The benefits of thrifting (shopping secondhand)
There are many reasons why buying things at secondhand stores, also known as thrifting, is good for you. Although, it can be intimidating. Perhaps it feels gross knowing that someone else has owned the product before you, or you can rarely seem to find exactly what you are looking for. However, do not let this prevent you from thrifting as it is very beneficial for you. Let me explain why.
First off, purchasing already owned things is a tremendous relief for the environment. Compared to buying something new, there are no new materials needed, nothing goes to waste, and no exploiting occurs whatsoever. For example, a new pair of jeans requires almost 7000 litres (1800 gallons) of water to be produced, and a new piece of furniture requires trees to be cut down. Buying these things secondhand would spare earth these resources to be taken away from it. It is estimated, as stated here, that 10% of global CO2 emissions originate from the fashion industry, and therefore making it one of the worst industries in the world from an environmental perspective.
Production of new things has never been as high as it is today. For example, the clothing industry has boomed the last 15 years increasing its production by around 100%. Purchasing secondhand clothes will mitigate the overall impact the clothing industry leaves on our earth.
And not only is secondhand better for the environment, but it’s also a lot cheaper — as long as you don’t buy an old car in an impeccable quality previously owned by a famous person. But we all know that’s not the case. When I was thrifting last November, I found a pair of Wrangler jeans. I loved the design; it was exactly like what I was looking for. You’d think you have to pay a lot for a pair of Wrangler jeans, but no. Instead of buying new ones for almost 100$ I got them for only 14$. And even to this day they last and are in good shape. So quality is not always an issue like you can imagine it to be.
However, secondhand stores do not offer a lot of modern stuff. If you want what you see on ads everywhere it will be hard to find that in a secondhand store. As a reaction to this, a youth culture has emerged where secondhand, clothing especially, become symbols of status. It’s cool to only wear secondhand clothes. And doing the opposite means you do not care for the environment. This culture is growing and far exceeds that of the youth. Even the best looks from fashion weeks around the world can be seen being influenced by the older ages. Therefore we see a growth in the popularity of 80s and 90s fashion.
A growing demand for secondhand products increases the need for products to sell. Secondhand stores do not produce their clothes (apart from some innovative brands) but instead rely on donations from ordinary people. Luckily, as the demand for secondhand products increases, the interest of keeping the stores alive will increase too. As a result, more people will donate the stuff that they do not need.
This is beneficial for several reasons. First off, the stores survive. This allows everyone to choose an environmentally friendly way to consume. Secondly, decluttering your home from things that you do not need or barely use is very beneficial. The cleaner your home is and the less stuff you have laying around, the less stressed you will feel. Materialism has been portrayed as a synonym for happiness for a long time but consuming only gives us momentarily kicks of pleasure. Regularly decluttering is a far better lifestyle than to consume for the sake of pleasure.
In conclusion, thrifting is a far better way to consume than to blindly follow what advertisements indoctrinate you to like. Secondhand clothing has started to become symbols of status — which is far better than extremely expensive, bad-for-the-environment clothes. So, the next time you go shopping, enter a secondhand shop and see if you can find something that you want instead of directly going to your standard stores.
Jakob Wilmer. July 2019
