Are You Over-Thrifting?

For college students like me, thrifting has emerged as one of the main ways that we acquire new clothing. It’s cheaper for our wallet, good for the planet, and encourages businesses to adopt safer conditions for their workers. But take a closer look and you’ll see the truth. 

Social Trends and Influence 

Your closet is not shrinking. You are still chasing trends. Bags of barely worn clothes still clutter the back of your closet. You are still trapped in an endless cycle of buying clothes, wearing them, donating, thrifting, and repeating. The only thing that has changed is where you shop. And it’s easy to understand why. 

Social media influencers are shaping the way young people approach sustainability. Once viewed as a necessity, thrifting has now become a mainstream alternative to fast fashion. Popular influencers such as Lissy Roddy, bestdressed (Ashley), and Jessica Neistadt have promoted thrifting as a sustainable and ethical approach to fast fashion consumption. But does the emerging thrifting culture actually tackle the core issues that climate activists have been trying to address? Or does it just shift the problem onto secondhand stores like Goodwill and Plato’s closet?

The Problem with Modern Thrift Culture 

Thrifting has been introduced as a great solution to the wastefulness of fast fashion. However, the rise of “thrift hauls” on social media promotes the exact same overconsumption habits that fuels the fast fashion industry. Instead of encouraging people to reduce their consumption and only buy what they need, thrift hauls glorify excessive shopping because you are not directly buying from brands and therefore it’s more “sustainable.” 

Thrift stores are now being overrun with people getting rid of their clothes to make a quick buck and resellers buying clothing in bulk to make a profit. This means that while thrifting reduces textile waste, it doesn’t actually combat our cultural obsession with constantly buying new things and getting rid of them when something shinier comes along. 

A Better Approach 

The first part of “reduce, reuse, and recycle” is often dismissed. Instead, thrifting culture asks us to only reuse and recycle.  But the most sustainable clothing choice is not buying any clothes at all. Instead of constantly being in this cycle of donating and thrifting clothes, college students should shift their focus to minimizing their wardrobes and being intentional with their fashion purchases. Here are some alternative solutions:

Clothing swaps 

Instead of donating to thrift stores, consider giving directly to friends, family or those in your local community who need them. This is the best way to ensure that the clothes go to someone who needs them instead of piling up in a donation center.

Upcycling

If you’re creative, find a fun way to transform old clothes into something new! Cut jeans into shorts or repurpose oversized shirts into a tote bag.

Repairing and maintaining 

Oftentimes, people discard clothes that have minor damages and could easily be repaired by hand. Consumers should encourage their local thrift stores to establish repair sections or learn basic sewing skills in order to extend the life of their clothing.

Capsule wardrobes

Creating a capsule wardrobe is an excellent way to cultivate an intentional relationship with clothes. In a capsule wardrobe you curate a closet full of essential clothing items with few additional clothes to layer or add color. Research shows that if individuals buy a maximum of eight new items a year, the fashion industry’s emissions could be reduced by 37% in the world’s largest cities. Creating a smaller and more efficient and intentional wardrobe can reduce the need for constant shopping. 

Shifting Mindset

While thrifting may be a step towards creating a more sustainable future, it’s not the perfect solution. True change requires consumers to shift their mindset. We need to collectively prioritize mindful consumption over buying more than we need. College students can lead this shift by questioning their shopping habits, advocating for better production practices and finding creative ways to extend the life of their clothes. Sustainability is not just about where we shop, but how much we consume and how much we value items we already own. 

The fashion industry needs systemic change. The choice we make today can influence the future of sustainable fashion. Already, celebrities like Viola Davis have been seen re-wearing previous outfits to major red carpet events. In order to make a lasting cultural change, we must all do our part. 

• fashion
• fast fashion
• hcmsu
• MSU
• over-consumption
• sustainability
• thrifting
• Tik-Tok
• trends