Secondhand Demand: Why We Should Thrift Instead of Buying New
Thrifting, buying secondhand, wearing “hand-me-downs” – whatever you call it, we could all stand to do it more. Whether it is about avoiding clothes that infringe on labor rights, red
ucing one’s impact on the environment, or wanting to dress in attire that no one else can replicate, pre-owned clothing can allow us to better value what we wear, our planet, and our humanity.
The ease of purchasing ready-made clothing is taken for granted in American culture. Any city bigger than a small town is bound to have immediate access to brand new clothing, shoes, and accessories. These items are found on supermarket shelves, strip mall racks, or boutique mannequins. Easier still, there is the internet, bringing access to clothing from around the world. However, clothing factories are much less common in the United States. Review the clothing tags in an average American closet; how many say “Made in China,” “Bangladesh,” or some other non-Western nation? Compare those that say “Made in America.” Unless one has harbored a true vintage collection, chances are that most clothes were made outside of the United States.
While there is nothing inherently wrong with a globalized economic market, alienation from garment manufacturing allows consumers to live in ignorance of fashion industry horrors. If one wants to achieve a more equitable world, one must consider what actions and inactions fashion giants are allowed to hide. Armed with this knowledge, world citizens will better appreciate their current wardrobes and continue to recycle clothes that are already made rather than contributing to the demand for new clothing and, along with it, the injustices it brings.
Consider labor practices. The deadliest garment factory-related disaster took place in the Rana Plaza in Savar, Bangladesh. Structural cracks in the building were reported the day prior to the tragedy, but concerns were ignored, and laborers were pressed to return to their jobs. Working for minimum wage in a nation where clothing manufacturing is their number one export, the factory employees had little choice but to return. On April 24, 2013, when the cracks gave way and the building collapsed, more than 1,100 people were killed, and over 2,500 were injured. After the disaster, Western merchants signed agreements to better protect Bangladeshi workers, but these initiatives left much to be desired. The betterment of Bangladeshi laborers continues to be fought.
For such catastrophes, it is easy to pin blame on the selfish greed or negligence of a few individuals, such as Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana, but these occurrences are the result of a long history of unsustainable consumption and capitalist development. Consumers, manufacturers, and merchant middlemen increasingly want to purchase more for less money. Something must give, and often the burden falls on the wages and safety of laborers. While such disasters were a catalyst for positive change, by lessening demand for new clothing and critiquing guilty manufacturers and merchants, consumers can further pressure the industry to limit their harm.
One might think if the laborers are fairly paid and protected, what is the harm in continuing to produce new clothing at its current pace? Even if one were to acquire ethically crafted clothing, the raw materials that are required for new garment fabrication are taxing on the planet’s resources. Take two common textiles, polyester and cotton. Polyester is a synthetic fabric that is derived from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource. In addition, polyester production releases emissions that harm ecosystems and human health. Cotton is an unsuspecting material. While praised for its ability to break down after being discarded, its initial production requires vast amounts of water and pesticides, once again risking ecosystems and people’s health. While buying ethically made garments should be encouraged, sometimes its impact on the environment can negate its positives.
In addition to pre-consumer concerns, there are also post-consumer issues. The immediate
availability of cheap textiles has led to an attitude of mass waste. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that in 2018, 13 million tons of clothing and footwear reached municipal solid waste, with 9 million tons, or 70% of it, ending up in landfills. At first glance, the solution could be to donate more often to secondhand clothing stores instead of disposing of it in landfills, but this still leaves much to be desired. The current number of donated clothing outpaces the demand for thrifted clothing. When American thrift stores cannot sell their products, they get bundled and resold overseas. Each year, this could amount to about 500,000 tons of exported used clothing, most reaching low-income countries. If left unsold in low-income nations, from there it can become “solid waste, clogging rivers, greenways, and parks, creating potential for additional environmental health hazards.”
There are enough garments already present. People’s go-to for “new” clothing should be secondhand stores, not unused clothing.
However, buying preowned clothing is not the end-all-be-all solution. Reorienting our shopping habits to the secondhand market is a step in the right direction, but clothing will continue to go to waste if we do not curb our current consumption rate and preserve what we already have. No matter the origin of a wardrobe, there is a duty to maintain articles of clothing for as long as possible. Of course, garments will need to be replaced once they are too worn or outgrown, but living in a world of low-cost clothing, current ideas of what is “worth” keeping might be warped. It was not long ago that sewing and mending skills were learned out of necessity. Pressed to make clothes last, people would alter and mend clothes as needed. Now, in a post-sewing society, it will take intention to repair and modify clothing. If one’s size changes, consider adding to or trimming a garment before judging its disposal. If clothing has threadbare spots, sew or iron a patch over it.
One does not need to be an haute couture sewist to conserve their closet.
When considering other forms of environmental and human rights harm, admittedly, clothing waste and manufacturing problems are not as overwhelming when compared to other human activities. That said, massive impacts start with small changes, and one must strive to make as many changes as one can manage. For those who view clothes as purely utilitarian, they may already make less of an impact by not following trends. However, as someone who prides herself in using fashion as self-expression, it is crucial to me to know that my hobby is not putting further strain on our Earth. Those who take their style seriously should adopt a mindset that considers the human and ecological impact of their style. A fashion statement can go beyond the actual items, and an item’s origin speaks to the wearers’ values.
Now, the question is: where to buy secondhand? If you are lucky enough to live near Indianapolis, IN, it would be worthy to visit the emerging “thrift district” in the Fountain Square neighborhood.
Take the lime-green building that hosts Lily’s Labyrinth (insta: @lilys.labyrinth) on Prospect and Laurel Street. Hailing from Muncie, Indiana, Lily Bannon, the owner, decided to expand her Muncie thrift store into the Indy scene. When asked why she thrifts, she replied, “[t]he quality of the pieces – they already lasted so long!” She also explained that all trends eventually come back in style. “[It is exciting] finding something that your mom used to wear, or your grandma used to wear, and making it your own,” she stated.
Then there is Alyssa Jenkin’s alternative-focused Retrograde Apparel (insta: @retrograde_indy), just off Prospect and Shelby Street. When discussing some of the flak from thrift store owners or “resellers” (those who buy items from thrift outlets and resell them in their curated stores), she explained the scarcity mindset is that “[resellers] are taking all the good stuff. And I can tell you that that is absolutely not true.” She goes on to share that Goodwill and other secondhand outlets are “exploding with clothes,” and there is no shortage of fashionable used garments. When considering Fountain Square as a possible location to set up, she was worried there would be “stepping on toes” with so much thrift business. But she was convinced by neighbors that if there was development of a Fountain Square thrift culture, “people, even travelers, will know that’s the area to go find some really cool stuff.” So far, it’s working.
Outside of brick-and-mortar stores, Fountain Square also has a healthy rotation of pop-up markets. I wandered around the neighborhood during August’s First Friday and found Alisa Mahjoub of Synthesis Vintage (insta: @synthesisvintage) and Konner “Kloset” Jenkins of Kloset 14 (insta: @kloset_14) posted by the fountain. With the ambiance of a live DJ playing in the background, I gave the two an impromptu interview.
When asked about why we should thrift, Alisa stated, “If there are items out there that are usable and fixable, that is our responsibility as people right now on the planet to do as much as we can to keep them in rotation.” They added, “It’s fun! There’s the thrill of the find!”
Talking with Kloset, he let me know firsthand how good clothing gets tossed into dumpsters. He recalled going to an estate sale where, by his estimates, nearly two thousand dollars’ worth of clothing was sitting in a dumpster. Not wanting to pass up such a treasure trove, he asked the estate, “Can I just look in the dumpster?” Had he not been there, clothes in usable condition would have headed to the landfill.
A few years ago, I vowed that I would never buy an article of clothing brand new again, save for hygienic purposes. I realized that our collective well-being and environment were being risked by the mass manufacturing of unnecessary goods. Call it a coping mechanism, call it a call to action – to feel slightly sane in the face of doom, I wanted to have a sense of agency. I adore fashion and self-expression, but I saw these things were being tainted with unchecked consumerism and production. I decided I could stop being a customer - and world citizen - who excused labor violations and ecological destruction. Instead, I bought secondhand clothing and mended my current wardrobe in hopes of making a small but necessary change. I hope a growing number of people will do the same.
Photos courtesy of and written by Jaqueline Gaeta
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