Do you remember this phrase, “Stay home, stay safe?” It was the new buzzword during the pandemic. The orders to stay inside as much as possible to avoid contracting the dangerous and novel COVID-19 virus did more than change how we live and work. It did a permanent 360 on life. The pandemic popularized concepts like social distancing, wearing a mask, and remote working. It also brought new meaning to the phrase, “old wine made new by being put in a new bottle.” That’s because it normalized the concept of shopping for new clothes in thrift stores.
Wearing Old As New Was No Longer Taboo
If the idea of thrift store shopping makes you think about buying used and torn clothes or finding stores with racks full of dull bellbottoms and clothes that went out of style decades ago, think again. Yes, thrift stores do sell many gently used and second-hand items. However, savvy shoppers can find brand name labels at bargain prices. Thrift stores are also treasure troves for quality items at low prices that no other retailer – online or traditional – can match.
Those aged 30 and younger (mostly in the Gen Z cohort) are the main drivers of this growth in popularity. American University recently did a survey which was published in The Blackprint. According to it, 83% of Americans under 28 are ready to shop at thrift stores.
It’s More Than The Inflation and a Weak Economy That’s Driving This Trend
If Millennials are known for their eco-friendly lifestyle and preference for organic clothing, then Gen X follows in their footsteps. Gen Z grew up in economically challenged times. So, they look out for environmentally friendly fashion at bargain prices. Yes, they want to look good. But they hate fast fashion and higher-priced label brands.
It’s A Reflection of the Sign of the Times
Fast fashion may not necessarily be a permanent part of the textile and clothing landscape for much longer. Gen Z increasingly wants to recycle fashionable apparel, provided that it can still be worn. It’s a boon for the clothing industry as well. Youth who frequent thrift stores do Mother Nature a real favor.
Far less gently used clothing ends up rotting in and taking up valuable space in landfills, and they leave less of a carbon footprint on the environment. Also, because clothing manufacturers aren’t making nearly as many clothes, they are not forced to pump toxic chemicals into the groundwater and soil. They also don’t pump as many pollutants into the air.
It’s Like an Exciting Treasure Hunt for the Youth
Having shopped in thrift stores myself, I know that you can find great deals at amazingly low prices if you wash all of the clothes you buy by hand before wearing them. You need to be a savvy shopper and you need to have a sharp eye. Being that open-minded allows you to find many hidden gems in a few items of nonsense clothing.
Thrift stores aren’t necessarily organized. They often pair smaller dresses, tops, shirts, pants, and other items of clothing with larger ones. Also, the material and fabric used for some clothes is not great. The issue is that you can find a great dress made out of good fabric that’s made well and sells for $2 hidden in with dresses that cost $24 and aren’t of the best fabric or manufacture. So, shoppers have to be like detectives with great sleuthing skills.
Thrift Stores Are Redefining Shopping
Americans have become real clothes horses over the past quarter century. According to some of the latest statistics, they go clothes shopping 60% more often than boomers, Gen X, and even Millennials did a decade and a half ago. That habit bordered on compulsive clothes shopping. It encouraged the destructive trend of fast fashion and wreaked havoc on the environment.
Clothiers caught on. They no longer made clothes to last because Americans went clothes shopping so often. A dress that was made forty years ago may have had a lifespan of at least fifty years since people didn’t shop for clothes that often four decades ago. That same dress made in 2024 may last at most 10 years. It would likely have a life expectancy of 2-4 years.
It is not uncommon for people to wear clothes just once, or never before throwing them away. Unfortunately, these clothes end up in landfills where they decompose, often at a very slow rate. Since many clothes are made from chemical dyes, these compounds can leach into the water you drink and end up in the food you eat through the ground.
What makes matters worse is that clothes take a while to decompose since they’re often a blend of synthetic and natural fibers. That leaves less space for old food and other items that genuinely should be in landfills.
Goodwill is Leading the Way
But Goodwill is not the only sustainability nonprofit that encourages people to donate gently used clothes that they either don’t want or need anymore. A whole host of sustainability organizations are jumping on that bandwagon.
The practice of ending fast fashion will also help with the impending water crisis that many nations around the world currently face. Clothing manufacturers use up tens to hundreds of thousands of liters of water to make one item of clothing. That’s water that could be used for agriculture, human, or even animal consumption.
Thrifting also reduces the pressure on high-end manufacturers to make new items of clothing by reducing consumers’ demand for it. It may temporarily drive prices up at thrift stores. However, the practice will reduce the end prices of high-end and designer clothes. So, it’s a win-win situation for manufacturers, retailers, and customers.
Conclusion
Thrift stores may be revolutionizing the way people shop for clothes. It’s a youth-driven trend. Thrift stores are quickly losing their reputation for selling cheap junk. That image is being replaced by a more positive one. In this new image, thrift stores are seen as places where savvy and adventurous shoppers can find real treasures at discounted prices.
