There’s a whole lot to unpack in this article, including, “are well-off people shopping at thrift stores depriving genuinely poor customers of clothing options?”; “are you being a shabby-chic poseur?”; and “is there simply too much used clothing because of too much consumerism?”

Depends how much that 24.99 shirt would cost new. 24.99 for a plain non brand name shirt that isn’t well made, yeah that’s ridiculous. But 25$ for a well made silk blouse? How much would that cost new? It would not be 25$...

Speaking from my recent thrifting, I’ve found numerous older Lands’ End and Levi and old Old Navy shirts and flannels and sweaters for about five bucks apiece, not counting. Super durable articles for less than you’d pay at a fast fashion outlet, and the Goodwill racks hadn’t been raided for those pieces even in the…

I am wondering what the name of this ethical company is because I’d like to check them out! I buy my dresses from eShakti for $65-90 each. Although they are not a sustainable company as far as I know, they give you the option of buying by standard sizes, or having them make it custom to your measurements for like $12…

My favorite thrift store (contributes to the arts around town, as well as helping those that need it) has things behind the counter that they know are worth something. Coach bags, collectibles, rarities, etc... They’re marked at decent prices, but they’re also what covers the overhead.

I’m kind of with you—and I don’t think it’s cold. Thrifting is fun, and it’s a hell of a lot more sustainable than a lot of other fun things, plus, whatever else you’re doing, you’re at least seeing some of your money go into the community in reasonable ways. Besides, I’m not necessarily looking for fashionable…

Yep—good show, good episode, and exactly what is at stake here. There is no way to be entirely “clean” in our way of living, no way to create zero negative impact.

I do feel eager to stem the purchase of new cotton from China, considering how it is produced.

I don’t care if people are buying things to resell. They’re still making money for the thrift store.

It hasn’t been cheaper to buy used (or to make your own clothes) for a long time. If you want cheap you go to WalMart or cheaper stores in the mall or buy things on clearance.

I remember going to an outlet mall with my…

I’m sorry but this is pretty much already happening.  The responses to that guy on Tiktok who buys old furniture, patches it up/cleans it up/showcases it well and resells it on FB marketplace: you’d think he was depriving them of their god given right to pay $20 for an old chair instead of $100 except they were never…

Also this: “There is little evidence that suggests thrift shop prices are uniformly rising in response to secondhand clothing trends.” That should’ve been the end of the article. 

I don’t want to sound cold and uncaring, but listen, thrifting is one of the few sources of dopamine left in my exhausting suburban existence. I will dragging my white housewife ass out of the house, over to Starbucks, and then on my monthly Goodwill trip and you can pry my vintage Baby Phat jeans out of my cold, dead…

Going through tons of clothes in multiple different locations, washing them, repairing them, taking photographs to put online is not a simple easy get rich quick scheme. To create a curated vintage store with a following that is profitable is work. No one is taking away all the good clothes, the people reselling them…

In the Before Times, our local Goodwill stores had these HUGE, once a year blowout sales of all the shiny, sequined, boa-ed stuff they’d had donated over the year--it’s basically Black Friday but for terrific sequined smoking jackets. Professional thrifters treat this as their wedding day and Christmas combined. They…

The debacle of where to buy clothes then is best summed up by a TikTok video from the user @curlie_fries, who rattles off her options in a breathless monologue. “What I’ve learned on TikTok is that I can’t shop at thrift stores because I contribute to the gentrification of thrift store prices,” she says. “But I also…

Do you have a Buy Nothing group in your area? Check that out. Of course, that’s still ethically fraught because it tends to be split on socioeconomic lines as it’s based on historic neighborhoods which are definitely drawn on race based boundaries in this area. There’s a whole discussion in our current one about how…

Unfortunately there is just SO MUCH churn in fashion you can’t deplete a Goodwill of clothing even if you wanted to.

I worked at a thrift store for years, and almost all of our resellers were low income people. It’s a lot of work for a small margin, and frankly if you’re already affluent it would not be a good hustle.

Seems like if you’re buying clothing at a thrift store because you can’t afford to buy it new, this business of re-selling probably doesn’t affect you at all. There’s plenty of stock and the prices are still substantially lower than buying new. I generally buy clothes (and everything else) used, if I can, because I am…

I’ve been a thrifter all my life. I’ve noticed a difference in prices. Most stores have a “boutique” section these days and often it’s funny because the higher priced items are really not desirable or in fashion, just brands that used to cost a lot of money.