Recently, I have been seeing a lot of negative posts regarding the resale of used goods. The most popular example of this is reselling thrifted clothes or furniture for a profit. People have even gone as far as to call this “thrifting gentrification.” To fully debunk this notion, we need to discuss the purpose of resale shops and how they affect low-income families.
Many people believe that the fundamental purpose of resale shops is to provide low-priced goods such as clothing and furniture to low-income families who could not otherwise afford these products. But this thinking is inherently classist, and here’s why.
First, it’s important to understand the history of resale shops (it isn’t pretty). During the Industrial Revolution, it became easier to mass-produce clothing. As a result, the price of said clothes went down and more people were able to afford new clothing as it became available. Many people were left with an abundance of unwanted clothing and nowhere to go with it. Resale shops became the solution to this issue; they provided a place for people to get rid of all their unwanted stuff. They even received the nickname “Junk Shops.” These shops were seen as places that only the poor families or immigrants shopped at. They were deemed as places only desperate people would visit.
So how did junk shops turn into thrift shops?
Even though these shops were seen as low and dirty to the middle and upper class, it was still clear that there was money to be made. Luckily, instead of big corporations taking over these shops to profit off the poor, nonprofit companies like the Salvation Army began to take the proceeds from the shops and give back to the communities they benefited in the first place. Soon after, these junk shops were rebranded as “thrift shops” so that middle class women could feel comfortable buying used products for their families knowing that they were also giving back to their community.
The real reason thrift shops came to exist was not to ensure low-income families had access to these goods, but to act as funding for companies like Goodwill, who exist to give back to certain charities that aim to help low-income families.
But shopping at thrift stores means there will be less for the people who really need it.
This is the main argument used to guilt middle and upper class citizens into not shopping at thrift stores. But this argument is based on the idea that there is not enough clothing to go around, which is absolutely incorrect.
The truth is, all thrift shops have an abundance of clothes. For example, if a clothing item doesn’t sell within four weeks at Goodwill, it is sent to an outlet, auction, recycling facility and finally ends up in a landfill (which accounts for 5% of all donated clothing). So there is MORE than enough clothing to go around. To say that only low-income families should be shopping at thrift stores just perpetuates the classist notion that buying second-hand is only for poor people (not to mention it instills feelings of embarrassment and shame for low-income shoppers). In fact, it is in the best interest of low-income families that members of every economic standing buy second-hand. The more people that shop at thrift stores, the more the community will benefit.
The next argument against reselling thrifted items is that it is unethical to profit on items in which the seller has done little work in the creation of the product.
This argument greatly underestimates the work that is put into selling a used product. For example, to resell a piece of clothing, the seller must first spend the time to find the item, clean/modify the item, take and edit photos of the item and package and pay for transportation of the item. Essentially, these sellers are providing and charging for a service.
One valid concern is that resale stores may be raising their prices due to thrifting being seen as “trendy,” resulting in low-income families not being able to afford second-hand clothing. While this may be a reality, it is not fair to place this blame on the middle class. In all honesty, the blame belongs to the privately owned thrift store owners. Keep in mind that they receive all their clothing for free. The only reason they are raising the prices of their clothing is because they’ve realized they can exploit sellers who are willing to pay.
Society has finally gotten to the point where the stigma surrounding thrift shopping has disappeared and become widely accepted. So instead of attacking the young entrepreneurs for reselling unique items on Depop, turn your attention to CEOs who are raising their prices of items they receive for free. Claiming “thrifting gentrification” could devastate years of change that has led to an affordable way for the middle class to purchase sustainable items. So don’t give up on thrifting because it “takes items away from low-income families” or because you think you are contributing to the increase in price of thrifted items. There is more than enough clothing to go around. It is okay to sell unique items you found and altered for a profit. And you are not the reason the price of thrifted items are increasing. Greed is.
So if you have seen any negative posts regarding the sale of used items or thrifting as a whole, remember that it is never acceptable to police thrifting in this way. The benefits of thrifting are undeniable, and individuals who do so should not be blamed for the negative results that follow.