Finding my favourite pair of vintage jeans felt like striking gold. The same excitement courses through my veins upon taking home a classic mini purse, or a staple leather jacket after searching amongst the endless racks of clothes and accessories. From the curated vintage collections at Kensington Market in downtown Toronto to the average Value Village in a suburban town, the exhilaration of finding a one-of-a-kind piece is a feeling I adore.
And clearly, I’m not the only one who thinks the same — the market value projection for secondhand apparel is expected to double from 2022 to 2027 due to increasing demand, reaching over $350 billion.
Although thrifting is an old practice, the lifestyle experienced a surge in popularity during 2020 as influencers would share their finds with millions of followers on platforms such as TikTok. The origins of thrifting lay in being an affordable method of sourcing clothes for low- income individuals, but many among the Gen Z and millennial demographic have become more willing to purchase from thrift stores and ditch the stigma around purchasing preloved items. Consequently, there was an 11% rise between 2019 and 2023 in American consumers who had shopped second-hand in a one-year period and the second-hand apparel market is now growing faster than the overall apparel market. This rise in popularity does come with the caveat of increased demand which causes a spike in thrift- store prices, thus reducing accessibility – the historical goal of thrifting now being sidelined to accommodate an ever-growing consumer base.
Additionally, thrifting is on the rise because for many avid second-hand shoppers, the ethicality and environmental friendliness of buying pre-owned items is preferable to purchasing new garments. In 2022, half of Canadian shoppers reported that the environmental impacts of their clothing are important to them, leading to investments in finding secondhand garments. Millions of textile waste end up in landfills every year but purchasing an item from a thrift store promotes circular fashion, a model of consumption which is far less resource-intensive than the mass production of fast fashion.
Sprucing up your wardrobe has become increasingly expensive due to higher costs of living within recent years, with 71% of Canadian consumers in 2022 reporting that they are more conscious of clothing prices than they were in 2019. One of thrift shopping’s many advantages is that older clothing is usually of higher quality, without the high costs. The recent proliferation of fast fashion has led to lower-quality materials and construction, so thrift shopping has become a staple for consumers looking to find premium and long- lasting pieces.
The coolest part of thrifting? The rise of second-hand fashion has disrupted industry norms, and it is vital that the fashion industry adapts to emerging trends. With 75% of Canadian thrift shoppers in 2022 reporting that searching for pieces is enjoyable like a treasure hunt, and over a third reporting that thrifting allows them to be more stylish than traditional shopping, the demand for second-hand clothes is high. Online platforms like eBay, Vinted, Poshmark and Depop have had a staggering peak of 800,000 downloads in a month, with traditional chains of commerce having been disrupted with goods transferring from one consumer to another. This is taken one step further through curated, in-person store fronts and pop-up events hosted by small businesses, such as London’s very own DugOut Vintage pop-up at Western! Overall, this has allowed consumers to curate refreshingly unique wardrobes while challenging traditional models of mass-produced fashion in big-box retail stores.
Beyond a method of sourcing clothes, shopping second-hand is simply a memorable and exciting experience. The thrill of finding the perfect piece is unforgettable, and there's nothing I love more than seeing others expressing their individuality through their outfits. If you have yet to experience the combination of your shopping being beneficial for the planet along with your wallet, what are you waiting for? Afterall, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
