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Hiya guys! I hope that you are all having a lovely weekend and an amazing Easter for those who celebrate! Thanks for taking a minute from your weekend festivities to read today’s Daily dose of green. This one is going to be on a fun topic: thrifting!
I LOVE THRIFTING! I admit that I may be a bit addicted—I go once a week at least. For this reason, I believe that there is no one more qualified to tell you about why thrifting is so great, both for the environment and your wallet.
For those who may not know, thrifting is the action of buying used clothes, furniture and so much more from a secondhand shop; think Goodwill or Savers. Since these pieces are not new, you can often find them for a much lower price.
Perhaps the most obvious reason that thrifting is “green” is because it reduces waste. Thrifting gives new homes to items that would previously end up in landfills.
Let’s take a break to talk about a very concerning issue: the rise of fast fashion. When you buy from places like SHEIN, Temu, Zara or H&M, these items tend to be made using poor materials, which means that they often get thrown away after only a few wears. In fact, 85% of textiles end up in landfills annually.
In addition, many fast fashion companies employ child labor or have unsafe worker conditions, which is something that you can avoid by thrifting. Manufacturing polyester and other synthetic fabrics is also highly energy-intensive and produces chemical pollution, which can lead to respiratory diseases.
The fashion industry also accounts for 10% of all global CO2 emissions. Thrifting uses far less water, energy and emissions; in fact, it was found to reduce emissions by 25%.
In addition to the environmental benefits, thrifting lets you curate a unique wardrobe and find pieces that you can’t find anywhere else.
Everything has a story at the thrift store, and that’s one of the things that I love about it most. If you’ve done your research you can find some real gems, but even if you haven’t, it’s still a good time.
Thrift stores also have incomparable prices coupled with incomparable quality. Look out for cotton, silk, wool and linen fibers and avoid polyester. Keep your eyes peeled for porcelain, crystal, china and anything old (vintage tends to be better quality).
As a long time thrifter, I will say that prices have become more expensive recently with the growing popularity, but still these prices are far lower than buying new. If price is important to you, be strategic: many stores run daily deals. St. Vincent de Paul, for example, runs 50% off deals daily. I promise that you can find lots of good stuff for under a dollar if you look hard enough.
Also, if prices are still too high or you just like a good deal, you could always try going to the bins. When the regular thrift store doesn’t sell something, it gets thrown in giant bins that you can pick through, where you pay by the pound.
In Cincinnati, we have Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul bins where items are usually priced around 1-$2 a pound. Keep in mind that the bins are not for the faint of heart and that you will need to dedicate a solid chunk of time to pick through them.
Before I wrap it up, I thought that I would share some of my favorite thrift stores in Cincinnati. In case you can’t tell, I really like St. Vincent de Paul stores, especially the Este location, which is right next door to the bins if you want to hit them both.
The Milford location is also great and HUGE; they recently expanded into two separate buildings for clothing and houseware. You really can’t beat St. Vincent de Paul for the deals.
Goodwill and Valley Thrift are also two great options, but in my opinion are more expensive (for a thrift store). The Salvation Army in Norwood is also nice and is in a cool historic building with good prices.
If you go to any of these stores make sure to let me know by emailing us at [email protected] or DMing us on Instagram @whhscbox. I can’t wait to see your environmentally-friendly finds!
Elena