Hate the takes that “wahhh skinny girls are taking all the clothes at thrift stores” or “wahhh people are up cycling thrift store clothes” shut up first off and second off there is an over abundance of thrifted clothes. So let’s talk about it because it’s a hill I’ll die on.
The average consumer is purchasing 60 to 70 percent more clothing than in 2000.
This is just one store but on average many large thrift stores who don’t buy items but take donated items receive over 1,000 donations a day.
The US exported over $675 million of used clothes to countries across the globe in 2018, according to the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Division.
In 2016, the East African Community (EAC), whose member countries include Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda, proposed a ban to prevent importing used clothes and shoes, which some political leaders have attributed to the decline in local textile economies and also are contributing to clothing landfills in towns and cities. You may think third world nations “need our clothes” but that’s far from the case.
84 percent of all unwanted clothes end up in landfills.
Only 10% of donated items are actually sold, according to the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association. Guess where the rest go. Either landfills or overseas in other nations landfills, ruining their local economies.
Now that some stats were given let’s talk about it. I’d rather see young teenagers (which a majority of of those who upcycle are GEN Z) be creative or be able to make some extra money by finding pieces and either redesigning them or selling them. The current style is really all over the place and I mean that it’s very diverse, there’s not “one popular” style. Ive seen teenagers take old sweater vests and style them with a cute outfit. The fact people have an issue with other people redesigning outfits or reselling outfits from a thrift store is either just jealously or plain ignorance and outrage based in self pity. There’s hundreds and thousands of thrift stores and so many clothes just go to waste. Also saying “they are taking the cute clothes” isn’t an excuse to hate these people mostly when cute clothes is so subjectively defined due to the diverse fashion sense that has come out of the recent years and it’s not true. There’s a local thrift shop near me that buys vintage pieces, it’s super cute and every day they receive new items. They NEVER run out of “cute pieces” because they get around 2,000+ pieces offered to them either through donation or through reselling. Thrift stores can receive up to 5,000 items in a day depending on how large they are. The issue that needs to be addressed is overconsumption. Due to fashion sense being a keen part of someone’s personality, people feel the need to stack their closet with items they may never wear. It’s mindless consumption. Yes, hold corporations accountable I agree but you know what’s driving mass production? Mass consumption. The more you continue to fill your closet with 100+ pieces of clothing the more you are contributing to the textile industry and those pieces of fabric ending up in landfills. The fabric can only be upcycled so many times. That’s why I don’t understand when I see people complain about higher prices for material that does breaks down or material that lasts a very long time. The longer you keep a piece of clothing the better it is for the environment and your wallet. People wear a shirt once and then donate it or just keep buying clothes. This will probably make some people mad but idc. I’m not saying go minimalist but I am saying it’s okay you don’t need that tenth shirt that slightly looks like your second. Clothes are material items and fashion evolves, be a conscious and mindful consumer or simply don’t complain about the problem 🤷♀️
