Why We Sell Thrift and Vintage?!
finally deciding to dig through our closets and drawers, and get rid of that concert t-shirt that’s almost see through and wouldn’t even qualify as a rag at this point. Or get rid of those outfits that you bought when you decided, “Yep, this is me now… I wear dresses or, everyone needs a power suit or.... well you get the idea.
Anyways, it’s all done with the best of intentions. You get to purge your bedroom, take a trip down memory lane (while pondering…have I really had these underwear for 17 years??), and then drop off at your local clothing donation bins feeling a little proud that you made a contribution. Right?
That was a good thing you did, wasn’t it?
Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. The purpose of this post isn’t to make you feel bad about the countless bags of clothing you’ve dropped off, because again, we all have the best of intentions. And the bins don’t exactly say where the clothes are going.
I can’t speak for all companies of course, but upon doing some research have discovered that the contents of the clothing bins get picked up by their charity, and then sold as is to other companies (the same thing happens to clothing that sits on the shelf for a predetermined amount of time at the Salvation Army, etc.).
So, the charity you were intending to support does get their cash, but then where do your clothes go?
Companies that purchase these goods typically sell them overseas, usually to African countries. The problem with this is many African countries used to have a market for their own hand made and tailored clothing, but these small business were crushed by large second hand clothing suppliers thereby killing their own local market and making them dependent on our second hand goods (which, let’s be honest, is essentially our textile trash). This has caused the closure of 85% of textile plants in Kenya since the early 1990s.
Purchase second-hand! There is so much awesome stuff out there. I personally find it so much more rewarding to find something I love in a thrift shop.
Buy less!! There are so many negative impacts of fast fashion I would need a separate blog post to go into any detail. The fashion industry creates so much pollution from carbon emissions to wastewater, and they take advantage of the lowest paid workers in the world. Many of these workers in unsafe conditions. Let’s just say there’s a reason companies can afford to sell that top for $5.
Use and value the clothing you have until its last bit of life! If you’re just not into it, and it’s in good shape (well enough to be purchased by someone else) go ahead and donate it to your local thrift shop. If it has holes in it, turn it into a rag! There are so many creative and fun ideas out there to repurpose your clothing.
Above all, be mindful! There is enough clothing in this world, that no more would ever need to be manufactured. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
