I wanted to talk about the ethics around thrift shopping, reselling and remake “thrift flipping” (as a choice not a necessity, everything in this thread will be about those with choice)

I think this issue is complicated because on one hand we have more clothing on this planet than we could all possibly wear and tonnes of it goes to landfill, but on the other hand people need easy access to quality clothing and that’s not simple.

For example, heavy coats and quality winter wear are hard to come by; these items are expensive new and usually people keep them for years, there’s low turn over and not as many donations. Buying these items when you have the choice to buy new or are reselling them

could stop a homeless or poorer person having warmth and comfort. Buying plus size items to cut up and remake into smaller sizes means you could be stopping a plus size person finding something in their size as those donations are also rarer.

I think thrift shopping is a wonderful thing but as sustainable fashion becomes more popular and vintage fashion becomes more trendy, and people are looking for cheap alternatives to fast fashion, there is extra pressure on thrift shops, many of which are run by volunteers.

How do you feel about this topic? Do you think it’s ok for curated vintage stores to source from thrift stores? Do you think there could be a new model that ensures clothing for all or do you think first come first serve is just the way of life?

Do you look into the ethics of a store before shopping there? How would you feel if the donations were going to support a cause you didn’t believe in?