Thrifting has recently become one of the most talked about trends on social media. A simple search on the internet goes on to show innumerable thrift stores. But what exactly is thrifting? And how did this trend find its way to India? Let us find out!
The word ‘thrift’ comes from the 1300s Middle English understanding of ‘savings’ or ‘using resources carefully.’ It refers to the act of shopping for secondhand or formerly owned items intending to purchase low-priced goods while also recycling them. It’s a concept primarily popular in the West and has been associated with various transitions in history, right from the Middle Ages, Great Depression to Industrial Revolution. So, it’s safe to say that thrifting is not a recent phenomenon and has been existing in different forms for ages now.
#thriftindia showed over 5 lakhs posts on Instagram as of February 2022, clearly indicating that thrifting is here to stay. Statistically speaking, the second-hand garment market is worth a whopping $28 billion and is forecasted to value $64 billion in the next five years, according to ThredUp, the world’s largest thrifting store. Places like Sarojini Nagar in Delhi and Colaba Causeway in Mumbai are some well-known thrift spots. They primarily sell rejects or surplus discarded by manufacturing units.
However, with the pandemic hitting in and the stores closing down, there has been a tremendous boom in online thrift stores. These are mostly run by the youngsters belonging to the Millennial and Gen Z category. Their active involvement in apparel and accessory thrifting also blooms out from growing consciousness about sustainability and eco-friendliness.
Pandemic-induced online thrift stores have made a huge upscale in these past two years. They have enabled consumers to shift to a more sustainable style of consumption. While fast fashion comes with greater cons of wastage, improper recycling, chemical toxins, labour harm, etc., thrifting, on the other hand, provides better and higher-end items, sometimes luxury goods, at a reasonable price without compromising on the environment. The rise of thrift culture in India is, therefore, a great step towards environmental sustainability and supports small and local businesses.
Moreover, thrifting pre-owned items also helps in debunking classist ideas that ideally create a differential divide based on societal and economic status. Since thrift items are mostly reasonably priced, it makes them more accessible to low-income consumers as opposed to them buying the original item at a higher price from a mall or retail store. However, it has been observed in India that most of these buyers come from middle-income or financially privileged families of metropolitan cities. More specifically, they are youngsters running on pocket money or additional passive income. Hence, even if they were to go through an income crunch, they would be able to thrift an item to some extent. Also, given the time and human effort that goes into personally curating and maintaining thrifted items, sellers tend to hike prices, especially when it comes to high-end second-hand products. Thus, it may not always be accessible to low-income consumers.
Another significant factor that comes with it is it being a ‘trend.’ With social media-operated stores having swift ‘drops’ and attracting consumers with one-of-a-kind items (be it cool, hippy, or retro outfits), youngsters tend to get into the loop of purchasing repeatedly. This derails from the very idea of sustainability and contributes to fast consumerism. Hence, this is a discourse that needs to be deliberated upon by both the stakeholders that are buyers and sellers.
In conclusion, we observe that thrifting here to stay for a good reason. The rise of the trend in India has sparked the conversation around sustainability, which is imperative for our survival. The youngsters voluntarily taking the initiative to be environmentally conscious through thrifting is an impetus for society. However, everything comes with its own pros and cons and shouldn’t be taken for granted. If on one hand thrifting promotes sustainability, on the other hand, it promotes fast consumerism through its swift ‘drop’ tendency, as reflected upon earlier. Thus, we as conscious sellers and consumers have the role to wisely optimise the thrifting culture, reap the benefits it provides and promote the greater cause it serves in the long run.