The clothing industry is a large contributor to the overproduction of waste. According to Forbes magazine, the clothing industry accounts for four percent of the world’s waste each year and consumes 92 million tons of water. In the fashion industry, styles are constantly changing and in order for stores to keep up with the trends, they use fast fashion. Fast fashion aims to produce affordable, trendy clothing at an incredibly fast rate. It’s typically low quality but is only meant to last a season. The problem with this is that tons of clothing is thrown away after a few months of wear and companies are inundated with outdated fashion that they can no longer sell. Donating clothing can help to reduce this waste, but much of it still ends up in the trash. In addition to this, much of the world’s fast fashion is produced in factories that use child labor, where they are underpaid and overworked in terrible conditions. Some of your favorite companies that have been known to use child labor are: H&M, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, Nike and Zara.
So what’s the solution?
We hear how important it is to shop sustainably and ethically, but the average college student can’t afford the cost of ethically made clothing. My solution to this problem is thrifting. Not only is it better for the environment, but it also allows me to afford higher quality labels. This means my clothing maintains its integrity for a longer amount of time. It has also become a hobby; I love getting creative and putting new outfits together. Many people worry that they won’t be able to find trendy clothing if they thrift and to disprove this, here are my top thrifted outfits from this summer.
Outfit #1
I love wearing dresses in the summer because they keep me cool and they’re an effortless and comfortable way to be stylish. I found this dress for under $10 at Arnold Walk-In Closet in St. Louis.
Outfit #2
I like adding a pop of color to neutral outfits. I found this Madewell gingham top on Facebook Marketplace for under $15. The White Madewell jeans, on the other hand, were on Depop for under $25. Depop is a resale app that has a lot of great deals and you’re usually able to negotiate prices with the seller. The Dolce Vita sandals are from Clothz Minded for $15. This outfit would have cost me around $240 had I bought it firsthand.
Outfit #3
I love this Madewell dress because it works for so many occasions. It’s easy to dress up or down with different shoes. I got this dress off of Facebook Marketplace for under $15 and the Madewell Leather Slides on Depop for under $20. This outfit retails for about $230, so this is a major discount. Since I don’t like to buy leather firsthand, thrifting is a great way to give leather a second life.
Outfit #4
Clothz Minded is one of my favorite stores in Kansas City. It’s trendy and there’s a much smaller, curated selection. Sometimes thrifting can be overwhelming because there is so much to look through. Clothz Minded eliminates the stress because the owner does all the digging for you. She’s one of the friendliest business owners I’ve ever met! She picked out this blue dress for me for $20.
Outfit #5
This Topshop denim zipper dress is from Arnold Walk-In Closet. I bought it for under $10. I like to wear it with either brown or white platform sandals, which I also found from Arnold. They were both $7 each. This outfit would have retailed at around $85.
Outfit #6
I found this PacSun skirt for $7 at Arnold Walk-In Closet. This skirt was a great find because I normally wouldn’t shop at a store like PacSun, so I would have missed out on this gem. I like to wear my Madewell leather slides with it.
Outfit #7
When it’s not too hot outside, this is one of my favorite summer outfits because it is SO comfortable. I found this linen pair of JCrew pants from Arnold Walk-In Closet on clearance for $3! These Madewell leather slides go with almost every outfit.
Outfit #8
This is a great outfit to transition into fall. I found this knit Madewell top and the Gap jeans each for $15 at Plato’s closet. This style of jeans is very on trend right now, so I was thrilled to find them! This outfit would have cost about $230 in stores.
Outfit #9
This white linen Rachel Pally dress is from Plato’s Closet for under $20. Dresses from this company range from $200-300. Plato’s is usually hit or miss for me. Instead, I prefer to support small businesses, but it’s a great place to start and it’s still nice to support bigger corporations that promote sustainability.
Outfit #10
I found these Lee jeans for under $25 at Future Ancestor, an awesome resale furniture and clothing store in St. Louis. I usually wear a pair of converse or platform sandals. This outfit could also be cute with a statement belt.
Outfit #11
This red Madewell gingham dress is perfect for picnics! I found it on Depop for under $15. I usually wear my white platform sandals with it. This outfit was originally priced at about $90.
I hope this helped you find some places to find thrifted clothing and gave you ideas on how to style your new outfits. Depop, ThreadUp, Poshmark and Facebook Marketplace are good places to shop if you don’t have any good thrift stores near you, but I would always recommend checking to see if there are local shops in your area first. A tip for starting out is to start shopping based on brands that you like. Madewell is one of my favorite clothing brands, so when I started thrifting I looked specifically for Madewell tags. From there, I discovered new brands and learned how to spot a good deal. Another great thing about thrifting is that you can sell your clothes and put that money toward your new clothing. Happy thrifting!