What is the main problem?
In recent years, thrifting has begun to shift from an opportunity to find affordable and
fashionable clothes into paying a premium for the exact same items. The idea of thrifting is to
find secondhand clothes for a significant discount, however, trend culture has directly caused
prices to skyrocket and damage thrifting culture. These increased prices completely take the
purpose of thrifting away, making cheap into luxury. Unfortunately, this means that thrifting
culture is changing, and that is a problem.
How this affects communities:
Thrift stores were intended for communities and people that were economically unprivileged and
in need. These people were given a chance to find clothing necessities and upgrade their
wardrobes with low priced items. Moreover, these stores were meant to give disadvantaged
communities a chance to stay up to date with society, while avoiding financially straining prices.
Since social media has pushed thrifting into a trend, traction to vintage and thrift stores has been
at an all time high. There is no purpose in having thrift stores designed for wealthier and
economically privileged people, as those would simply be typical clothing stores, especially not
in or around low-income communities. Furthermore, consignment/vintage clothing stores have
not done anything but increase prices to increase revenue, rather than making adjustments to benefit the people in need.
What did social media really do?
The premise of increasing thrift store traction is not inherently bad, but becomes a problem when
stores attempt to scale prices with popularity. As platforms such as TikTok and Instagram
continue to rise in popularity, so has premium thrift culture. Clothing has become priced by
internet attention and desire, rather than true value. Furthermore, influencers have put spotlights
on varying styles of clothes, which in turn causes a spike in price and desire. Moreover, this
increase means people in need will lose needed opportunities. Thrifting has moved from a
beneficial, economic friendly practice, into a race for flashiness and trends. In all, thrifting was
never supposed to be about consumerism, but unfortunately, it has become just that.
Observing the Shift/What can be done:
In recent years, I have become something of an avid thrifter, and I have clearly seen the shift
happening. Personally, I tend to shop at the Salvation Army Family Store in Haverhill,
Massachusetts. Salvation Army is a donation-based, nonprofit thrift store with a focus on low
pricing and availability for everybody. The problem stems from the stores that brand themselves
as thrift stores, but simply sell marked up brands that can be found very frequently at stores such
as Salvation Army. When visiting these “thrift” stores, I feel shocked to find brands that
regularly are stocked in Haverhill for premium prices. As an observer and shopper, it is hard to
not feel taken advantage of by these stores.
However, it is possible to reverse or soothe this changing culture. Firstly, stores reselling these clothes must begin to be more mindful when pricing, or at least be clear about what they have. As a whole, new-age thrifters also must decide
to make a change; if people educate themselves on overcharging, stores will have to make
modifications to prices. Finally, a change in mindset is absolutely necessary, the stigma around
thrifting must shift back from trend to necessity. Social media could actually help push this back
into reality, but influencers must be on board.
Ultimately, if thrifting continues to become a high-cost trend, the culture could be permanently damaged, and thrifting could lose its true purpose within society.
