thrifting as a market

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: thrifting as a market 🛍️ 

i don’t think anyone ever mentioned thrifting as a hobby pre-covid. fast-forward to now, and we’re all doing it. i’m not hating, i love thrifting — i got 3 sweaters yesterday for a grand total of $20. i just think it’s an interesting shift and i’d like to dive deeper.

it all comes down to value. thrifting is certainly more time consuming that adding items to the cart from an online catalogue, but it’s more than shopping. in a world where 3rd spaces have practically ceased to exist, thrifting is an inexpensive activity to fill time with alongside friends (also why gyms are filled with gen-z). malls don’t really check off that inexpensive box. 🤷‍♀️ 

interestingly, the resale industry is projected to outpace the larger retail clothing sector by 9x and the secondhand market is expected to reach $70 billion all by 2027 (source). in other words, thrifting has exploded in the last few years.

i hypothesize two large factors for this recent thrift craze:

1. race for individuality 

   humans love to make hierarchies out of anything. style is one of those things now. thrifting is the only affordable and accessible way to find unique pieces that are also high quality. it’s a race to snag those items for yourself and resellers won’t miss a single opportunity to fill carts that can later been seen at marked up prices on depop. i can’t forget mentioning how tiktok & instagram have, of course, enforced that thrifting is a necessary fashion statement. there’s a subtle flex in someone asking you wear you got your jeans, and you reply, “i thrifted them. 😏” we’re ridiculous LOL.

2. self-satisfaction of sustainability
   without a doubt, thrifting is the sustainable alternative to shopping fast fashion. it feels good to extend the lifespan of clothing, and we can even glorify that achievement enough to excuse spending hundreds of dollars.

i don’t go thrifting very often, and certainly don’t go for the sake of reselling items online. we must remember that thrift stores were originally set up for struggling families and individuals to access clothing. hoarding all of the baby tees and jacking up the prices for chain thrift stores does more harm than we initially assume. 🤨 

i’d be interested to see how innovation can fit into thrifting and second-hand consumption considering the sizeable, and rapidly growing, market.

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