Thrifting is gaining more and more traction among young people who are worried about the planet. It’s a great way to save money while shopping more sustainably.
Thrifting is, in my opinion, the most sustainable option out there.
Think about it: When you thrift, you’re purchasing items that already exist. The resources have already been spent to make these items.
So when you buy something that’s been made and been used, you’re creating less demand for new items to be made and saving resources like energy and water.
Plus, thrifting is like recycling. You’re reusing these items and helping to keep them out of landfills for longer.
The problem with the way the fashion industry is today and how we treat our clothing is we have a very linear view of it: Buy new clothes, wear them for a little, toss them out, repeat.
However, I’m hopeful that the future of fashion is circular: Buy well made or thrifted clothes, wear them for a long time by treating them with care, donating to a thrift store, repeat. If we keep this circle going we can truly transform the planet.
In fact, according to WRAP, by using clothing for just an extra 9 months we can reduce our carbon, water and waste footprints by 20-30%.
Need more convincing? Here are 7 benefits to thrifting
But I know that thrifting in person isn’t always accessible to everyone and sometimes overwhelming and just not fun. But don’t fear! You can still make a difference by shopping at these 12 online thrift stores!
13 of the Best Online Thrift Stores:
1. thredUP –
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (no shade, sounds kinda nice) you’ve heard of thredUP. Pretty much every influencer on Youtube and Instagram has been sponsored by them and they’ve completely taken the world by storm.
They’re known as the largest online consignment store with thousands upon thousands of pieces to look through. But don’t let this overwhelm you, they have filters to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.
They have so many brand names are incredibly discounted rates, I could seriously scroll forever.
You can even order a clean out kit (clean out kits only available in the US) and sell or donate your clothes to thredUP! Anything they don’t choose to resell they recycle properly!
2. Poshmark/Depop –
These are two very popular resell apps. I’ve tried both and they’re both really similar in my opinion, however, since Poshmark came to Canada last year it’s been my go too!
You can find an endless sea of people selling their clothing so you never know what you’re gonna find. Plus you can sell your clothes really easily on the app to make a little extra cash as well!
3. Swap –
Swap.com only ships in the US but is a very similar style store to thredUP.
You’ll find thousands of well-known brands on this online thrift store and you can even find a select collection of toys and video games including vintage items!
You can even sell your items on swap as well! If your items are accepted you will be invited to become a partner and send in your items any time to be sold!
If you’re in the United States this is definitely a site worth checking out!
4. Vinted –
Vinted is similar to Poshmark and depop as it lets you sell your clothes firsthand instead of letting the company do it for you like swap and thredUP.
Vinted has separate sites for different countries including the UK, USA, Canada and more. You can sell and shop from the comfort of your own home!
5. asos marketplace –
Asos Marketplace is a sub shop of asos. While asos is a fast fashion brand that I don’t directly support, I can get behind their marketplace.
They sell primarily vintage pieces but the important thing is that they’re all second hand and pre-loved pieces.
The market place is a hub of over 800 vintage boutiques and independent brands and honestly, I encourage you to look for yourself. It’s one of my absolute favorite places to shop for second-hand clothing!
6. eBay –
While not strictly a thrift store, eBay is still filled with lots of second-hand clothing pieces and a lot of vintage pieces as well. If you have the patience, I definitely recommend digging through what eBay has to offer.
7. Etsy –
Again, while not a dedicated second-hand store, if you’re looking for unique, vintage clothing this is the place to find it!
8. Patagonia worn wear –
Patagonia’s worn wear works to extend the lifecycle of their clothing. You can send in your old pieces to be repaired, resold and recycled properly to make sure their clothing doesn’t contribute to the ever-growing textile waste problem.
I love this initiative because Patagonia is already an incredibly sustainable brand focusing on making their clothes so well so you won’t have to repurchase them.
With worn wear, they take sustainability a step further by making sure their clothing at the end of their lives is taken care of and even extending their life cycle.
If you’ve wanted Patagonia for a while but haven’t been able to afford it, I highly suggest seeing what they have in stock on their worn wear page! You never know what you might find at a fraction of the price!
Luxury and name brand thrift stores:
9. The Real Real –
The Real Real only sells high end, brand name, luxury items but I love their passion for sustainability and extending the lives of these high-end goods by reselling them.
So while these are high-end items they still come at incredible pre-loved prices! If you’ve ever wanted a name brand but couldn’t afford it or just want to reduce your impact, check out the real real!
10. Tradesy –
Tradesy provides away for women to buy and sell their luxury items to help make fashion circular.
They aim to reduce the need for new luxury items by reselling what’s already out there, keeping these items out of landfills and reducing the need for more chemical waste to make new products.
Plus their entire catalog is up to 90% off the original retail price!
11. Refashioner –
At Refashioner they sell only the best high-end, pre-loved pieces so you can be sure you’re getting the best quality.
In fact, all of the clothing you can find on Refashioner belong to household names and designers who want to ensure that their clothes go to a good home and not a landfill.
They aim to change the way people think about their clothing and the value we put on our clothing.
12. Restitch –
A secondary brand of Taylor Stitch, Restitch takes back second hand Taylor Stitch pieces and defective pieces from their factories, repairs and cleans those items and sells them to ensure they don’t end up in a landfill!
You’ll also find one of a kind vintage pieces all at really incredible prices! This is one of my favorites places to shop for second-hand clothes online and although it’s under the luxury and brand name section of this post, the prices aren’t even that expensive!
You can even send in your own items and receive store credit!
Related:
Tips to help you thrift like a pro
I hope this post encourages you to check out one of these online thrift stores! There are so many options at so many different price points, I’m sure you’re bound to find something that suits you!
Thank you for reading! If you liked this post, please don’t forget to share it and follow me on Instagram for daily thrifting and low waste inspiration!
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