Thrifting: More Than a Trend, a Lifestyle With Purpose
By John Heneghan
Spring 2024
Have you ever thought about how the clothes you buy affects the world around you, or how you might always feel the need to find and buy the next new clothing piece? As a college student, I for one have always wondered how I could reduce the amount of clothing items that I purchase as a consumer and as someone who has an interest in fashion. This has become a more important factor in the way I shop recently compared to prior years. I know I’m not alone in this feeling, Ethan Kelly, a college senior at Loras College, when asked about what inspired him to start thrifting and how it has evolved over time said “I have been thrifting since freshman year of high school. I really was able to start off from seeing other people film it online or on YouTube. I would see people going to Goodwill and it piqued my interest. I liked the vintage look and didn’t want to spend a lot of money on clothes so thrifting was always a good option for me.”
What is Thrifting?
When people feel that they no longer need clothes, furniture, or other items that have been gently used or even not used at all, are brought or donated to “thrift stores” which usually sell these items for a largely discounted price. This idea has largely been trending throughout the past few years and has become a “trend” to some and mainly a younger audience. This doesn’t just have to be a trend - thrifting offers people clothes at a discounted price that can be used again and given a second life to be worn again by others. David Patel, helps run a small thrifting online resale store named V&N Resell, and is also long time thrifter himself says “I’ve always been into fashion and streetwear, but the best part of thrifting and what draws me back into it besides the environmental and financial impact is the people I’ve gotten to meet. From different events to going to the thrift stores with some of my best friends, it truly has its own little community and everyone has their own niche.” This perspective was relatable to me as a college student because I feel that there is a growing community of people who want to make a change and the switch to thrifting has been gaining more and more traction for those who might not have tried it out before. David Patel went on to explain how he has been able to define thrifting as a new passion and way to truly make new friends and connect with people he might not normally connect with or get the chance to in day-to-day life.
What’s the Point of Thrifting?
Looking back on my own experience of not knowing what exactly thrifting was to now understanding its purpose and implications, I have found that it offers multiple ways for people young or old to benefit from a sustainable lifestyle. Here are a few quick reasons why thrifting could be considered a good option for you:
Minimize your Wardrobe - This helps return clothes back into a cycle of people being able to get another life out of clothes that might not fit, be used, or wanted anymore. In return this opens up a person's wardrobe as well.
Bring New Life to Old Clothes - By buying clothes from thrift stores this allows for people to spend less to buy more but in a way that doesn’t harm the environment as much as fast fashion businesses. Using things like DIY projects or upcycling allows for this new life.
Help Avoid Fast Fashion - In short this idea of fast fashion is where you buy new and “trendy” clothes for an extremely low or cheap price. These websites that sell these clothes mass produce them and contribute to waste and excess production
Have an Impact on Sustainability and Environmental Impact - Sustainability is a huge part of thrifting and one of the main factors on why a lot of people choose to donate to thrift stores or purchase from them to help with living a more sustainable lifestyle
There is a growing community of people who want to make a change and the switch to thrifting has been gaining more and more traction for those who might not have tried it out before
Thrifting and Sustainability
You might be asking, “How do thrifting and sustainability go hand in hand?”. Well, I am here to explain how this concept works with this new term of “sustainability.” The core of how these two are hand in hand together is how both are centered around reduction of waste and excess materials. Every time someone thrifts a clothing item it is a win for sustainability and waste reduction. It gives a second life to these items and helps with diverting them from landfills and minimizing the environmental burden associated with their disposal.
The second life concept promotes people to incorporate a new cycle for their clothing, instead of buying clothes and throwing them away or constantly buying the newest and cheapest clothes. Thrifting itself serves as a powerful antidote to the resource-intensive nature of conventional manufacturing processes. Producing new clothing items requires vast and immense amounts of energy, water, and raw materials, contributing to environmental degradation, habitat destruction, and climate change. By opting for secondhand thrifted items, people reduce the demand for new production, thereby conserving those finite resources listed prior.
Community and Creativity
Another big part of thrifting that has really blown up for many people is how they have built communities, businesses, and friends from diving into thrifting. Thrift stores serve as hubs for social interaction, where people from diverse backgrounds come together to browse, barter, and bond over shared interests. The act of thrifting encourages resourcefulness, imagination, and self-expression, as individuals reimagine and repurpose discarded items in new ways. One personal way and example of community that I have seen with thrifting is how pages on social media post about their experiences or post items that people can review and even purchase if for sale. Apps like Instagram and TikTok are big hubs for this, and it is very easy to join one or try to start a community of your own. People are able to express themselves and show off what they think is cool or unique with their own outfits from thrifting.
There are also events, such as pop up’s. that happen where people can exchange thrifted items to people and consumers are able to travel there and meet others. People are able to contribute to this by buying their own thrifted items and exchanging them at these events.
Another quote from Patel when asked his thoughts on if he would recommend thrifting to college students or other demographics he said, “College students definitely, as there’s often a lot of school gear that gets donated. Some campuses are also pivoting to opening resale shops where students can donate items and other students can buy.” “I really think any demographic can get involved because there truly is something for everyone- whether that’s clothing from goodwill or furniture that’s going from Facebook marketplace a lot of people can find something they like.” I found this to be an important insight from Patel because of how this can also be tied back into the community concept that can be fostered into thrifting. Having schools do this would be a great way for people to meet and get involved with thrifting.
DIY / Upcycling
What is upcycling? That is a question someone who might not be involved with thrifting might ask. The simplest way to explain this concept is where someone might take an old and damaged garment and repurpose it or repair it with something else. Basically, it is taking old garments and creatively making them usable and “new.” If you are a college student reading this, this could be a way to bring about a new club to your campus where you and others could collaborate on fashion and be able to meet new people at the same time. The repurposing of thrifted items is such an interesting and innovative concept because it is clothing that has been through years and years of use and has many stories and memories attached to each piece and this idea of upcycling helps revive these items back into a new and second life.
With DIY and thrifting, it can be common or exciting for people to take this upcycling idea and make a living from it or start a group or club to do it with other people as well. This idea has been surging in recent years and has pushed the idea of thrifting even more. Because they go hand in hand they help repurpose and revitalize these old clothing items into a second wind of life.
Final Thoughts
After overviewing, researching, and analyzing what thrifting is, and what it has to offer to someone as a whole, I hope this post has been able to shine some light into the world of thrifting and what exactly it has to offer. If it has inspired someone who would either like to start to make a change for themselves, the environment, or others I would be ecstatic. If not, I hope you were at least able to keep an open mind and learn something new that can impact you and everything around you positively. Moving forward with thrifting shouldn’t be just another trend for this year, it should become a lifestyle for people to adopt into their own lives.
The best way to start is to just get out there! By visiting thrift stores and even purchasing just one thing from there helps and is a big part of a looming problem of trying to save the environment and help with sustainability. Search out pages on social media which showcase thrifted outfits, start your own. Local thrift stores in your area are always a good starting spot as well to start your journey. Anything of this sort is a good way to start with thrifting. Thrifting doesn’t just need to be a trend for you, it can be a new fun way to reimagine and revamp your wardrobe!
John Heneghan is a senior at North Central College and is pursuing his degree in marketing while also having managed cross country and track & field. John has always had an interest in fashion and has recently delved into the lifestyle of thrifting and everything that comes with it. He finds interest in how fashion offers everyone who goes into it a way to truly express themselves and show people ways they can do it as well. One of his favorite quotes on fashion and life is from the late designer, Virgil Abloh, “Life is so short you can't waste even a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do versus knowing what you can do.”