I grew up wearing my brother’s “hand-me-downs” and experienced social bullying. In the past, there was a stigma attached to secondhand clothes – secondhand clothes were only for the “needy” and “unfortunate”. Thankfully, there’s a shift underway that values a more circular consumer economy.
The benefits of buying secondhand, today, are huge and they have the potential to improve your life, your wardrobe and the planet without doing anything more than shopping from home – just like you would on Amazon!
So, let’s take a look at why everybody should be buying things second hand in today’s world.
The Obvious: It Saves Money
We love to look good and we’re sure you do too but staying on top of fashion gets expensive, fast.
When you shop in online thrift stores you can save a bundle of money.
And don’t forget, just like any other retailer, thrift stores hate to keep merchandise hanging around – if it goes 30 days or more without being sold, the odds are pretty good that they’ll start offering even bigger discounts!
You Can Improve The Quality Of What You Own
This is a slightly less obvious benefit of second hand purchasing but when your costs go down, the quality of the things you buy can go up.
Sure, you may not be able to buy that beautiful Porsche Design watch or Prada handbag brand new but on the secondhand market?
They’re a lot more affordable.
This is one of the key principles of slow fashion, buying better products, and it’s much easier for most of us to achieve it with second hand stores.
It’s A Child’s Best Option
Well, it’s a child’s best option for clothing, shoes, and the like.
After all, we all know that children grow super fast and when you buy nice things, they grow out of them fast enough to make your eyes sting with the pain of the cost.
Buying kid’s clothes second hand ought to be compulsory for most people.
And when your kid has finished with the item, don’t forget as long as it’s not completely wrecked – you can sell it again too.
It’s Awesome For The Planet
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again.
Fashion is a seriously polluting industry.
In fact, after oil and gas it’s the biggest polluter in the world!
So, when you buy secondhand you’re ensuring that you’re not polluting any more than necessary.
There are, of course, big gains being made in the field of sustainable fashion but for now, buying secondhand remains the kindest thing you can do for the planet.
You Can Really Create A Style
When you buy second hand you can pick up vintage and rare pieces that are absolutely unique to you.
This is where the online thrift store comes into its own.
Going round local stores is great but the selection is a bit limited, online the whole world is at your fingertips.
We like Etsy, Refashioner and ThredUp for bargains that are also super stylish and completely vintage or retro.
You Always Find Something You Want
The huge range of choice from online thrift stores means that it’s almost impossible to walk away empty handed when you’re looking for something “just right” for your wardrobe.
These retailers have a constantly changing and always exciting stock that allows you to venture back constantly for new adventures in fashion that don’t break the bank.
You’re Giving Back To A Community
When you buy a secondhand item, the profits normally go to another person just like yourself or to a charity such as Goodwill – not to a huge faceless multi-national.
You might be helping somebody take their kids on vacation or a village in India drill its first drinking water well and that’s always a good thing.
It’s nice to feel good about what we buy, isn’t it?
Your Purchases Tend To Be Hardy
With secondhand, what you see is what you get.
You’re not going to bring something home and pop it in the washing machine and watch it shrink or fall to pieces because that’s already been done and it’s just fine.
Final Thoughts On The Benefits Of Buying Secondhand
We’re not saying you should never buy anything new again, but we are saying that the benefits of buying secondhand are considerable.
It’s kind to the planet, it’s kind to your wallet and it means you can buy better stuff and we can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want these benefits.
So, give it a try, you know it makes sense.