For many savvy shoppers, thrifting is a great way to find top-quality goods, especially clothes, at an affordable price. However, sometimes thrift stores don't adhere to that principle. On r/ThriftGrift, Reddit users share instances of secondhand shopping gone awry, and one poster made an ironic discovery.
The Redditor shared a photo of an "Asian two-piece" made by a fast-fashion brand for a hefty $40. As the comments pointed out, the brand — Nasty Gal — started out reselling thrift clothing. The company grew rapidly in its early years but ultimately went bankrupt in 2017 after a series of controversies.
"The founder of Nasty Gal would upsell thrift pieces so this has come to an ironic full circle," one commenter wrote.Â
"That's too much for a thrift store," another Redditor added.
The comments address an important point: Thrifting is increasingly popular in the United States and worldwide. There was a 40% uptick in secondhand clothing sales in the United States between 2021 and 2022, and that figure is projected to reach well over $73 billion by 2028.
However, greedy practices like the one highlighted in the thread threaten to undermine this growing sector of the economy. Despite this unfortunate incident, though, thrifting still offers potential savings for consumers and benefits for the environment.
By choosing to shop secondhand, you help save items from filling up landfills. Many carelessly discarded products are still perfectly usable, but they will end up in landfills regardless. The negative environmental impact of landfills is considerable, as they release planet-warming gases into the atmosphere.
As a result, thrifting is a good way to save money and help the environment, but if stores overcharge, they undermine the industry's main benefits.
"This is what my local 'thrift' resale shop is filled with," one of the comments lamented. "Advertise themselves as an upscale thrift shop … filled with current labels of the owners [sic] used garments."
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