Inside the shop that inspired the second-hand fashion boom

"I really love shopping second hand... there's a lot of textiles and a lot of waste already out in the world."

Carolyn Abramowich, 25, is sifting through the rails of the UK's first-ever charity shop, Oxfam, which opened its doors on Oxford's Broad Street back in 1947.

"You're saving things from hitting the landfills which is awesome," says Carolyn, who turned to shopping in charity shops out of concern for the environment.

She is worried society's approach to clothing has become "wasteful" and says she has noticed a deterioration in the quality of the new clothing on offer.

"I feel like we are just accustomed to going into a store and buying something that's really cheap and doesn't even feel very nice material-wise. Then once we're done with it or it tears... we just throw it away."

It is a view echoed by Oxfam's Hannah Davies, who says that our relationship with fashion has changed over the years.

"We used to have less clothes in our wardrobe, and we wore them more, and now, increasingly, we have more clothes in our wardrobe and we're not wearing as many of them."

New research from Oxfam shows that a third of the clothing in UK wardrobes has not been worn in the past year, while 40% of people admit to wearing a new purchase only once.

"There is a sense of throwaway culture and impulse buying that's happening in the world today," says Hannah, who blames social media algorithms for presenting people with clothes to buy that they might not otherwise have bought.

According to Oxfam, billions of litres of water are used to make the garments that sit unworn in UK homes.

It estimates that the water wasted equates to a life's supply for one million people.

"The clothes we wear are the end product of a huge amount of hard work", explains Hannah.

"From growing raw fibres, to dying fabrics, there is a massive amount of water that goes into the production of the items... and that might surprise people."

Nearly eight decades after it opened to raise money for post-war relief, the Broad Street shop is still selling second-hand goods.

It is now one of more than 500 Oxfam shops across the country.

The charity has just launched Second Hand September - encouraging people to buy pre-loved items and shop "more intentionally".

Olivia, 26, is among those embracing the challenge.

"I think there's something incredibly chic about giving something a second life and adding more to its story," she says.

She says that when she was younger, she wanted "the newest things and whatever everybody else had", but she now appreciates the more individual pieces she finds while shopping second-hand.

"I'm able to find a lot more well-structured pieces and timeless pieces," she says.

"And I think I'm investing in high-quality pieces with good fabrics that I can wear for years and years and years, instead of something I can only wear for a season or two."

Carolyn agrees, adding: "I also really enjoy finding a piece that's special to me and doesn't really look like something else that everyone else has. It's nice and unique."