Thrift shopping is the new fast fashion

Thethrift shop held at Bishop’s University as part of the Eco-Week programming will be donating to charities in the Eastern Townships. This event, organized by the Environmental Club in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Office, SRC and the CASA fashion show was held on Feb. 6.

The thrift shop made me consider my own relationship with shopping and overconsumption. As someone who likes fashion, I have been naturally driven to thrift shopping – the act of discovering some gems in a bunch of unwanted items. For me, it is an awesome way to shop because it does not break the bank, and I am able to wear cute stuff while saving the planet.

However, I was shocked to learn only a few items were sold in stores. Indeed, “[…] about 80 to 90 percent of donated clothing isn’t being resold in Canada,” wrote Paul Jay in his CBC article “Here’s where your donated clothing really ends up”.

In my opinion, the thrift shopping experience is also enforcing inequity. Unwanted items are sent to emerging countries and landfills.

“I don’t think we should be exporting our garbage to developing countries, and I would put donated clothing in pretty much the same bucket,” said

Is thrift shopping the new fast fashion? I think so, because the second-hand market is directly linked to overconsumption and capitalism. You may have seen on your social media a lot of consumers denouncing that in some thrift shops, such as in Goodwill, there are even more low-quality items from Shein than before.

So, what can we do? No matter how I think about this issue, the answer will never be perfect, yet I think the best way to consume is to engage with and learn more about local initiatives.

For example, the thrift shop held at Bishop’s is an interesting event because the clothing items were given by the university’s students. The revenue earned and the unsold articles will be donated to the women’s shelter in Sherbrooke.

For me, mending our items is also a more sustainable way to consume. A mending table was put in the Gait, to help students learn about the basics.

But ultimately, I think the only way to slow down consumerism, the waste management problem and inequality, is to diminish our way of consumption.

Colin Ahern, Opinions Editor » thecampus.opinions@gmail.com