THE PROS AND CONS OF THRIFTING

Molly Molloy

Doodles by Abby Greenberg

Thrifting is one of the most popular ways that our generation shops. On the surface there seems to be countless benefits of thrifting. It offers an affordable way to shop sustainably, and you always find one of a kind pieces. It makes shopping into a fun treasure hunt. However, with the popularity of thrifting on the rise, there are increasing concerns about this form of shopping such as gentrification of clothing and the effect on minority communities. In this article we take you through a deep dive into the pros and cons of thrift so you can determine for yourself how you want to shop.

In the age of social media we have gotten used to fashion trends changing faster than the seasons. Fast fashion brands on average have around 9 fashion seasons in a single year, almost constantly producing new clothing at low prices. One of the benefits of fast fashion is that the affordable prices make trends accessible to the general public, helping to mitigate the classism of the fashion industry. We live in a society where it’s taboo to be posted twice in the same outfit and the average price of a crop top is less expensive than a cup of coffee. Unfortunately fast moving fads and the idea that “once you wear it on instagram you can’t wear it again” leads to an excess amount of clothes ending up in landfills. And with mass production of clothing also comes mass pollution. Because of how quickly these clothes are produced they are often not created to have a long life-span, thrifting helps extend clothes’s short life cycle.

For example, say you want to buy a pair of the latest styles of leggings. You keep the leggings for only a few months because either the trend has gone out of style or they are already looking too worn out to wear. The product lifespan is only 3 months before you decide to throw them out. Most active wear is made out of synthetics materials which is plastic based, making the breakdown of these products long. So while the product’s life was only a few months, the leggings will now take 30 to 40 years to decompose.

Every year Americans throw billions of pounds of clothes in landfill each year and this trend is only rising as fast fashion grows. Shopping secondhand keeps products in use longer and reduces demand for fast fashion. By donating clothes to a thrift store instead of throwing it into the trash, you can help reduce the carbon footprint of that particular item. In a study done by the Waste and Resource Action Programme, it showed that extending the life of a clothing piece by nine months would reduce its carbon footprint by 20 to 30%. Thrifting ensures that the lifecycle of clothes is elongated and therefore reduces the clothes’s negative impact on the environment.

Shopping second-hand also helps save resources used in the production of new clothes. Between water consumption, chemicals, raw materials for fabrics and transportation emissions, producing even a single piece of clothing has a large environmental impact. By shopping second hand, we help save those resources. On average the fashion industry consumes 79 trillion litres of water per year, 54 million tonnes of polyester (A synthetic material) and is responsible for around 10% of the world’s total carbon emissions³. Consumer demand for new fashion products is one of the biggest factors to the continued exploitation of natural resources in this industry. While the individual decision to thrift instead of shop for new products seems meaningless against these numbers, each person’s individual action can help make a wide spread draw back in demand for fast fashion and prevent further stress on the earth’s resources for the sake of style.

While there are undeniable sustainable benefits to thrifting, it would be irresponsible to not discuss some of the ethical concerns with second-hand shopping. Many people are surprised to hear that the highest demographic of thrift shoppers in the U.S are middle class Generation - Z women⁴. This surprising demographics, brings up questions of whether or not our generation should be shopping at stores used as primary clothing resources for under resourced communities. While there is more than enough clothes in the world for all 7 billion people on the planet to be clothed, in fact with about 150 billion pieces of clothes made per years, that’s about 20 pieces of clothing per person⁵, because clothing is dispersed unproportionally secondhand shopping in certain communities may raise ethical concerns. For example if you live in an area with minimum second-hand resources for under resourced communities, shopping for leisure at these thrift stores may deplete clothing resources for the communities that need them the most. On the other hand major second-hand companies such as Goodwill and Salvation Army often get a surplus of donations. When these stores receive too big of a surplus, clothing in poor condition may get tossed in the landfill and donated clothes often get sent overseas to under resourced communities in developing countries. While the intention is that the clothes go to provide for these communities, providing free clothing can undermine these communities’ local textile industries and disrupt local economies⁶.

The way to minimize these ethical concerns about thrifting is to do your research before you go shopping. Avoid going to thrift stores that are primary sources for people in need, or if you do go, be smart about your shopping and donating. For example, as we head into the winter months avoid shopping for coats, scarves and other essential winter items as this may be one of the only places that certain people can afford to get these necessities. Instead try going to a thrift store you know has a surplus of clothes or use one of the many second-hand shopping apps like Depop, Poshmark, Thred Up, Curtsy and more.

Because thrifting has become so popular among the younger generation over the past couple of years, some consignment and secondhand stores have begun exploiting prices of their used items. Not only is this a concern for the accessibility of clothing for communities who rely on it, it’s causing pieces to be priced more than they’re worth. In the same vein, young consumers have been known to use the low prices of thrifted clothes for their own personal profit. Using online selling apps or social media, thrifters may try selling a secondhand item for more than they purchased it or more than it is actually worth. While this gives access to unique thrift pieces to people who may not have access otherwise, overpricing cannot be justified and is difficult to regulate. The best way to avoid this is doing your research on the brand of the product and communicating with the buyer when you are preparing to purchase a secondhand good online.

We have all heard that it is important to spend money wisely. When it comes to clothes, this phrase does not just mean to be carefully on your spending. We need to make sure that we shop thoughtfully and make fully educated decisions when we spend our money. No matter how you decide to shop just remember “ Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.” - Anne Lappe.

Simi Singh