In the mid-2000s, I was in middle school and high school and my favorite stores were Vanity Fair, Forever 21, Wet Seal, and Pac Sun. I found the cutest t-shirts, jeans, accessories, and everything was cheap and affordable. I could buy 5 graphic tees for $12, which was great because those t-shirts would end up with holes or shrink to toddler size in just a few washes. Thus, bringing me back to the mall the next weekend to buy more t-shirt that inevitably endures the same fate in a matter of weeks. It was a vicious cycle! I knew more expensive clothes would probably last longer but at that time, I couldn’t bring myself to bring that much money on clothes. If only there was a way to buy sustainable clothing at a fraction of the retail price…Indeed there was! I just didn’t know it yet.
What Is Fast Fashion and Why Is It Bad?
In short – fast fashion is cheap clothes that keep you shopping for more. This kind of clothing is made from inexpensive materials like polyester, rayon, and spandex (all plastic btw) that is typically made in a factory that produces high emissions and is overall low quality but somehow looks great on a hanger under florescent lighting.
Fast fashion is horrible for the environment because it basically promotes disposable fashion. Once you’d wash that $5 graphic tee a few times, it would end up threadbare, worn out and doubtfully fit correctly anymore. You couldn’t wear it anymore and it would be in too poor condition to donate or resell. Also, because it’s made of synthetic plastic fibers, it’s difficult to recycle.
Back in my day, stores that sold these types of clothes were Wet Seal, Vanity Fair, Forever 21, and Aeropostle. Though some of these stores have closed their doors, fast fashion is still around. Stores like Zara and H&M thrive on cheaply made and poor quality clothing but promote textile recycling in efforts to offset their carbon footprint.
While this is a noble effort, it doesn’t solve the problem of fast fashion. More and more clothes are being produced everywhere and leaving us with a major problem: what do we do with all these clothes? The solution: stop buying new clothes at a cheap cost. According to EPA.gov, Americans threw away 11.3 million tons of textiles in 2018 alone. If we were able to salvage half of that, we could reduce the major pollution and water consumption made by the fashion industry.
How Does Second Hand Fashion Help the Environment?
You might be thinking to yourself: “How do my clothes affect the environment?”
The answer: It’s in the manufacturing and delivery process.
1. Less water used
Cotton is an essential fiber in the textile industry and in our closets, but what does it take to produce cotton? Hard work and about 713 gallons (roughly) of water. Imagine putting a t-shirt at the bottom of an empty pool and then pouring 5,704 16oz plastic bottles into the pool (we’ll save the plastic bottle rant for another day). That’s what it took to produce your favorite t-shirt.
2. Less carbon emissions
We know that cotton takes a lot of water to grow, but how else does the fashion industry affect the environment? When you take into consideration the amount of energy needed to produce, wash and transport our clothing, its a lot!
When we choose secondhand clothing, we reuse resources we already have and cut back on carbon emissions. Browsing for new (to you) clothes at your local thrift shop drastically reduces the amount of non-renewable energy and freshwater used to produce new clothing.
3. Opportunity to bring old fashions back
Full disclosure: this last point has nothing to do with the environment but I thought it was still worth mentioning…
Bring back the power suit! Bring back bell-bottoms! Bring back whatever fashion trend you miss from 5, 10, or even 20 years ago! Vintage is cool and allows us to express ourselves in a unique and independent way. When you shop in second stores, you never know what you’ll find and you give life to something that would have otherwise been trash or lost in the back of someone else’s closet.
Where to buy second hand clothes…
Online
These are my favorite places to look for used clothing but, with the growing industry, there are more and more shops to browse and purchase secondhand clothes from. Did I also mention you can browse my shop?
Poshmark is my go-to for secondhand shopping. Their website and app are simple to navigate and you buy directly from a real person.
You can use filters to find an exact kind of item you want in your size or you can just browse closets of other users. Think of it like Instagram but for used closed.
The downside to Poshmark is the shipping. Most items cost at least $7.49 to ship, regardless of the weight of the item. Luckily, there are some ways to save on shipping.
Good old eBay. What can’t you find on here? Again, it’s a go-to for secondhand finds with an easy transaction process.
Mercari is somewhat new but they also have everything with a simple check-out process. It’s a little harder to find specific items but they roll out updates very frequently and stay competitive with features and pricing of other resell platforms.
Thedup’s claim to fame is being the world’s largest fashion thrift store. They have a huge selection of clothing to choose from and they’ll even send you a closet clean-out bag to help you get rid of the clothes you no longer for store credit to buy new-to-you clothes.
In Person
- Local Thrift Shops
There’s nothing like breathing in the smell of musk and mothballs from your local thrift store. Shopping at locally owned and operated thrift stores keeps things local and most of the time they donate proceeds to a good cause.
- Consignment Shops
As the resale industry grows, so does the selection of chain resale shops. Stores like Uptown Cheapskates, Clothes Mentor, New York Exchange, and many more are on the rise. They work similarly to a thrift shop by taking in local inventory, making their selection unique to the area, but operate as a franchise.
- Garage Sales
Do you love to bargain and haggle? Then garage sales are for you! It can be time-consuming to drive around and sifting through piles of old clothes but this is one of the most inexpensive ways to find great clothes.
Conclusion
Buying secondhand clothing isn’t the only way to curb carbon emissions from the fashion industry. If you have to, or just prefer, to buy new, do research about the brands you buy from. What kind of materials do they use? How is it sourced and grown? What is the quality like? Buying high-quality clothing is ok too but the best thing to do is to buy secondhand. Also, avoid throwing away clothes. There are endless ways to reuse soft materials like clothes, towels, blankets, and linens. When it comes to saving the environment, it’s the smallest changes that will make the biggest difference!
