By Elena Pliego
Repurposing clothes has been around ever since clothes existed. You have had to use the materials you had so nothing ever went to waste. Clothes were valuable. Slowly throughout time, as clothes became more affordable and mass produced, they also became disposable. As of recent times, fast fashion has become very popular because it’s inexpensive, rapidly designed, and trendy. Due to these fast fashion brands, according to The Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion Explained, “in the last twenty years the consumption rate has gone up 400%. We consume 80 billion new pieces of clothes every year and 85% of it goes to the dumps.”
Thrift stores started becoming popular in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s during the industrial revolution, when many things became mass produced. People saw that they could make lots of money in the thrift business. They later became department stores, and people often gave their “junk” to thrift stores to buy newly-developed, better quality clothes and home decor. Thrifting became a new way of recycling.
In the 21st century, thrift stores are now a part of a 14 billion dollar industry and are scattered everywhere around the world, giving low income families opportunities to buy like new things for cheap. But many have argued that thrift stores have become less and less affordable over the years because of greed. Recent thrift stores like Goodwill see expensive brands and mark them for high prices, even though they received the clothes for free.
There are many impacts of thrifting clothes, home decor, electronics, accessories, bags, etc. Thrifting has created many good environmental impacts such as less clothing going to landfills, fewer wasted resources, and less chemical pollution. Benefits for thrifters include saving money, developing a unique style, and low-cost luxury.
Personally, I am a huge advocate for thrifting. I would say that 75% of my wardrobe is thrifted, I have found many pieces that are unique to my style and make me feel like myself. When you go thrifting, you have the opportunity to find pieces of any style, thrifting is not limited to anyone specific. I’ve even bonded with friends over thrifting. Thrifting gives me the opportunity to get more clothing that is unique, better material, and eco friendly for way less money than other clothing stores.
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