{"id":1367,"date":"2021-12-03T19:53:30","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T19:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/theragingtwenties\/?p=1367"},"modified":"2021-12-03T19:53:31","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T19:53:31","slug":"trendy-thrifters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/theragingtwenties\/2021\/12\/03\/trendy-thrifters\/","title":{"rendered":"Are trendy thrifters a cause for concern or the future of fashion?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kenzia Loucks, 17, stands in front of the Instagram wall that features the Mission Thrift Store in Orleans\u2019s trendiest items. Loucks manages the Instagram account and social media for the Orleans store. Photo by Joy SpearChief-Morris.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When Taniel Campbell, 21, needs to decompress or find a bit of time for herself, she can be found getting lost among the aisles of clothes thrifting at the South Keys\u2019 Value Village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campbell, a Carleton University student, discovered her love for thrifting two years ago after seeing curated thrift-store clothing was trending among Instagram influencers. Since moving to Ottawa this past May, she has become hooked on the fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the thredUP 2021 Resale Report, 33 million Americans bought second-hand for the first time in 2020 and 53 per cent of millennials and Gen Z shoppers said they expect to spend more on second-hand clothing within the next five years. The online second-hand retailer was launched in the United States in 2009 and since 2017 has released annual reports that track retail and consumer data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thrift Stores like Value Village and Mission Thrift Store have gained popularity as thrifting has become trendy among Gen Z and millennials concerned about shopping more environmentally sustainably on a budget. Yet, as thrifting becomes trendier, there is a debate among both shoppers and thrift shop managers over the impact this trend will have on low-income communities who rely on their local thrift store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Macklemore and Ryan Lewis\u2019 \u201cThrift Shop\u201d topped the Billboard charts in 2012, stealing your \u201cgrandpa\u2019s style\u201d suddenly became a popular trend with millennials, with the National Association of Resale Professionals reporting<\/a> a spike in sales within the resale industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou had to go to the thrift store and find some sort of crazy looking sweater to kind of pull off that look, and I just remember going with that goal, and finding a bunch of really awesome pieces that I still have a couple today,\u201d Amy Benzie, 22, said. She recalls getting into thrifting when she was in grade nine in 2014, back when grandpa sweaters were a trending style with her peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quality of clothing found at thrift stores has kept Benzie, a former graphic designer based in Lethbridge, Alta., thrifting for the last seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI find that it’s just better quality and cooler designs than what’s in stores. You can find some real hidden gems that no one else has and [it\u2019s] better for the planet,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campbell enjoys thrift shopping for the price value as well as the quality of clothing, which she finds lasts longer than anything else she could find in a regular store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Racking up the prices and the problems<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to thredUP\u2019s report<\/a>, second-hand fashion is expected to double fast fashion by the year 2030. Yet, this boom in second-hand fashion is worrying some experts about the affect it might have on low-income communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An article written by the Berkeley Economic Review<\/a> found that, \u201cthe rising popularity of thrifting among more wealthy consumers,\u201d such as younger generations or those living in more affluent communities, \u201creduces the already limited options available to low-income communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campbell, who is originally from Jamaica, thinks there might still be a taboo surrounding thrifting in some communities of colour, mentioning that she does not tell her mom that she thrifts and none of her friends who are people of colour are thrifters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s coming out of a poverty mindset,\u201d she said. \u201cYou’re like, \u2018Oh, why would I go back there?\u2019 Because this thing is something that people with nothing\u2026 that’s what they<\/em> do. So why are you doing that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Benzie understands that the gentrification of thrift stores is keeping clothing out of landfills by fast fashion shoppers, she worries about the consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObviously, it’s taken a huge boom, like people with carts full of clothes, and it’s just kind of wasteful at some point, in my opinion,\u201d she said. \u201cBut at what point are we racking up the prices, because people that don’t necessarily need to be getting cheaper clothes are thrifting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benzie has noticed rising prices at Value Village. \u201cWith the boom in Tik Tok thrift shopping, everyone wants to do it. Value Village has increased their prices incredibly,\u201d she said, preferring to shop more at Mission Thrift Store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a
Curating second-hand clothes is part of how Jessica Vaillancourt, owner of Bee You Creative Styles is working to change how people, particularly younger people see thrift shops and make them more excited to participate in circular fashion. Photo by Joy SpearChief-Morris.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Vaillancourt, 36, is the owner of Bee You Creative Styles, a thrift store located in Carp, Ont. Vaillancourt sources 70 per cent of her inventory through consignment with existing clientele and the other 30 per cent through thrift stores like Value Village. In the last year, she has noticed a two to three times price increase, as well as changes to their retail strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fact that they’ve taken away any of their regular sales, the fact that they have a rewards program that really isn’t a rewards program. Like, I could go on,\u201d she said. \u201cThey’ve taken out all the change rooms. Obviously, that’s not necessary, but I feel they’re making more money that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Garfield Knight Jr., manager of the Mission Thrift Store in Orleans, Ont., said their store has recently dropped the prices on their clothing by five per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are a thrift store, we are a non-profit, and the money we do generate goes elsewhere, Garfield Knight Jr. said. \u201cBut the same token, we don’t want to price ourselves to a point where only certain people can come, we want everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these concerns, many thrift stores are welcoming younger shoppers with hopes of changing their perspectives on thrifting and second-hand clothes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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