Earth Day Teach In

Thrift Shopping Is Good for The Planet and Your Wallet

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(©smitrart-stock.adobe.com)
I decided to make it my mission to declutter my home this year. I started with the bedroom and moved to my husband's closet. After going through 5 large piles of clothes that he was never going to wear again, I knew that I wanted to start reducing, reusing, and recycling clothes from now on.

Thrift shopping at secondhand clothing stores, rummage sales, and consignment shops are beneficial to the community, environment, and supports the local economy. Thrift shopping allows us to treasure hunt for unique finds on clothing options. Where else can you find a vintage Versace draped over a mannequin?

These shops are a refuge for the countless items of clothing, towels, pillowcases, bedsheets, and footwear that would have ended up in garbage heaps. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed in 2017; there were 10 million tons of textiles discarded into landfills. The Council for Textile Recycling's Solution estimated that the average American throws away 82 pounds of clothing a year. According to Edge fashion intelligence, it may take between 20 to 200 years to breakdown non-biodegradable items such as manufactured synthetic textiles including spandex, nylon, polyester, and rayon. 

The secondhand market reduces the need for companies to manufacture new garments and thus saves resources. The 2017 report from The Pulse of The Fashion Industry revealed that "In 2015 alone, the fashion industry consumed 79 billion cubic meters of water — enough to fill 32 million Olympic-size swimming pools. That figure is expected to increase by 50% by 2030. It's a staggering amount, but it makes sense: It takes 2,720 liters of water (as much as you'd drink over three years) to make a T-shirt. And your favorite pair of jeans? Almost 10,000 liters of water went into creating them." Synthetic fibers require oil inputs and energy to synthesize fibers, and fabrics made from plants, like flax and cotton, use harmful pesticides.

By reducing, reusing, and recycling clothes, you are not settling for less but more. Taking your clothes to a consignment shop may extend the life of the item by taking up to a decade before ending up in a landfill instead of 3 years. Donating your clothing keeps them on the backs of people who need them. The sweater that you no longer want can be a hidden treasure by someone's sibling, cousin, or friend.

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