26 Jul Facts and Benefits of Thrifting

There are countless ways to live a green life. One way that gets overlooked often: thrifting!

Thrifting used to be looked down upon, and considered uncool or cheap, but times are changing as fast as our earth’s climate. These days, there are entire social media accounts dedicated to thrifting—from the fun “look what I found” accounts to the fun “check out this weird thing” accounts. But they all serve a wonderful purpose: encouraging the normalcy and benefits of thrifting.

Thrifting is a wonderful tool to save water. Our little blue planet may be about 70% water, but that water is a vital life source which is becoming harder to come by for many populations. Water is used incredibly heavily in the fashion industry—it takes 700 gallons to create *one* cotton shirt, while a single pair of jeans uses the same amount of water as watering your lawn for nine hours straight! Can we get a “YIKES”???

When you buy used clothing, you also lower carbon emissions. When we collectively do not purchase directly from big corporations, we lower the demand for them to supply newly created items. That means less energy used in the production of the clothing, and less fuel and energy used to transport the items. When the demand lowers, they create less, and less wasted product ends up in our landfills and oceans.

Ultimately, thrifting saves money because you can find department brands and designer brands for a fraction of the price they charge when the item is new.