Sustainability, cheap prices and high quality all describe shopping at thrift stores. By purchasing your clothes from secondhand stores such as Goodwill or Salvation Army, you are promoting sustainability through the reuse of clothing items that would otherwise rot in overflowing landfills.
Lauren Mullen and Kate Hunn, environmental engineering students from the University of Colorado Boulder, described the ways you can do your part, saying, “You can participate in thrifting by donating unwanted clothing and purchasing used clothing instead of buying new.”
Most clothes are composed of synthetic materials that take hundreds of years to decompose, making it crucial to cut back on unwanted garments that are being dumped and thrown out. But sustainability is not the only benefit of thrifting: these second hand items are often priced much cheaper than the original retail value. Award winning financial journalist Jessica Dickler, explained how “thrift store shoppers save nearly $150 a month, or $1,760 a year, on average, by buying secondhand items.” If the savings don’t convince you, then maybe the quality of the products will.
Fast fashion has had a major uproar over the past years resulting in problems around the world. Microtrends, or clothing trends that stay popular for less than a month, are being mass produced, sold for extremely low prices and are then thrown out after a few uses due to the awful quality of their products.
“They [consumers] are buying more while wearing fewer of the items they own. The poor quality of fast fashion clothing contributes to the limited lifespans of garments, which often end up decomposing slowly in landfills or being incinerated,” the Center for Biological Diversity wrote.
Despite all of these apparent benefits, many individuals still refuse to attempt shopping secondhand. The most common explanation I hear is, “I can never find anything good.” I am determined to debunk this claim, so I ventured out to two separate Goodwill locations and spent one hour hunting down trendy pieces. I found almost 30, but selected my top eleven finds to show off. Anyone can thrift and everyone can source their clothing in eco-friendly, cheap and better quality ways.
If you have any challenging thrift finds, I am up for the task! Whether it is a new pair of sneakers, or a fancy dress for prom, I’ll be on the hunt. Leave a comment down below and I will get back to you if I am able to find them.
