Thrifting: The double-edged sword to environmental issue
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Before fast fashion took the rein, one of the alternatives to affordable clothing was through thrifting. However, there was a perception that only the lower class bought second-hand clothes due to hygiene issues and cheap pricing.
Then Gen Z came along and changed the game. According to McKinsey’s “The State of Fashion 2019” report, 9 out of 10 Gen Z consumers “believe companies have a responsibility to address environmental and social issues.” This ethical belief led to the rise of the thrifting trend among this generation.
Thrifting, as many believe, is one of the remedies to the problems created by the unsustainable fast fashion. It can minimise waste from the textile industry by recycling high-end products into second-hands or preloved items, and then being sold for way below the original price. Thrifting also became a movement for protesting the unfair treatment of garment factory workers.
In Indonesia, Pasar Senen in Jakarta and Gedebage in Bandung are among the top choices when it comes to thrifting. People can find second-hand high-end products, such as Dr. Martens boots and Levi’s denim jackets, at a cheaper price and in good condition. People of all ages flock to these places to try their luck at finding hidden treasures beneath the piles of clothing pieces.
Like any other industries, technology caught up with thrifting and it found its way to online platforms. Online forums, such as Kaskus, were the spearhead, becoming a platform where people trade their second-hand items. They then transformed into marketplaces for second-hand items with proper listing and check-out. Online boosted the popularity of thrifting and changed the perception of buying second-hand items.
Founded in 2015, online preloved site Tinkerlust has received funding from a venture builder. Tinkerlust often partners with celebrities to sell their preloved items. There is also Footurama that started as a sneaker reselling forum in 2003. It has since grown into a full-fledged retailer with online and physical stores.
Hunt-Street, a preloved site specialising in luxury fashion, opened its first flagship store in 2019 at the affluent neighbourhood of Menteng, Central Jakarta. Singapore-based preloved marketplace Carousell in September received $80 million investment from South Korea-based Naver. The investment brought Carousell’s valuation to surpass $900 million.
Second-hand items sold online are curated and displayed with such appeal that people do not have to actually come to the market and treasure-hunt inconveniently. Everything is only a few clicks away.
At first, people seemed to be pleased about the digitalisation of thrift stores for the convenience mentioned above. However, as online thrift stores progressed, criticisms started to surface. Faiz (@buruhbutuhdisko on Twitter) expressed his opinions that it is harmful and disrespectful for capital owners to buy up supply from lower-class distributors only to be sold at a way higher price, because essentially the market for thrift shops were supposedly the lower-class who could not afford such high-priced items.
Image: Instagram story highlight from @youpoppin
His criticism was later on responded by one of the accused online thrift stores, @youpoppin. According to them, mark-up pricing is necessary due to the process and effort invested to run the store - outsourcing second-hand clothes out of town, controlling the quality of the clothes and hiring labour to support the supposedly-one-man-show process. On top of that, there has to be a photo shoot for every item since they will be displayed online. Therefore, added value is needed in order to cover the operating costs.
For the consumers, the mark-up pricing is what they pay in exchange for convenience. Online presence provides more exposure to online thrift stores, which can be converted to revenue. At the same time, this convenience produces a new problem. Online thrift stores system is cutting access for the lower-class to affordable clothing. If all the good stuffs were bought up by online thrift stores, the whole purpose of the thrifting concept is then defeated.
The soaring popularity of thrifting, partly fueled by social media content, such as treasure hunting videos, turned out to be a dilemma. On the plus side, it influences more people to take part in thrifting, including those in the high income bracket. But higher demand leads to higher price tags.
Online thrift stores often set the price at no less than Rp150,000. However, many believe that if thrift shop items are not under Rp100,000, they are not worth it. Some even argue that the maximum acceptable price is Rp50,000.
In addition, it is debatable whether thrifting solves environmental issues created by fast fashion. For starters, many second-hand clothes sold at thrift stores now are from fast fashion labels. This goes against the idea where thrifting is the solution to minimising waste from the textile industry which is mostly produced by fast fashion labels themselves.
Moreover, thrifting can trigger mindless consumption patterns from transaction utility where transaction is made only because it feels profitable to us without further thinking about how we would use the purchased items. For instance, people tend to buy thrift store products because they are extremely affordable and they feel like they beat fashion at their own game - whether or not they will wear the clothes is another matter. With this mindset, thrifting tends to create more textile waste rather than solving the problem.
Nonetheless, the popularity of thrifting is not going to slow down anytime soon. In fact, it is likely to continue to rise and potentially lead to higher price tags in the future.
When dealing with this complex issue, it comes down to the individuals participating in thrifting culture. Being mindful when making a purchase is crucial. After all, any purchase, whether new or second-hand, is still consumption.
