Thrift shopping helps the environment

Buying second-hand is back in vogue as people are becoming more environmentally conscious and looking to live more sustainably.

These factors, coupled with the ease of online purchasing and a stagnant economy, have seen the bargain market grow exponentially in recent years.

According to a 2023 report by ThredUP, an online marketplace for second-hand clothing and accessories, the global second-hand clothing market is expected to nearly double in value by 2027, reaching US$ 350 billion.

Meanwhile, SCB EIC, the research arm of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), predicts that the Thai second-hand fashion market will grow by 15% over the period 2024-2027. The estimated value of the market in 2023 was about 1.8 billion baht.

Sustainable, stylish and savings to boot

While there is still a stigma about buying second-hand, some people say pre-worn clothing and vintage pieces offer unique styles that enable them to pull off a style statement. Plus, they are environmentally friendly and easy on the budget, helping them save money.

Nok, 48, a permanent make-up artist, has fallen in love with thrift shops. She shops not only for second-hand outfits, but also pre-owned bags, shoes and accessories as well as used household items.

“Thrift shopping makes me very happy. And I think, it makes the planet happy too,” she says.

Buying used, she notes, helps reduce textile waste and the demand for raw materials and resources to produce new garments while minimizing the environmental impacts of production.

“When the season ends, clothes that are out of style and unsold are thrown away and dumped in a landfill. Fabrics take years or even decades to decompose,” she says.

Nok was a sales manager in fashion for more than a decade. She also owns an online store for pre-owned vintage jewelry.

According to Earth.org, as much as 92 million tonnes of clothing end up in landfills each year.

“Buying used means you can extend the life of the garment that would go to a landfill. So, we don’t need new pieces that require resources and energy to create. That’s good for the environment,” Nok says.

According to the website, the fashion industry is the second largest consumer industry of water, requiring about 700 gallons of water to produce one cotton shirt and 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans.

“I can buy a T-shirt and a pair of jeans without feeling guilty about how many gallons of water or fuel went into making it, she says.

The sales manager-turned-artist has been frequenting thrift stores since she was a teenager. She remembers the enjoyment of rummaging, digging deep into the piles of clothes to hunt treasures.

She travels from leading thrift stores to second-hand markets in the city that offer unique fashion pieces.

From MOTT (Museum of Tees Thailand) to Bang Sue Junction Shopping Center or the so-called Red Building and Chatuchak Weekend Market and from Happy Land to Pattavikorn Market and Shinjuku Outlet, she visits them all in search of vintage threads.

“It’s exciting and fun, just like you are hunting a hidden gem. Every single piece is unique and some of them are of high quality. I mix my finds with what I already have to create unique statements. Why be like everyone else?” the treasure hunter says, adding that fast fashion items are mass-produced and often poorly made using low-quality materials.

Thrift stores, she notes, offer a wide variety of items that allow shoppers to find pre-loved high-quality pieces and designer labels which are normally expensive at a lower price tag.

“My denim jacket cost just 150 baht. It’s from a local thrift store near Bangkapi. The brand is Calvin Klein. My almost-new shoulder bag was 600 baht from a vintage store near Chatuchak Market. It’s a hand-made in Italy item, which would cost some 30,000 baht new according to what I have seen on the ‘Net,” she says.

Most pre-loved items in thrift stores are well-maintained as they were given the best care by their original owners, she notes.

“Unwanted doesn’t always mean trash,” Nok says.

Fighting the second-hand stigma

Thrift shopping or buying hand-me-downs is often associated with financial status and class, which can discourage people from buying second-hand and contributing to a reduction of carbon footprint.

“For me, buying pre-owned is cool and environmentally mindful” Nok says urging people to consider buying unique and sustainable instead of buying new to help save the planet.

“Just let people know that the cool jacket they admired on you was from a thrift store. And educate them about the life cycle of the garment and how fast fashion harms the environment,” she adds.

Nok says she is okay with the idea of wearing pre-owned and vintage pieces as long as they are properly cleaned and comfortable as well as fit well and suit her style.

“I don’t mind hand-me-downs. When I was a kid, I wore outfits passed down from my sisters and relatives. They were still in good shape. The styles were classic. They looked good on me. I adored them and wore them again and again until they became rags,” she says adding that some clothes have a long shelf life as they are made of high-quality materials.

Nok says working in the fashion industry taught her valuable lessons in how to help the environment.

She is cutting back on buying new and plans to trade the high-quality second-hand clothes she no longer wears to an online platform and donate clean, washed clothes that are in good condition to people in need.

“I will give some of them to a maid whose relatives need clothes to keep the cycle of garment going. It’s great to learn that my clothes will have a new life,” the avid second-hand shopper with a green mind says.

Shopping secondhand not only enables Nok to be sustainable in style but also reduces her financial pressure and calms her anxiety, while making a positive impact on the earth.

“Retail therapy is a real thing. Thrift shopping helps save money and makes me feel I am doing something for the environment. And I also look great in my finds,” she says.

Buy less, choose well, make it last

Oon, a former manager of a leading fashion brand, says shopping for vintage clothing not only allows her to find unique and rare items but also has a positive impact to the environment.

She appreciates vintage clothing for its unique, quality, craftmanship, attention to detail and one-of-its kind designs that stand out in fast fashion, and confesses laughingly to being obsessed with vintage Harley Davidson T-shirts, vintage Levi’s jeans and vintage Comme des Garçons clothing.

“It comes with a quirky pattern, a bold silhouette and stunning stitches, using special techniques. Wearing vintage clothing, you don’t see someone else wearing the same thing as you. On top of that, you are reusing clothes instead of sending them to a landfill, which is good for the planet,

“I love my vintage Harley Davidson tees. With the brand’s logo and graphics on them, they are easy to style. I match one of them with a pair of basic jeans and it makes me feel great, connected to fashion without trying too hard,” she says.

Vintage garments are often made of better materials that are designed to last longer, while the quality and the craftmanship are superb, she notes.

“Vintage pieces are durable and can still look great for years. So, you don’t have to replace them as often, which again helps reduce waste. Current Levi’s, for instance, have the quality, fit and authentic look but are incomparable to vintage Levi’s,” Oon says, adding vintage is the new sustainable style.

She also supports the idea of rental fashion including the winter clothes rental service which is much more sustainable option than buying new.

“By renting even one outfit, you ensure that the product is reused and recycled. This helps reduce the environmental burden caused by textile waste,” she says.

Well aware of how the textile and the fashion sectors affect the environment, Oon says she will make thoughtful purchases that prioritize well-made, high-quality pieces that last as well as suit her lifestyle, comfort and needs, which help reduce waste and the demand for constant replacements.

“I will invest in quality, not quantity. And I will buy items I know I will wear and love until they wear out and also make me feel good, comfortable and confident,” she says.