The Pros and Cons of Sustainable Shopping
Choosing where to shop sustainably can be difficult. It’s a balancing act between buying clothes that are high in quality, ethically made/sourced, and affordable. Most of the time, we can’t guarantee that we’re able to manage all three of those standards, no matter how hard we try. It begs the question, which method of sustainable shopping should we choose?
I’ve compiled a list of pros and cons to help make your next shopping experience a little bit easier.
THRIFT STORES
We all love thrift stores. For those of us that didn’t grow up with a lot of money, thrift stores have been a godsend since we were kids. However, thrifting is now a really common and really popular pastime for a lot of people, not just for necessity.
PROS
Thrift stores are an easily accessible way to shop sustainably.
With the rise in popularity over the last few years, it’s easy to find clothing that fits your style (and more importantly, your budget).
Being able to search through piles of clothes also adds a sense of accomplishment to your shopping trip.
In terms of price, thrift stores remain the cheapest option to shop sustainably. Most thrift stores are charity based and use low prices to have their clothing sold quickly.
Local thrift stores and charity stores give back to their communities and help repurpose clothes. Clothes that aren’t sold often get sent to other countries or programs to help communities in need.
CONS
Thrift stores have a wide range of quality but typically rest on the lower end of the spectrum. Items are donated, which can make stains, rips, pilling, etc. more common on thrifted clothing items.
Big organizations like Goodwill and Salvation Army have been known to have unethical practices in their stores.
Goodwill, who commits to hiring workers with disabilities, has been caught paying their workers extremely low wages, along with sending their clothing to landfills or programs that burn the clothing–which releases more greenhouse gases.
Salvation Army has been known to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community and often donates their clothing to the same programs as Goodwill.
Clothing that doesn’t sell at thrift stores more often than not get sent to landfills instead of being repurposed.
RESELLING APPS
Reselling apps are becoming more popular and accessible. Anyone is able to post listings of their unwanted clothing items to the app for others to browse and purchase. Popular reselling apps, like Depop and Poshmark, have been rising in popularity in the past few years.
PROS
Reselling apps have a range of prices, making it accessible no matter what your budget is. Depending on the seller, shoppers can find clothing that is relatively affordable.
You can find anything on reselling apps. Just type in a quick search and see hundreds of listings from around the country.
These apps typically have good quality clothing. Sellers post images and detailed descriptions of the item, along with any flaws the item may have, which can put your mind at ease on what you’re buying (usually).
You can find any brand on these apps. Both Poshmark and Depop allow you to search specifically for a brand and list what your favorite brands are on your profile. If you’re looking for something specific, odds are you can find it on these apps.
CONS
Many users on these apps tend to overprice their items in order to make a profit off of the sale. Sometimes you’ll see lower quality clothing being sold for $50+ because it’s marked as “vintage” (when it’s really a kids shirt from the early 2000s).
Some sellers may not be transparent about the quality of the clothing and will send pieces that are more damaged than described. This makes it hard to determine what the true quality of the item is until you receive it, and then you typically can’t return it.
Depop and Poshmark charge fees to their sellers, and while this is necessary to keep their businesses running, it results in sellers charging more for their clothing to make up for the large fees.
Since the clothing is shipped to you, this can result in more carbon emissions from the shipping process as sellers are located around the country.
SUSTAINABLE BRANDS
Sustainable brands are a popular (and expensive) way to shop sustainably. These brands typically use ethically sourced materials and maintain safe working conditions, which can put the shoppers mind at ease if sustainability is a nonnegotiable.
PROS
Sustainable brands have the highest quality clothing out of all three options. You know when you buy something from these brands that it was made with the best materials out there.
These brands intend to make clothing that last for years in order to reduce waste from trend cycles, which can encourage us not to follow trends either.
They use ethically sourced materials to ensure high quality and durability. These brands also maintain their quality standards throughout all or most of their products, which puts shoppers at ease that any product they order will typically be high quality.
They are transparent about where they get their materials from and how they get them. A quick Google search will tell you everything you need to know about how they source materials for their clothing.
They also explain how they make their clothing to show consumers that they use sustainable production practices.
CONS
Sustainable brands are the most expensive option for clothing. Items on these sites can cost over $100. If you can afford this, great, but most of us don’t have the budget to spend $250 on some boots.
Brands have been known to greenwash their clothing, or promote something as sustainable that’s not actually sustainable. This can make it hard to be sure what’s actually sustainable and what’s being portrayed as sustainable as a marketing strategy.
From my experience, thrift stores are the best way to shop sustainably–as long as you go to local thrifts and charity shops instead of big organizations. Yes, the quality may not always be the best, but you can find some amazing things in thrift stores. The clothes have a story behind them and it’s so much fun to spend time searching for the perfect piece and finding it.
Next time you want to go shopping, grab a friend and head down to a local thrift for some deep digging to see what you find. You won’t regret it!
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