It doesn’t take a mastermind to see why thrifting suddenly became the next “big thing”. Especially in the current environment— where jeans can go up to $65 a piece— the allure of cheap affordable clothing can override the thought that you’re buying second-hand clothing. The media’s popularization of thrifting culture, most seen on the app TikTok, shows dozens upon dozens of videos of thrifting hauls, thrift finds, or popular thrift stores to go to. Due to this, the percentage of secondhand apparel purchased is up 40% in 2022 from 2021. Now the global second-hand apparel market has shot up from $138 billion to $211! And this sudden increase isn’t stopping, the market’s projected to increase by roughly $100 billion by 2026.

In its beginning, thrifting was a way for low-income families to afford clothing items that they couldn’t acquire from department stores. However, in previous years, thrifting culture has come back to life, thus bringing more people to shops like Goodwill and The Salvation Army. This in turn has increased the prices of thrift clothing, sometimes even being equivalent to department store prices. 

The fast fashion industry only contributes to the problem of thrifting. Sharing the same affordable clothing as thrift stores, the only difference being that these haven’t been worn before, the fast fashion market also draws in many consumers. Many fast fashion stores like Shein and ASOS chase after trends causing people to throw away unwanted items to hop on the latest fashion craze. Just last year in 2023 the fashion industry produced over 97 million tons of waste. Some however don’t go into these landfills, they go into a mediocre solution: thrift stores. 

About 2.5 million garments are donated each year to thrift stores worldwide. This might seem like a better alternative than just putting your unwanted clothing into your dumpsters but most of the clothing will end up in the same place. In garbage dumps. About 80-90% of donations will get sold to recyclers which eventually end up in the landfills. It’s an endless cycle. 

So, what do we do? Is there any way thrifting can be sustainable? Yes. There is a way. We, as a collective, need to stop spending so much on fashion trends that will die out in a month. Buy basics. Don’t follow the influencers that spend hundreds of dollars on SHEIN or in thrifting hauls. Landfills are already filling up due to poor waste management and toxic chemicals from cheap poorly-made clothing. Fast fashion production is already expected to triple by 2050. 

Thrifting is a nuanced topic and there will always be a conversation surrounding it as long as influencers keep pushing the agenda. It might seem tempting to recklessly spend money on cheap clothing and items; however, you will be willingly contributing to a bigger issue. 

This article was edited by Ipek Unal.