Students in Cardiff have discovered unique ways to earn extra money whilst studying at university.

The cost of living crisis had taken a hard hit on students. According to NUS survey, 3,500 students has found that 96% of students are cutting back on spending, almost a third left with just £50 a month after paying rent and bills. Student accommodation prices have increased by 61% in the last decade; inflation is running at 9% with energy prices and the cost of the weekly shop soaring.

Popular side hustles for second-hand clothing selling sites are Vinted and Depop. They are a quick and easy way for students to make money. Oliver Warren. film student, buys cheaper clothes with ‘bigger names’ and sells them to make profit Vinted.

Oliver says: ”I think I’ve made eight-five squid in the last couple of months just from selling stuff online.

”I’ve found some nice pieces that are designer in vintage shops, that I wouldn’t really wear, but I’ve brought them for about for a quid and sold them for about thirty. It works well.”

It was recorded in 2022, that over 75 million accounts were registered for Vinted and over 15 thousand new users everyday. Vinted is an easy way to sell and buy cheap clothes. The sellers keep the profits of their items where the buyer pays for the fees when purchasing the clothes.

Two fashion promotion students from the University of South Wales said they used selling apps to help with bills and to help put food on their plates, since the increase of cost of living crisis has effected them. However, they don’t just use Vinted to help with bills, Tyler-jade Mathias buys clothes because its the cheaper alternative.

Tyler says: ”not only to have that money to support myself, pay rent and eat but also to feel a bit more confident being in fashion and coming in and feeling like I look nice.”

Grace Crane, who is also a fashion promotion student says that sustainable fashion is better than buying brand new clothes from fast fashion companies. Since 2021, second-hand fashion has increased in sales since it being stereo-typically ‘boring’ or ‘dirty’. Now it’s seen as a money saving way to buy good quality clothes.

Grace said: ”Rather leaving clothes at the back of your wardrobe, collecting dust, its good to feel like your re-homing them and giving them an actual life rather than throwing them out.”

Fashion Discounts posted an article about ’28 Eye-Opening Sustainable Fashion Statistics for a Cleaner 2023′. The article started out saying, that the fashion industry is responsible for 2.1 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. Only 17% of brands are transparent about their annual carbon footprint at raw material level. However, UK second-hand sales experienced an uptick in 2021, growing 27.2% compared to 2020. 75% of Gen Z respondents said they bought secondhand in order to reduce consumption.