Editor’s Note: This story has been updated in the online version to include an attribution for a statistic about clothing waste in the United States.
This is a column and does not reflect the views or opinions of the Daily Barometer.
With fast fashion reaching an over-consumptive “point of no return,” thrifting is becoming more popular. The clothing has more value, reusing old clothes lowers your impact on the environment and it can be a necessary resource for people who can’t afford expensive clothes that don’t last very long.
However, thrifting can also devolve into a grossly consumerist practice. I’ve seen t-shirts for sale in vintage stores for $100. Salem, a volunteer at Heartland Humane Thrift Shop, said that with the rise of social media, thrifting is becoming “in.” This, he explained, leads to a lot of “price-hiking.”
Luckily, we are spoiled here in Corvallis with the plethora of thrift-related resources available to us. We have stores like Heartland Humane, as mentioned above, that serve to provide affordable clothing and other goods. They are also a charitable organization that supports the animal shelter under the same name.
As Cole Pearson, a fourth-year student at Oregon State University explained, “(With) today’s political climate, it’s important to know who you’re supporting.”
Goodwill still stands as a monolith in the thrifting world. However, some complain about their price increases. Emma Bain, a first-year transfer student at OSU, no longer shops there. Other great options include OSUsed and the Arc.
With the rise of thrifting, we’ve also seen the rise of “vintage” stores that specialize in marketing an older style. If these stores are not careful, they can fall into the same pattern as any other fashion retailer — they are often very expensive and for-profit.
This is likely because of the social media trend that thrifting has become, as Salem spoke about. For many, thrifting is not utilized as a mere tool for sustainability or saving money, but as a specialized and highly unique fashion outlet.
Jairus Lovell, the owner and founder of a popular vintage clothing store downtown, TSA Vintage, explained that there is now a “lot of value in things from the past.” In fact, the whole spirit of the shop harkens back to an older day.
The radio played the James Hunter Six, the changing room had a large poster of Frank Sinatra’s mugshot and a stack of old books included Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Possessed.”
His store, Lovell explained, serves as a bit of a mix between thrift and vintage, offering some expensive pieces (I saw a jacket on sale for $120 dollars), to affordable options including a five dollar bin.
Buying clothes from the people over at TSA as well as any of the thrift stores in Corvallis allows one to continue the cycle of use. We can get so much more out of an item than we usually do. It turns out that American consumers waste an average of 81.5 pounds of clothing per year, according to an article by Earth.Org.
I know I have found myself in the cycle of continually buying cheap clothing that doesn’t last. I usually end up in this cycle because the price of fast fashion is oftentimes cheaper than a nice brand or a vintage store (but not a down-to-earth non-profit thrift store!). However, I always end up spending more money in the end replacing torn and cheap clothing.
Another major cause of wasteful clothing purchases is Halloween, which is just around the corner. Instead of buying a poorly made Halloween costume from Spirit Halloween, go to a thrift store and put together an outfit that works for Halloween, but also for other occasions!
So go out and thrift! However, don’t let it become yet another source of overconsumption and unnecessary spending. Consumption has become egregiously ingrained into our culture, and that attitude can infect anything, no matter how sustainable it looks on the outside. I just hope that thrifting can stay sustainable and cool for as long as possible.
