12 FEATURE
DATE OCTOBER 23, 2020
Trend or Necessity?
Junior Annie Niemuth looks through one of the many racks in Savers Sept. 27. There has been controversy on whether or not those who are able to afford new clothes should be able to partake in thrift shopping. Photo by Lily Sage
Story and Alternative Coverage by Ellie Buttell | Writer | Photos by Lily Sage | Opinion Editor
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With the recent popularity surrounding thrift shopping, students are asked their opinions on thrift shopping becoming a trend.
hrift stores are among some of the most popular forms of shopping in America, traditionally used by families who cannot afford expensive clothing brands. Throughout the U.S., 1618% of the population shop at thrift stores regularly according to Deal News. However, in recent months, thrift shopping has become extremely popular among people who can afford to wear unused clothes from brands like Target or any other retail store. The main audience causing this spike in popularity are teenagers. The reason for thrift shopping becoming a major trend is unknown but sophomore Charlotte Malone has an idea. “Lockdown,” Malone said. “No one really had anything to do, so I think a lot of people started experimenting with what kind of clothes they had.” Most thrift stores opened up as soon as
possible after being shut down from the peak of COVID-19. Stores like Goodwill reopened as soon as possible and put social distancing measures into place. Around 85% of small stores closed down during COVID-19, according to the U.S Chamber of Commerce. Thrift stores became one of the only “department stores” left open. There are many other ideas as to why thrift shopping became so popular, such as employment rates dropping and TikTok trends circling around. Senior Grace Swanson gives her thoughts on why. “Styles from other generations, per se, and kind of wearing clothes from different times has become definitely more popular, which is cool,” Swanson said. St. Teresa’s itself has a generations day during spirit week, endorsing dressing as older generations. Thrift shops can be used to find vintage clothes because of the huge
variety of clothing available. With recent discoveries around fast fashion, the want to thrift shop has become even more popular. With the arising information surrounding the poor work environment and low pay for fast fashion workers, younger generations have attempted to stop buying from these companies. “People have been more consciously aware of supporting fast fashion,” Malone said. Fast fashion workers can make anywhere from 58-90 cents an hour. It is estimated that the fast fashion industry is partly made up of 170 million child labor workers, according to Unicef. “I think it’s more of a human rights thing and just being more socially and economically aware of where your money’s going,” Malone said.
