I feel like it goes against the whole “sustainable” idea to be into trends—because following trends closely typically means discarding and replacing items quicker than they wear out due to them not being the “in” thing. But lately I’ve been seeing a trend I love on TikTok: the Coach Purse Spa Day.
The trend goes something like this: someone will buy a pre-loved Coach bag. It’s never from a retro shop or a vintage store; these bags aren’t in great condition. They’re from charity shops/Value Village, or being sold at a massive discount on ebay because they’re not in nice enough condition to be sold at full-price.
Almost all the bags I’ve seen this trend done to are Coach brand bags. Coach is a brand that hasn’t always been associated with sustainability; in 2021, TikToker Anna Sacks (@trashwalker) exposed their practice of destroying overstock in order to write it off on their taxes:
Coach claimed that it only did this to “unsalable” and “returned item” goods, but still chose to stop this practice in a statement they posted on Instagram, which stated that these goods will now be put back into their already in-place “circularity programs” (which makes me think—why weren’t they always doing that, if these programs already existed? But I guess progress is progress, no matter how small…).
One thing about Coach bags, though; experts agree that they’re high-quality. Leather might fade, stain, or in some places, even crack; but if cared for, it’s a material that has the potential to last a long time. (Moral/ethical implications of owning leather aside, of course.)
And enter: spa day. Someone gets a bag that looks like it’s well past it’s prime, and gives it a “spa day” where the bag is washed, treated, in some cases re-sewn, reshaped, and returned to its former glory.
[Insert Tiktoks here]
I have no clue how these people are finding all of these designer bags, but I love the fact that they’re sharing with us how to take something a little lacklustre and making it brand new again. It’s not just the fact that it’s restoration; it’s the fact that these steps are so simple. Wash liners with soap? Use a sponge for leather conditioner? Most of these things I feel like I could do easily, seeing as they’re as easy as hand-washing my delicates or doing the dishes. I feel like, if I see a bag that’s a little more worn, I might see potential in it that I hadn’t before; and that maybe I’ll be able to bring it back to its former glory!
No Small Wander 