By Luccia Moraes The majority of my closet is made up of clothes I have thrifted. Thrifting is shopping at second hand stores and wearing reused clothes. But it's more than that. While second hand places may be considered to be dirty, gross, or cheap, there are so many benefits to thrifting. By avoiding fast fashion, high prices, and unsustainable clothing, you are actively contributing to helping the environment. Give thrifting a chance; you never know what you might find. Fast fashion is inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends. Typically fast fashion clothes are made by extremely underpaid--or unpaid--workers in foreign countries, and a lot of the time, those workers are children. Fast fashion is an extremely ignored issue, and lots of people may be unaware they are contributing to it. One of the reasons it's so popular is that fast fashion clothes are usually very affordable. I'm guilty of it too. But there are better alternatives. Items at thrift stores go as low as a couple dollars for trendy and relevant clothes, while also not supporting abusive production methods. Another plus to thrifting is its sustainability aspect. Sustainable fashion is a big part of helping eliminate waste and making consistent recycling a reality. We can keep re-wearing, and donating, and continue a cycle, so the same clothes get a second, third and fourth life. According to The Huffington Post, “In 2018 alone, the worldwide fashion industry contributed 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions [into the atmosphere].” That is significant potential environmental damage that could be avoided. Clothes are rarely recycled—only about 13% in 2018, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Manufacturing, shipping, production, and waste are all environmental costs that come with strictly buying new clothes. To help you get started, here are some places within half an hour of Newtown to thrift
There are also some online options, if you don’t feel like leaving the house for the day.
Those are my favorite thrift stores, and you should try them out too! Be a part of a more sustainable, environmentally friendly future of fashion. Thrifting is a completely fun experience, and you can buy as much as you want (within reason) without completely emptying your pockets. So next time you need some new clothes, check out a thrift store!
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