Consumers can actively promote environmental sustainability while saving money and gaining exposure to unique pieces by shopping at thrift stores and trying to reuse or upcycle old items.
When buying new products, consumers might evaluate whether their choices are sustainable. Fast fashion encompasses cheap garments that are made with low-quality materials.
“Fast fashion is more acceptable,”science teacher Ian Burley said. “It is cheap, it is available, and it is not going to break the bank.” Consumers are externalizing costs by allowing manufacturers to mistreat workers in exchange for new items at low prices. Though these items may be cheap to purchase, “somebody else is paying for what we are not,” Burley said.
Thrift stores take old or used items by donation and resell them for a new life.
“Thrifting is beneficial to the environment,” Burley said.
Thrift stores do not only sell clothes or furniture, but often a variety of items.
“It is easier to say what we don’t sell,” thrift store director Sarah Bergin said “which would be white appliances, so washers and dryers, big appliances, or gas and propane powered equipment,” Bergin said. According to Bergin, Care and Share does not take items from smoke households and is very thorough when screening baby items.
According to Burley, clothes cannot be recycled, so they are thrifted. Reusing and upcycling clothes saves “time, money, energy and resources.” Aside from the environmental benefits, there are other reasons people shop at thrift stores. For those interested in fashion, thrift stores offer a new variety of options.
“I like to wear very unique pieces, and when I’m thrifting something, especially if it is a vintage item, you are almost guaranteed that no one else is going to be wearing it,” senior Rachel McLaughlin said.
Buying used items is also significantly less costly compared to buying brand-new items.
“The low prices are definitely a grab,” senior Shannon Stover said.
According to Stover, thrifting is not just about shopping but is also a fun thing to do with friends.” Buyers may not want to thrift depending on the items they are looking for.
“When you are thriftting, you can’t look for a specific item as easily as you could if you were buying new,” McLaughlin said. “You are just going through the racks with your hands and hoping that you find something you like.”
As clothes are available in no particular order of season or style, there is no guarantee someone can go into a thrift shop and find exactly what they are looking for
However, the variety of options does raise the chances of finding unique pieces.
“You usually find something every time you go, even if it’s not what you came in expecting to get,” Stover said.
Thrifting is losing its stigma with younger generations.
High school to college-aged shoppers seem to be more interested in buying from thrift stores.
“I think the younger generation is really focused on not making such a big carbon footprint,” said Care and Share administrative assistant Madison Niness.
Due to their long-lasting nature, Bergin also believes, “There is a big movement of younger people to only wear unsynthetic clothing.”
A common issue at thrift stores is resellers. Resellers purchase items from thrift stores and sell them for higher prices online.
Though it has become more common recently, Bergin said this is not a new problem.
“They are always on their phones,” Bergin said.
“Everyone thinks they are going to find a treasure.”
Secondhand stores can become a space for the community and families.
According to Stover, she likes to thrift at other shops such as Goodwill, but feels Care and Share is her “thrift shop home.”
Certain shops can cement themselves in the community by building strong relationships with their donors and customers.
“At the holiday time, a lot of families come here after their meal with their family,” Bergin said.