Nicole Lapin has said, “Shopping second hand isn’t a sacrifice. It’s your ticket to the good life.” Shopping for clothes is a mindset that allows you to make more conscious decisions if you actually need a certain item or if it’s just for your retail therapy or just for the sake of spending money. Buying second hand clothing and thrifting is an old and evolving way of coping with the consumerism fashion of people.
As they say, when life gives you lemons make lemonade, similarly, when you have clothes that are not wearable for you, sell or donate them to become a part of the circular economy. Contribute to the economy with the concept of “reduce reuse recycle” by revamping your closet. You will never stop needing clothes but buying clothes is in your hands. The reason behind most of the world polluted cities is that they consumes more.
However, buying second-hand clothing can save you money and the environment as well. About 84% of our clothing ends up in landfills and the rest is sold to second-hand stores, preloved stores, Facebook marketplace, thrift stores, charity shops, and flea markets.
Your Quintessential Tips to Buy Second-Hand Clothes
Though it seems easy to buy second-hand clothes in your nearest charity or thrift store or even in an online thrift store you have to be cautious while shopping for second-hand clothes. A few of the suggestions are shared with you as you read along.
Take as much time as you want!
Thrifting is a very time taking task. You have to go through a lot of racks to look for the unique pieces of clothing that you want to buy. It might take a lot of your time but it’s worth finding a timeless piece of clothing item at fewer prices.
Look for the Tags!
While searching for your desired clothing piece read the tags to look for your size, washing instructions, and the brand. You might win a jackpot by finding a product made by a popular designer at a very lower cost. Sometimes, you can even stumble upon brand-new items at a very affordable price.
Observe the Details!
You can look for wear and tear on the garments which you choose to buy. Don’t buy a faded piece of clothing unless you want it to. You should also look for missing buttons or any stains to avoid finding out later with disappointment. Stuck zippers on a pair of jeans or a jacket are also a common problem in thrifted clothes watch out for those as well.
Find Timeless Pieces!
Jeans, blazers, basic shirts, belts, and jackets are timeless pieces you can invest your money in as they never go out of style or need. You can pair them in various ways to transform your dressing and they also last longer if you take care of them.
Sanitizing thrifted items!
When you buy second hand clothing especially now after the pandemic, make sure to wash or disinfect your clothes as many germs and bacteria can be growing in your clothes and you don’t want to contract diseases from them.
Where can you buy second hand clothing?
If you are a person who doesn’t like online shopping, there are plenty of second-hand stores in almost every area. The famous thrift stores include Good Will, Wasteland, Out of the Closet, and Cure Thrift Shop. Whereas, there are plenty of online stores like Thredup, Poshmark, and Tradesy for the people who prefer to shop from the comforts of their houses.
Following are some famous thrift stores that can help you find some really nice thrift items.
Good Will
This organization works for a bigger cause by empowering and giving opportunities to people through money generated by “Goodwill Finds” which sells thrifted or donated items. You can buy used items as well as the products of top brands from here.
Wasteland
The clothing outlet sells new, used, and vintage clothing as well. The boutique gives you a full experience of fashion and style under one roof. Moreover, you can sell your own stuff with them as well to earn some extra income.
Out of the Closet
This thrift store is a nonprofit chain that donates the revenue generated through sales to the medical care of AIDS patients. You can buy vintage as well as used clothes from here and you can also donate your clothes to contribute to charity.
Cure Thrift Shop
The charity shop gives you a pleasant experience through its luxury vintage clothes. The timeless pieces will surely attract your attention. Additionally, the money generated through the store goes to the research and advocacy of juvenile diabetes.
Thredup
This online thrift store provides you with a vibrant range of clothes, shoes, and accessories from gently used to branded ones for women and children. The store has a hassle-free return policy for you in case something doesn’t fit or you have a change of heart.
Swap
This online thrift store provides you with products that are second-hand and almost new within an affordable price range. You can buy a wide variety of items in excellent quality and they have an easy return policy as well to keep you from worrying about the delivery.
Poshmark
The online buying and selling platform has all the second-hand products you might like. They sell items of various brands at a very affordable price as well. The store also has its own app from which you can get discounted deals and offers.
Tradesy
The platform offers the resale of luxury and designer products. You can save up to 70% on purchases of top brands and have a designer closet, if that’s on your wish list by buying from this store.
What are the environmental impacts of fast fashion v/s second hand clothing?
Fast fashion is the fastest-growing industry but it has some downsides as well. In order to meet the demands of customers clothing textile has to produce trending clothes in less time. So the products produced are substandard which results in 26 billion pounds of clothes ending up in landfills each year.
Whereas 70% population of the world wears second-hand clothes, moreover, some of the third-world countries are totally dependent on second-hand clothes because they can’t afford to buy new clothes. They are eco-friendly and you can reduce carbon footprints on Earth by buying thrift clothes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why buying second hand clothing is trending these days?
People have always been interested in buying thrift or used clothes but it was considered a taboo in the past. Now the younger generation is very nonconforming and more into conscious consuming of clothes. Spending a large sum of money on a product of fast fashion has less leverage on timeless clothing pieces.
Buying second hand clothing is also trending because it is affordable and you can find unique clothes which can’t be found in big retail stores or the biggest malls of the world.
How can you earn from flipping preloved clothes?
Second hand clothing can be a source of income and you can earn some extra money through it as well. You can buy an item of clothing from a thrift store at a low price and you can sell it in an online store or anywhere else at a higher price and earn a profit from it.
Similarly, you can also buy a simple product and put some beads or transform its look with your creativity and sell it for more money and earn from it. So thrift flipping can prove to be very profitable.
Which are some downsides of buying used clothes?
Though second-hand clothes are in every way helping us save the environment and they are easily affordable and stylish as well. Still, they have some flaws and we should be aware of them.
Firstly, looking for a clothing piece that actually suits your taste and you want to buy is a very time-taking and tiresome process. For that, you have to rummage through a lot of racks and stacks of clothing that might irritate or bore you.
Secondly, for instance, if you find a piece of clothing worth buying then you have to look for damages in it because the clothes are second-hand and they might be faded or torn from any place.
Lastly, second hand clothing is most likely to give you infections and diseases. Additionally, they can also give skin allergies. So for your own safety, disinfect your preloved clothes after buying them to save yourself from getting sick.
Conclusion
Clothing is our need but buying trendy clothes is just our want. We are just spending money frivolously on buying clothes no matter if it is for an occasion or a normal day but our desire to buy clothes never ends.
We should have a conscious closet because style is a personal choice whereas fashion only focuses on new collections and forgets about the old clothes which results in the hoarding of clothes or them ending up in landfills eventually.
The damage these textile industries are causing is beyond repair and we do not have another planet to live on. So we should give thought to buying used clothes and recycling them just because they are stylish, affordable, and environmentally friendly. As Emma Watson said, “small changes such as thrifting instead of buying new, supporting sustainable brands, and air-drying your clothes, can make a huge difference.”