According to ThredUp’s 2025 Resale Report, the global second-hand market is projected to reach $367 billion by 2029. By that same year, the United States’ second-hand market is expected to reach $74 billion. This industry in the U.S. has grown five times faster than the retail clothing market.
Time Magazine reported that it was not until the late 19th century, due to large waves of immigration and the Industrial Revolution, that second-hand shops began to gain traction. The Industrial Revolution completely changed the way Americans consume, as it introduced mass production.
The more accessible cheap clothing became, the more waste was generated. This phenomenon heavily contributed to consumers thinking of clothing as disposable items because they gained the ability to quickly replace them.
Resale stores and thrift shops arose as a solution to help mitigate the impacts of throw-away culture as well as provide low-income communities with affordable goods. However, the stigma attached to shopping second-hand deterred customers.
Yet it was clear that there was money to be made in the second-hand market. Most notably, religious-affiliated organizations Salvation Army and Goodwill, started as a way to help community members access necessities.
The Goodwill website notes that their organization was founded in Boston in 1902 by a Methodist minister. During this time, the organization employed low-income and disabled workers to repair used goods, which were either resold or given to the employees who repaired them.
Similarly, the Salvation Army was founded by a Methodist minister in England, William Booth, whose mission was to feed and house the poor. He gave his organization the name Salvation Army in 1878. In the 21st century, the organization expanded to over 130 countries to preach evangelical Christianity. To help fund their services, the Salvation Army sent volunteers to collect goods to be resold.
Although these companies have been praised for being positive and impactful nonprofit organizations, others criticize their alleged negative impacts, such as discrimination and low wages. For example, a 2013 CNBC article reported that Goodwill was paying disabled employees as little as 22 cents an hour.
This multi-billion-dollar corporation, whose executives make six-figure salaries, is able to pay workers far below the minimum wage through a legislative loophole in Section 14 (c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This legislation permits employers to receive special minimum wage certificates, which enable them to pay disabled employees according to their abilities, with restrictions on how little they can be paid.
However, in December 2024, the National Council on Disability published a press release stating that the U.S. Department of Labor proposed to end the department’s ability to issue new Section 14 (c) certificates and a three-year phase-out for existing certificates.
Comparably, the Salvation Army is not new to controversy. Vox reported that this organization has a history of anti-LGBTQ+ lobbying despite the nonprofit claiming that it does not discriminate.
Most striking, Vox found that in 2001, the Salvation Army allegedly attempted to conduct a deal with the Bush administration that would allow religious charities that receive federal funding to be exempt from ordinances banning anti-gay discrimination.
Now, the U.S. thrift store market is a part of a $14.8 billion industry according to the IBIS World report. Thanks to online second-hand markets such as Depop, ThredUp, and eBay, this industry is not slowing down anytime soon.
Social media is a key contributor to the rise in popularity of thrifting. ThredUp’s 2025 Resale Report found that 39% of younger generation consumers (ages 18-44) have made a second-hand clothing purchase on a social commerce platform within the last 12 months.
The study goes on to report that 50% of this demographic who have purchased second-hand apparel did so to create social media content.
This thrifting boom has significantly helped to lessen textile waste and extend the lifespan of clothing items. Earth.org reports that of the 100 billion clothing garments produced each year, 92 million tons get sent to landfills.
Concerningly, the same report highlighted that the average U.S. consumer throws away 81.5 pounds of clothes every year.
Despite the benefits of shopping second-hand, concerns arise when cheap and accessible clothing becomes limited. There are strong debates on whether thrift shopping is ethical for consumers who can afford to buy items at full price.
As this trend has grown in popularity, so has the rise of resellers. A 2021 NPR article found that Generation Z accounts for over 40% of second-hand fashion consumers and 90% of Depop’s active users.
There are growing concerns about Depop users reselling thrifted clothes for alarmingly high prices, which some argue makes second-hand goods less accessible to the general public.
The growth of thrifted clothing hauls on YouTube and TikTok has inspired Gen-Z to shop second-hand, even those who can afford new items.
As a result of this gentrification of thrifting, low-income shoppers can be priced out of thrift stores and be left with even fewer options.
On the other hand, critics argue that since the fashion industry produces too many clothes, reselling helps divert these items from landfills. But does that justify outlandish thrifted clothing prices?
Since most Depop users are under the age of 26, they presumably have limited knowledge on how to discern vintage clothing from fast fashion. Consequently, shoppers are getting misled and upsold for thrifted fashion, according to a Depop subreddit.
As inflation continues, this may influence the price of thrifted goods and the demographics that fuel this industry.
Overall, there are obvious pros and cons of second-hand shopping. While environmental sustainability has become a top priority to Gen-Z shoppers, the cyclical nature of trends in fashion consumption can just as easily convince consumers to revert back to fast fashion.
Compared to the traditional clothing retail industry, the second-hand market has critiqued the wastefulness and harm that stems from the fast fashion business model. Although there are setbacks within the second-hand market, this industry has popularized a more environmentally friendly way to shop.
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