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Fast Fashion vs. Thrifting: It's Time to Make The Switch

Updated: Jun 16, 2021


We’ve all been there. Scouring across the vast expanse that is online shopping and hoping to find the fashion pieces we want most.


From ASOS to Princess Polly, it seems like there is something for everyone via online shopping. What we fail to realize, in the heat of passion created from discovering our next favorite top or mom jeans, is the environmental and economical downfalls of those purchases. Perhaps you have been thrift shopping once or twice, maybe you know someone who goes all the time, but are you willing to commit to being a strictly-thrifting shopper? No? Well let me tell you why you might want to reconsider.


1. Finding That One-of-a-kind Piece

Left-hand side pictures fast/online fashion pieces while right-hand side pictures similar pieces found thrifting.


Despite the trials and tribulations I have encountered on my continuous thrifting journey, one thing is evidently clear — you can find some damn good one-of-a-kind pieces. Despite preconceived notions that thrifting can be a dirty or an uneventful experience, this is not always the case. Thrifting allows for the unique experience to come across pieces that no one, no trend, has. Finding unordinary pieces that are exclusive to your closet, and your closet alone, is what makes thrifting so special. If that’s not good enough, there is of course that miraculous experience of encountering a thrift piece that is so uncommon that you just can’t pass it up. For instance, I found these black, strappy, platform sandals at Goodwill for $7. Jeffery Campbell is selling nearly the same shoe for, wait for it, $115. Not to mention this $1 Juicy Couture purse I got at a Goodwill outlet that is listed on Depop for $85. Online shopping and fast fashion go hand-in-hand even when it comes to secondhand online realtors. Both of these forums involve consumers engaging in buying pieces that cost more than the process to make them. Many online shops and secondhand sellers choose to up the prices of the pieces they sell, but with good old fashioned thrift shopping -- the the deals are undeniably fair.


2. The Environment Wants You To



Screenshot from goodonyou.com that shows rating of SHEIN as a company, analyzing their ethical practices.


According to goodonyou.eco, some of your favorite online and fast fashion realtors are seriously bad for the environment. What this means, exactly, is that many fast fashion brands use chemicals and other practices that blatantly disregard the environment and are not sustainable for our ecosystem. SHEIN, for instance, has a 1/5 overall rating and their environment rating is “very poor.” Urban Outfitters was rated a 2/5 and has “[no evidence of action to reduce hazardous chemicals]” in their practice. The truth is, buying pre-loved and pre-used clothing is one of the best ways to contribute to bettering the environment. Buying secondhand not only decreases one’s engagement in hazardous environmental practices, but continues a more sustainable life cycle in the world of fashion. Not to mention, it’s cheaper for you! The only cheap aspect of our wardrobe should be how much we bought things for, not how much inadequately paid people were for making them.



3. Working Towards Your Individualized Identity


Two personal outfits that were thrifted. Right-hand photo taken by Lauren Shay.


There’s no denying that trends come and go, but how can thrifting help that endless struggle to keep up? One word: individuality. Standing out might not be everyone’s forte, but it can be a new goal. Buying and wearing pieces that no one else quite has in their closet is, indisputably, magical. Being able to craft one’s wardrobe with the clothes that they find perfect for them is more rewarding than keeping up with any trend. Thrifting allows for the opportunity to shape one’s closet into a more authentic and individualistic representation of who we really are. These two head-to-toe thrifted outfits made me feel like me, and I kept no trend in mind when picking them.

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