The Gentrification of Thrifting

By Sunaina Jacob

There are plenty of benefits that come from thrifting — it’s undoubtedly better for your purse strings and arguably more sustainable. As a result, it’s become almost a cult-like trend, with many major influencers ditching the “new in” collections for vintage pieces they’ve snapped up from their local charity shop (at least when another savvy thrifter hasn’t beat them to it!). But thrifting has come under intense scrutiny in recent years – and for good reason. Mass thrifting is driving up prices and creating a scarcity of good items in second-hand shops. This rising popularity is depriving underprivileged locals from getting their hands on affordable (and sustainable) garments. The argument runs like this: for them, thrifting isn’t a hobby, but a necessity.

But it was only a few short years ago that shopping second-hand was something to be looked down on. It was a sign of poverty; the privileged wouldn’t, couldn’t, dare to buy a vintage Burberry trench coat (that was almost certainly a knock-off, but my god did it look real to us) from the charity shop at the end of your street that smelled like dust and smoke. If we did, we would be called a “chav” which, as Owen Jones points out in his 2011 book, “draws on a long, ignoble tradition of class hatred.” Fast-forward nine years since its publication, thrifting is more common than ever in the UK. We now face a sad inversion – the same wealthy class that sneered at poorer people buying from thrift shops have now moved in, bought all the good clothes, and are sneering that poorer people are being ‘unsustainable’. One only needed to see the reaction on Twitter when shops reopened to see that there was an unmistakable element of class hatred emanating from those condemning the queues outside Primark. 

During lockdown, for example, online sales of used goods on eBay were up 30% in the UK, and rival fashion resale site Depop said it has also seen record sales in the UK, US and Australia, signing up 20 new users a minute in July with traffic on its app tripling year on year. Oxfam also said that sales at its online shop were up 111% in the last week of August, compared with the same week last year.

However, as a result of booming interest in the second-hand sector, the average price of buying second-hand has increased, potentially pushing those that were once reliant on second-hand clothing industry out of the charity shops, right into the grip of fast fashion. Indeed, some thrift stores have increased their prices to be level with that of other high street stores. Worse, an ‘upcycling’ industry has sprung out of this new trend, with people buying cheap vintage clothing and then selling it on at a massive mark-up. These forces are combining to price out those with less disposable income, and thus often, its cheaper to buy at the Boohoos of the world than it is to buy from your local Oxfam. For the working class, low-income families of this country and around the world, the more sustainable option for shopping has now almost completely slipped out of reach.

These changes in the second hard market now mean that the environmental argument for thrifting may also be questioned, when the market is now saturated with fast-fashion goods. Being sustainable has become the mainstream culture, and is particularly popular with Millennial and Gen Z consumers. More often than not, sellers on Depop and other such sites sell clothes from brands like Topshop and Zara, produced less than a year ago, as “vintage” items. This false advertising of cheap quality clothes means that the product will definitely not last more than a year or two, eventually going back into the dump of clothes to give away, or even worse, be thrown away. The rush to be ‘sustainable and socially conscious is in fact eating away at the claims of second hand shopping to be either of those things – pricing out poorer people who need it, and reducing the claims of the second hand sector to be sustainable.

So, what is to be done? Is there a right way to be ethical when it comes to shopping? Yes to both, but it requires a little thought. Instead of considering sustainability a bandwagon we can jump on to look good, we can be more helpful by being conscious of the factors impacting secondhand shopping, in the same way one might critique the fast fashion industry. Begin, perhaps, by researching thrift stores around you a bit more. Are there thrift stores that are slightly more expensive, but still cheap enough for your budget out there? This can mean that people who need cheaper clothes still have the option of buying great items for themselves, while you can still be trendy and sustainable.

Finding out how your thrift stores give back to the community is essential to being sustainable, as well. There are many thrift stores out there helping fight poverty and other essential causes, but there are also some capitalising on the new market. Knowing where your money goes is always a good idea. The biggest way to give, though, is donating high-quality unused clothes to thrift stores and charity shops. They are constantly in need of items to add to their stock since more people tend to buy, rather than give. 

If being sustainable and ethical is what you’re hoping to achieve, and you have a little more disposable income, try shopping locally, or with smaller, sustainable brands. The items may be pricier, but they leave a better carbon footprint, they pay their workers a proper wage, ensure that modern slavery does not occur. Often they’ll use locally sourced materials of good quality to produce clothes that will last you a long time, and offer you that guilt-free feeling!

In short, like many modes of consumption, secondhand shopping can have its drawbacks. That’s not to say it’s bad, or you shouldn’t do it. But as with all things when you’re trying to make ethical choices, you just need to give it a little thought. Secondhand shopping isn’t a panacea for the issues the fashion industry faces. Thus we need to apply the same critical eye we do when browsing the local thrift store for a nice top, to what’s happening within the broader industry and our communities.