By now, you have probably heard of the horrors of fast fashion, most notably the destruction it wreaks on the environment and the human suffering involved in its entire supply chain. It is estimated that it takes up to 20,000 litres of water to make one new outfit consisting of one pair of denim jeans and one cotton t-shirt. As well, an exorbitant amount of clothes end up in landfills; the equivalent of one garbage truck full of textiles is dumped into landfills or incinerated every second. Textile workers in China are making below minimum wage and many factories producing fast fashion have dangerous working conditions, resulting in devastating incidents like the Dhaka factory collapse in Bangladesh, where more than 1,100 textile workers were killed.
There is a solution, and that is thrifting. Buy everything used and donate all your unwanted clothes and goods to a thrift store so that others may make use of what you no longer need. There is an abundance of amazing thrift stores here in the Fraser Valley that not only allow you to do your part for the environment by buying used, but also to support the work of incredible organizations who run them as social enterprises. M2W2 runs Hidden Treasures and they specialize in prison mentorship programs and community reintegration for formerly incarcerated people. LIFE Recovery house for women runs Life’s Second Chance, Cottage Thrift supports Mission Health Care Auxiliary, the Salvation Army’s thrift stores support their homeless shelters, and MCC thrift supports the multitude of relief and development projects Mennonite Central Committee is involved in worldwide.
Thrift stores may seem overwhelming at first due to the sheer mass and variety of products they hold. I have been shopping in thrift stores my entire life and 99 per cent of my clothing and household items are second hand, so I would like to pass on my tricks for finding the best items. If you feel particularly overwhelmed, it helps to make a list of items you really need in order to limit the sections of the store you will look in. However, I like to take my time to browse through the whole store while listening to a podcast. My best finds are often in places I wouldn’t expect, like the men’s sweater section or sporting goods. Only buy items that are screaming your name; if you have to think twice about whether or not you should buy something, you probably don’t need it and will never wear it, so leave it for someone else.
Know which stores allow exchanges. When thrift stores reopened after the first lockdown they all shared the “no-try-on” policy, leaving you to eyeball whether or not something would fit you right. Certain stores like Value Village allow for exchanges if you leave tags on and keep the receipt, but other stores like Hidden Treasures and MCC allow no returns or exchanges of any kind. Most of the time, I just accept the loss for any items I have bought from there that don’t fit and re-donate it or give it to a friend. If it’s a high-quality item that I think I could resell, I will put it on Facebook Marketplace and it usually sells within the day, often for more than what I bought it for.
Take the Thrift First pledge with MCC to pledge to search for items you need at thrift stores before buying them new, and you’ll be entered to win a giftcard to their stores. You don’t necessarily need to hit up thrift stores to shop second hand, either — you can browse specific items from the comfort of your own home with Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and Kijiji. As well, there are many curated Instagram accounts run by people who have already scoured thrift stores for you and feature their finds, such as Fraser Valley Thrift Finds, Thrift Bucket, and Yesterday’s Vintage. There are even some innovative, online thrift stores that allow you to buy and sell your gently used items online, such as ThredUp and Poshmark. Encourage your friends to thrift first as well by showing off your unique finds on social media and sharing where you got them.
Image: Hannah Morgan/Unsplash
