Thrift stores are the holy grail to lots of people, from those who seek a more affordable option, to folk who shop secondhand for sustainability reasons. There are also individuals who simply enjoy browsing piles of knick knacks and clothes in search of their gold.

No matter the reason, thrift shops are typically known for being affordable. People can arguably save over $1,700 by choosing to purchase their goods secondhand. According to PR Newswire, as much as 82% of Americans buy and sell previously owned items. The vast majority of them admit that their decision to do so has been influenced by inflation.

The pre-used item world seems to be booming. According to IBIS, the number of thrift store businesses in the US has been steadily increasing for the last decade, and has reached nearly 27,000 now, in 2023. Statista estimates that the global market for secondhand apparel alone can reach nearly 220 million dollars by 2026.

Some people might even call such growth a trend. A lot of them nowadays go treasure hunting in these stores to find unique pieces of clothing, maybe even something valuable for a much more affordable price. They also choose thrift stores to boycott the fast fashion industry and re-use instead of buying new things.

“Thrift stores have always had an important role in the community by making quality clothing items accessible to those with lower incomes. As of late, thrifting is often highlighted as one of the most sustainable options for shoppers and there is logic behind why that is. Thrifting helps to recirculate used clothing locally, extending the wearable life of these items, helps to keep them out of landfills and replaces the purchase of new goods with used ones,” Anika Kozlowski told Bored Panda.

Chelsea Liu, an 11th-grader passionate about the environment, spoke about how people can use thrifting to disrupt the mass production of clothes in her TEDx talk. She emphasized the negative impact fast fashion has on the environment and encouraged people not to spend their money supporting it.

She also indicated that by choosing secondhand pieces, thrifters save them from going to the landfill, which is already full of clothing—according to Chelsea, people in North America “throw away about 10 million tons of clothing every single year, which averages about 40 kilograms per person.”

Buying secondhand clothing is only one of the ways to lead a more sustainable life when it comes to fashion. People can try to build a capsule wardrobe to minimize the number of items they own (and ease the headache of figuring out what to wear each morning). They can also take part in a clothing swap or arrange one themselves. According to Forbes, an overwhelming majority of people (96%) believe their actions can make a difference, which is all the more reason to be more aware of our fashion decisions.

Anika also shared some fashion-related tips for those who want to be more environmentally friendly: “1) Shop your closet - you never know what you might find! 2) Organize your closet - when you know what you have and items are visible, you will be less likely to buy something new.”

“3) Learn how to take better care of your clothes. Proper care and maintenance will extend the life of your clothes by increasing their durability. Use a sweater shaver to remove pills, which often makes clothes look more worn than they actually are. Wash clothes less often - we think we need to wash clothes more often than they need to be. Wash in cold water and use an eco-friendly detergent. Don't use the dryer if possible, dryers reduce the lifespan of clothes. Drying clothes naturally in the air will help them retain their shape, they smell better, and save energy,” she said.

“4) Repair before you replace. 5) See if items can be tailored - this can refresh an older style or improve fit. 6) Swap clothes locally for a closet refresh. 7) Buy less, and if you do need anything, try to purchase high-quality items that will last.”

Clothing is not the only thing that can live through a renaissance, though. A lot of people look for used furniture that can be revived and stored in their homes, instead of taking another trip to the nearest department store. In addition to being an affordable way to furnish your place, it can become a source of income as well. Lots of people seek used furniture, flip it, and sell it for a profit. It also helps to stop yet another piece from going into the landfill.

Flipping furniture gained lots of popularity during the covid times. People were spending plenty of time at home, which allowed them to pick up a new hobby or start a DIY project. Some of them were likely influenced by a number of social media personas covering their journey of upscaling old furniture.

Old furniture is often found at yard sales—basically a cousin to the good old thrift store. People set up the things they no longer use for sale, and hope that as many of them as possible will be taken off of their hands. It’s a win-win situation, as both the customer and the seller are happy about giving the item a second life.

Nowadays, going to a yard sale might be a more financially sensible option than visiting a thrift shop. The pictures on this list show that some stores are going crazy with their prices. To add insult to injury, some of the items they sell are more expensive than their new counterparts, which defeats the purpose of encouraging secondhand shopping.

Even though the items in these pictures are way too costly, there are explanations for an increase in thrift store prices to some extent. The sustainable fashion expert described the reasoning behind it: “With greater consumption of new clothes comes greater disposal and donation. As thrift stores receive more and more donations, they require more labor and time to sort through the clothes. There is a greater proportion of donated items that can't be sold by the thrift store and thrift stores now have to manage this excess (e.g. recycling into rags/wipers, sold to exporters and landfill).”

“Then we also have the gentrification of thrift stores, which refers to the phenomenon of affluent shoppers now frequenting thrift stores. This inadvertently leads to thrift stores raising their prices, which makes once-affordable clothing inaccessible to those who need it most,” Anika added. “Rising prices ultimately harm those who thrift stores are there to serve - the lower income brackets. For those who can afford to shop thrift despite rising prices (which are still largely cheaper than most new garments), it doesn't appear to curb shopping habits.”

Anika Kozlowski pointed out that even thrift shopping might not be beneficial sustainability-wise if we don’t change our consumption habits. “Thrifting is essentially a byproduct of fast fashion and mass consumerism, as fast fashion requires fast turnover, which fuels the secondhand clothing trade. Thrifting now draws parallels to fast fashion as both models sell garments at low prices, consequently leading to overconsumption. If you are thrifting at the same volume as shopping for new clothes, our behaviors and values haven't fundamentally changed as we are still engaging in overconsumption.”

She expanded, “Thrifting is a sustainable option in the short term but there are still consequences and at the current rates of clothing overproduction and increasing donations, it is unclear how sustainable this option will be in the long term. While prolonging the life of clothing for a while, it does not stop overproduction of new clothing. In fact, the option of 'donating' may fuel greater consumption as we feel we have a responsible disposal option, the same way recycling does nothing to curb our consumption of new items or 'reduce'. We often forget about the first 'R' of the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle).”