Thrifting for the Future

Vintage and second-hand is the new way to shop. Not only are you saving the environment from toxic chemicals but you will also be getting a unique wardrobe.

Words and Design: Amelia Moys

Why should the children have to deal with this anymore? Children are unrightfully having to constantly touch and inhale these dangerous fumes whilst working quickly to ensure your clothing reaches the beloved shelves in the stores we adore so much. Fast fashion industries have been known for damaging our environment as well as being notorious for being one of the main sources of child labour, these both being highly unethical to human rights. It sounds so selfish doesn’t it? But sadly, fast fashion is a social issue which won’t ever really be solved. There’s so much pressure on these fast fashion companies; (which so many of us love may I add), to ensure the clothing is being produced at the cheapest price, to be sold at the cheapest prices, to ensure their consumers are constantly engaged. Thus, causing a lot of these international companies to look past the whole ‘green’ side of the industry. However, when companies do want to go more ‘green’ this often relieves pressures in one place but creates a new issue elsewhere, for example making clothes with organic cotton which can create a good image for the brand, still uses an unsustainable amount of water which is damaging to the environment. Fast fashion really does just come down to capitalism and consequence after all.

Although it is almost impossible to tackle this global issue, and as bleak as this might sound, there are ways younger and older individuals can show the world what’s known as fashion activism. Which in theory just means that they are making an impactful different by not participating in the fast fashion industries. No, this doesn’t mean not shopping at all, but shopping in a fun and economical way which is most commonly known as: thrifting. Thrifting is a cheap, fun and original way to purchase clothes, at a much cheaper price. Shopping second-hand is a great way to stand up to fast fashion companies, as well as a lot of the garments which are being sold secondhand. These tend to be a much higher quality and longer lasting. The more people who buy into thrift stores, the more that are helping to slow the consumption of clothes in fast fashion environments which is also known as ‘slow fashion’. A lot of second hand stores also have charitable foundations linked to them which means you would be buying into a good cause too. However, with so many people being so hooked on brand new items, the shiny label and the box it comes with it’s no wonder so many still buy into these fast fashion brands. However, you could always put that down to the fact that so many people just don’t understand how massive the problem really is.

A common trend which is quite commonly linked to thrifting is ‘vintage’ clothing or ‘retro’ clothing, which is typically a style or piece of clothing which was popular in a different era. It doesn’t seem like vintage clothing is going out of style anytime soon, because as time goes on it’s always changing and so many people these days love that reminiscent blast from the past style, not to mention all of the trend sellers out there who will be bringing back vintage garments back into all of our wardrobes. An issue with this though, is that fast fashion stores have picked up on this and try to take on the vintage look, obviously without it being a vintage item and just the style of vintage or retro clothing. This obviously makes it a lot faster for consumers to get their hands on the goods which loses all the fun of the thrifting and searching for a one of a kind pieces. This is a particularly sinister form of capitalism. However, I suppose it can only be as successful as the consumer allows it to be by using fashion-forward thinking and using your power to thrift to express yourself in a way which doesn’t damage the world we live in.