Where to find nice clothes when going zero waste
Zero waste is a serious blessing. Yes, I said it. I love how it encourages us to slow down, improve our health, help us save (a lot of) money and find better ways to shop for the stuff we need, like clothes. When we go down the zero waste rabbit hole, we start paying attention to things we’ve never questioned before. How every thing we do has an impact on our world. Fast fashion has a big one.
Did you know it’s the second most polluting industry in the world…??! No seriously. And it gets worse every day. I wrote this post listing great eco-conscious brands that you should definitely check out. But today I wanted to share about an even better and eco-friendlier way to shop for clothes: second hand shopping.
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This being said, from local thrift stores to large retail outlets, to online gems, here are my favorite places to shop for second hand clothes!
Thrift stores for the win
Kilo Shop in Paris
My first love seriously goes to second hand stores. Finding these vintage pieces for a very low price is all I’m about! I use to go to Kilo Shop back when I was living in Paris, I would love that place where you would pay by the kilo! (by the pound basically)
In Portland, I switched brands I really enjoy Buffalo Exchange that not only allows you to find great clothes for very nice prices, but also buy your clothes. Don’t expect large amounts and be aware that they are very picky, but when you’re in need for quick cash or want to bring back and use that money to get a new item, this is a great clutter free solution.
I heard great things about NTY as well good to know if you live in Texas, Minnesota, New York or Tennessee.
Goodwill, a good option?
Good one there. As much as I love Goodwill’s selection, I do not appreciate the concept of building a fortune on people’s donations and on low income people. Since I’ve learned that Goodwill is NOT a non-profit and is owned by very wealthy family, I prioritize going in other donation centers.
Don’t get me wrong, I still go there. Like I mentioned above, it has a lot of options and with the fast fashion trend, Goodwill receives a lot of very different products all the time. It’s a great place to find cheap, second hand okay to good quality clothes. When I am in areas where there’s not a lot of options, it’s still better than regular stores. But I try to go to non-profit donation centers first. Saint Vincent de Paul or TC Resale and Donation are great ones. They offer large selections of products and they use the money generated to help their communities. Enough said.
Online Thrift Store
©THRED UP
I came across this online store a little while ago, and now I simply love it. They really developed a nice concept where you can select the type of clothes you need and they will send you a selection based on your price range and your size. You ship back what you don’t want and only pay for what you want to keep!
If you’re not into these fancy tools, you can also shop the good ol’ way and select what you want, pay and enjoy it when it’s delivered 😉
I managed to get my readers a little gift. If you click this link, you’ll receive $10 to spend on your first order!
The extra thing that I appreciate with Thred Up is that they are working hard to reduce their footprint and you’ll find very little to no plastic in the packaging.
Online Swapping
One last option is swapping. You probably already know about swapping clothes with friends or local communities, but here, Rehash Clothes brings the concept to a whole new level. I highly recommend you checking it out.With 47,000 members and over 10,000 items available for swaps, it’s likely you’ll find what you need. It’s a really great solution for minimalists folks.
Where do you shop? Let me know in the comment or if you tried any of these options!!
