The urge to curate an ethical closet is at an all-time high, thanks to the devastation inflicted upon both natural and human resources by fast fashion brands. However, with only luxury brands partaking in the sustainability trend, a single piece of an ethically sourced garment can deprive the broke millennials and Gen-Zs of paying their monthly rent. This dilemma between saving the planet or saving your money led to the current TikTok hype: Thrifting.
As Stavia Savasuk says, “Second-hand doesn’t mean second rate!!
It means… there’s a system in place for a community to reduce the amount of perfectly good stuff that would otherwise find its way into a landfill.
It means, the sharing of resources.”
Thrift is the perfect example of reuse, reduce and recycle. You get what you need without having to spend a ton of money and save the environment from a potent assault. The Student Environmental Center at the University of California Berkeley believes that “buying secondhand clothing means that you’re keeping plastic out of so many landfills and joining many other people to reduce the amount of waste and the worldwide demand for textile factories.” It is the future of sustainable fashion. Stylish, Chic, and Slow.
While the concept of thrift stores is relatively new, this idea definitely isn’t. The early eras of economic recession, especially the wars, prompted our grandmother’s generation to cut down on household expenses. One such method was reusing clothes. A simple t-shirt was passed down to the younger siblings until it survived. Even when it was no longer fit to be worn, it was turned into a dust cloth. This idea of reusing is what fuels the concept of thrift stores. An outfit in mint condition, no longer required by the previous owner, is sold to a consumer for less than peanuts.
Thrifting has also enabled the practice of upcycling; tweaking and upgrading clothes bought from thrift stores. People have also successfully made a business out of this practice, selling these clothes on sites such as Depop. Apart from the financial independence thrifting provides to a large community, the feel-good factor of doing something for the environment also increases the benefits and popularity of this newly emerging trend.
Thrift stores offer a wide variety of clothes at a minimal price, hence establishing instant popularity among the experimenting and broke teenagers. Young people of this generation are Instagram users and feel the urge to have multiple outfits to post with; they desire to have a wardrobe that defines them, unique as they are. Since thrifting allows you to get one-of-a-kind pieces, influencers and normal users alike are taken with this trend.
Today, thrift stores are part of a $14.4 billion industry according to an IBISWorld report on the state of the market. The sudden surge in the popularity of the Y2K fashion aesthetic amongst the youth and the “ThriftFlip” concept garnering increasing views on TikTok are testaments to the bright future this industry promises. With Generation Z showing consumer characteristics that make them adopt second-hand items 2.5 times faster than any other consumer generation, the thrift-shop model won’t fall out of fashion any time soon.
