The Resurgence of Charity Shopping
Being stuck at home for a year, many of us can say that we’ve experienced some challenges, realigned our personal opinions and even educated ourselves on the topics that we wished we understood.
One of the things that has made an unfaltering topic on social media apps and headlines is sustainable fashion, and how we as a society can combat fast fashion and avoid being influenced by fads that’ll only be popular for a few months, and thus, avoiding the ever-changing fast fashion lifecycle.
My local high street is adorned with charity shops, and these have seen a rise in consumer interest over the past year. This is due, in part, to the positive trend towards fashion sustainability. A multitude of high street fashion brands have been exposed for their problematic involvement in fast fashion, even though some have rebranded themselves as environmentally conscious and pride themselves on being sustainable.
Brands such as Zara and H&M, who say that majority of their clothes are eco-friendly, yet they have been accused of greenwashing and mistreating their garment workers. Which puts into question, how sustainable are these fashion brands?
Charity shopping has enabled people to expand their wardrobe and explore their fashion style in the cheapest and most sustainable way.
A lot of hidden gems are discovered in charity shops, such as vintage leather jackets, Gucci bags and belts and even beautiful ornaments. Not only has the resurgence of charity shopping allowed people to alter their fashion styles but it has also created a conversation on how to be more fashion forward.
Social media influencers and environmentalists alike have used their platform advocating how to be eco-friendly and fashion conscious, by using their platform as an education outlet, it has encouraged their audience to be fashionably sustainable as well as thinking of more ways on how to be eco-friendly.
Second-hand shopping has been extremely popular with teenagers and young adults, this shows that charity shopping can be an enjoyable experience for all ages, and it’s not just for the older generation.
Social media, in particular, has changed how society perceives the idea of charity shopping: there has been a surge of teenagers posting their positive experiences of finding trendy garms in their local charity shops and car boot sales, especially, on TikTok, an app that many young people downloaded during the first lockdown for entertainment. In the process, they learnt about the harsh aftermath of fast fashion and how mainstream fashion brands that we know and love capitalise from fast fashion and exploitation.
The app has 689 million users worldwide, 60% of them are Gen Z, who are using their rocketing platforms to promote charity shopping as a great alternative to fast fashion.
Plenty of small businesses and high street stores have been badly affected due to the pandemic, yet charity shops have remained successful compared to their competitors, as well as keeping high streets busy and obtaining affordable prices. Buying second-hand and vintage have become incredibly popular as there has been an increase within supply verses demand.
With the 70s to early 00s fashion making a comeback, the charity shops have been popular more now than ever. The majority of the clothes will make you feel like you’ve stepped into the set of Back to the Future or your grandparents’ wardrobe! It’s allowed Gen Z, to show their creativity with how they choose to express themselves through the clothes they want to wear for less.
The local charity shops in my area are showing a significant sign that life is going back to ‘normal’, as I see eager customers looking for the best bargains they can find. Even though many high street stores and small businesses have been hugely impacted by the pandemic and have been left vulnerable, charity shops have shown that they’re dependable during an economic crisis, which shows one of the many importance’s of a charity shop.
Additionally, the local charity shops in my area have really brought my community together, as a lot of people have shown their humility and compassion, especially during these hard times over the past year. As soon as you step into my local charity shops, you’re met with a warm welcome from the friendly and attentive staff and volunteers, who are keen to help, unusual trinkets and grandad jumpers catch your eyes.
Charity shopping in my community has a unique sense of bringing those in my neighbourhood together as many are donating their unwanted clothes and furniture, in the hopes of rehoming their possessions to someone who can now appreciate as well as give those possessions a new life.
Even though charity shopping is considered a new trend, it is making the younger generation more aware of how they can shop sustainably and how their actions can help combat fast fashion.
Feature image by Pexels/ 9145 images from Pixabay.
Really enjoyed your story, being a charity shop fan myself, I think it’s a great way to tackle the fashion’s ecological issues. I also love the sense of community these shops bring, in my local charity shop in Poland you can always count on a stranger’s advice. Some people feel so at home in there that they don’t even bother using fitting rooms! I have also recently came across a piece about charity shopping and size inclusivity, it’s quite interesting: https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/n7vq3w/thrift-flipping-clothes-on-tiktok-promotes-fatphobia
A well-thought through and enjoyable read, and especially relevant now that many might be eager to start shopping on the high street again. I think this serves as a nice review of the way that young people are trying to be more socially and environmentally conscious, and I think it’s great how you included Tiktok’s influence on that. It’s so interesting how a series of short videos can create whole movements and new social norms. It’s also nice how you emphasised the community aspect, something I’m sure many of us are craving as we’re crawling out of the remaining lockdown restrictions.
Really enjoyed this! The first sentence really encapsulates what’s to follow, it’s relatable and reads well. There’s a new app called Sojo which you might like – it’s basically the Deliveroo of clothing repairs and alterations, aiming to make fashion more circular
Hi Atiyyah, I enjoyed reading your feature and you make some really interesting and valid points about how charity shops are now the go-to places for people rejecting fast fashion and short-lived clothing trends. Another factor in their rising popularity, however, is probably (and more sadly) the fact that we are now in the depths of a major recession, and charity shops tend to do good business when times are tough for many people. But I have first-hand experience of how charity shopping has taken off among young people – two of my daughters are heavily into it – plus it’s a also part of the same trend which has seen re-sale sites such as Depop become huge, and those warehouses where you can buy vintage clothes by weight. I also liked how your piece anchors charity shops at the heart of your local community and how they can reflect our more generous and compassionate nature. Nice use of social media posts, too!