El Wekala rebranded to thrift shopping

CAIRO - El Wekala has been seeing a bunch of new visitors. The clothing market is filled with thrift shoppers, that one forgets Covid even exists.

Egyptians got the chance to spend a fair amount of time at home due to the coronavirus pandemic; since then, people have noticed an increase in content creators on social media platforms. The content varied from people baking banana bread to spreading awareness about social and environmental issues. However, influencers promoting secondhand and thrift shopping has been one trend strong enough to change people's behavior and consumption habits.

El Wekala, a clothing market in downtown Cairo, has always been a destination for secondhand clothing. Usually, shopping over there was frowned upon by certain social classes in the country, as it was perceived as "low class" by Cairo's wealthy citizens. However, after the promotion of thrift shopping by Egypt's most prominent social media influencers, the place has been seeing visitors like never before.

While the Egyptian government has been easing the country's social distancing restrictions, the outdoor market seems to have more daily shoppers than allowed. Barely anyone is taking precautions to limit spreading the coronavirus pandemic, making safety a big concern before visiting the market.

Mariam Elnaggar, a German Philology student and environmental activist, is one of the people who devoted her time during quarantine to spreading awareness about the environmental cost of fast fashion and showing people alternative eco-friendly shopping stores in Egypt.

"We need more people creating content about the environment in Arabic," said Elnaggar. The activist said that she had cut off fast fashion three years ago after watching The True Cost documentary. "The documentary made me realize that our outfits are not worth all the environmental and humanitarian dangers it causes," she said. Elnaggar took it upon herself to create content that helps educate people and change their behavior.

Many influencers on social media platforms, especially Tiktok and Instagram reels, have been promoting thrift shopping by making "shopping haul" videos showing their fashionable yet eco-friendly garments. "These videos motivated many people to give thrift shopping a try," said Elnaggar.

Mariam Ezz, an applied arts student, spoke about her experience boycotting fast fashion brands. "I cut off all fast fashion brands last year, exactly after the thrift shopping trend started on TikTok," she said. Ezz started shopping at El Wekala and other small thrift stores in Cairo instead of stores belonging to international brands.

"Our outfits are not worth the suffering of many workers, nor the suffering of our planet," said Ezz. She also emphasized that nothing could ever be impossible if every person took a baby step towards a better world.

When we talked to some of the sellers in El Wekala, they informed us that there had been a noticeable increase in consumers from different social classes the past year. However, they did not share details about their sales, as most of them prefer to keep this information private.

Just like any trend, shopping at El Wekala had its supporters and opposers. Reem Abuelseoud, a television and radio student and makeup artist, talked to us about why she opposes the idea of El Wekala becoming the new shopping destination.

Abuelseoud's problem with the Wekala trend is that people are creating a significant demand on a place that has been a shopping destination for the less fortunate, which in return causes the prices to get higher. "I don't mind if people shop at El Wekala because they actually have a cause," she said. Abuelseoud believes that some people shop there only to hop on the bandwagon or because the prices in El Wekala are cheaper than elsewhere.

"Some people go to El Wekala with their fast fashion mindset still," said Elnaggar. Even though she is one of the many people who promote thrift shopping, she believes that many people forgot why this trend started in the first place. "Some people go there to purchase a huge amount of clothes because they're relatively cheap," she said. Elnaggar says that this kind of behavior contradicts the cause of secondhand shopping.

Even though some people might have abused the thrift shopping trend, many have learned a lot from it and have changed into more educated and aware individuals.

"Me boycotting fast fashion may not save the planet, but at least it makes me sleep at night knowing that I'm not taking part in destroying it," said Ezz.