. Then if you spend more than £10,000 you jump up to 1.25% cashback, earning you even more.
So as long as you expect to spend at least £5,000 each year – which is £450 a month – it’s the best option as it has the potential to earn more.
Of course if you don’t think you’ll spend that much on the card but still want it for the introductory bonus and those extra offers you could look at the Everyday instead – but don’t forget you need to spend at least £3,000 a year to get any cashback with that card.
For further breakdowns check out these tables:
Year One
Rough spend and cashback figures by card in the first year with introductory offers.
Amex Platinum Everyday
Referral bonus
Bonus 5% (up to £2k in 3 months)
0.5% (up to £5k)
1% (over £5k)
Year 1 cashback
Year 1 cashback after £0 fee
Monthly spend
Annual spend
£200.00
£2,400.00*
£10.00
£30.00
£9.00
£0.00
£49.00
£49.00
£500.00
£6,000.00
£10.00
£75.00
£17.50
£10.00
£112.50
£112.50
£833.33
£10,000.00
£10.00
£100.00
£15.00
£50.00
£175.00
£175.00
£1,000.00
£12,000.00
£10.00
£100.00
£15.00
£70.00
£195.00
£195.00
* £3,000 minimum annual spend required to get cashback on the Everyday card
Amex Platinum Cashback
Referral bonus
Bonus 5% (up to £2.5k in 3 months)
1% (up to £10k)
1.25% (over £10k)
Year 1 cashback
Year 1 cashback after £25 fee
Monthly spend
Annual spend
£200.00
£2,400.00
£25.00
£30.00
£18.00
£0.00
£73.00
£48.00
£500.00
£6,000.00
£25.00
£75.00
£45.00
£0.00
£145.00
£120.00
£833.33
£10,000.00
£25.00
£125.00
£75.00
£0.00
£225.00
£200.00
£1,000.00
£12,000.00
£25.00
£125.00
£75.00
£25.00
£250.00
£225.00
Year Two
Rough spend and cashback figures by card for year two (and onwards) when there are no extra bonuses.
Amex Platinum Everyday
0.5% (up to £5k)
1% (over £5k)
Year 2 cashback
Year 2 cashback after £0 fee
Monthly spend
Annual spend
£200.00
£2,400.00*
£12.00
£0.00
£12.00
£12.00
£500.00
£6,000.00
£25.00
£10.00
£35.00
£35.00
£833.33
£10,000.00
£25.00
£50.00
£75.00
£75.00
£1,000.00
£12,000.00
£25.00
£70.00
£95.00
£95.00
* £3,000 minimum annual spend required to get cashback on the Everyday card
Amex Platinum Cashback
1% (up to £10k)
1.25% (over £10k)
Year 2 cashback
Year 2 cashback after £25 fee
Monthly spend
Annual spend
£200.00
£2,400.00
£24.00
£0.00
£24.00
-£1.00
£500.00
£6,000.00
£60.00
£0.00
£60.00
£35.00
£833.33
£10,000.00
£100.00
£0.00
£100.00
£75.00
£1,000.00
£12,000.00
£100.00
£25.00
£125.00
£100.00
You need to know this before you apply for ANY credit card
Any bonus and cashback you earn is only worth it if you clear the credit card in full every month. If you don’t do this you’ll be charged interest, probably at something like 22%, which will obliterate your cashback savings.
Also, you’ll be credit checked when you apply for a card, so check your credit report before applying. A rejection could damage your credit score further.
You’re given an option to check your eligibility on the Amex website which doesn’t affect your credit report – so it’s well worth doing this before applying. You’ll be given a figure showing the likelihood you’ll get the card – for example I was given a score of 9.5 out of 10 – so very likely.
Though it worked for me, my wife and my mum, not everyone seems to be able to use it – it could be that you need to have signed up to the MyJohnLewis scheme (it’s free), but it’s well worth a go.
Head to Tesco and buy six or more wines to save 25%. Plus you can combine this with other discounts. So for example, Villa Maria’s Sauvignon Blanc is currently on offer at £7 (down from £9.50). With the 25% saving you’ll pay £5.25!
You will need to factor in delivery charges if you can’t visit a store in person.
If you’ve got kids heading to university next month then make sure they’re getting a student bank account that’s going to offer them the best features for the duration of their course.
Another John Lewis offer. This time spend £50 and you can also get a Google smart speaker for £10 rather than the RRP of £50. It can’t be combined with the £10 discount above, but everyone should be able to get the deal.
Every month I’m going to look in detail at a side hustle to earn you some extra cash on top of your 9-5 or to help make up for any lost earnings.
This week I’m joined by money blogger Jordon Cox to look at freelance marketplace Fiverr. Jordon has been using it to get work as a voiceover artist and is able to tell us how it works and the ways to help boost the “gigs” you get.
But as with all these ways to earn more money there are cons as well as pros which we’ll go into as well.
The steps to take to avoid your Tastecard auto-renewing.
A Tastecard can save you money when eating out or going to the cinema – I’m a fan. But it’s only decent value for money if you use it.
And sometimes those who don’t use it – or forget they have one – have been caught out by auto-renewals. And even those who remember might find it hard to process their cancellation.
With my trial about to end I thought it was a good time to find out just how you to end your membership and stop it auto-renewing.
Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.
What is Tastecard?
Tastecard is a discount membership where you receive two for one or 50% off at selected restaurants. The more recent Tastecard+ add-on lets you get some pretty decent discounts at cinema chains.
You can normally get a 90 trial for £1 (sometimes even free), or a full year for a discounted £30 or less. After that, prices jump to anywhere between £40 and £105.
In the past Tastecard has had a bad reputation for people trying to cancel. You just have to search Twitter for Tastecard to find someone angry about their membership or free trial autorenewing and not being able to claim a refund.
Now, it is clear in the terms and conditions that once the trial or first year ends, you will auto-renew.
Though it’s not ideal, Tastecard isn’t the only service that does this, so it is down to the customer to make a note to cancel before the membership ends.
But even if you do remember to cancel, it’s not easy to find how to actually do it.
How to cancel a Tastecard membership
So with my Tastecard coming to an end, I made a note in the diary to cancel more than a week before the expiry date. Here’s my video for how I did it.
The good news is they’ve now added an online form to cancel. It took just seconds to fill it in, and my card was cancelled.
How to make sure you don’t get charged auto-renewal fees by mistake
If you have a full membership you could cancel as soon as you get your card. This way you won’t forget and then accidentally get charged for another year. Doing this won’t affect how long your membership lasts – it’ll carry on as normal but stop on the expiry date.
If you’re on a multi-month trial then leave it to the start of your final month to cancel so you definitely get the full trial length you signed up for.
