As the new year begins to unfold, I’m sure many of you have made a commitment to a New Year’s resolution, whether it’s to save money or lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Well, I am happy to tell you that thrift shopping is one of the easiest ways to do both! Opting to go to a second-hand or thrift store helps keep loved clothes out of the landfill, reduces the production of new materials and chemicals into our environment, helps you save money, and will definitely up your style.
The True Costs of the Fast Fashion Industry
Fast fashion prices and the constant flush of new arrivals can be tempting. I’d be a liar if I said I’d never fallen victim to an excessive Shein haul before a vacation or when I was in need of some summer clothes. However after educating myself of its impacts on the environment, my mind was changed and I hope that yours will be too.
According to the UN Environment Programme, the fast fashion industry is the second largest consumer of water and contributes to about 2-8% percent of global carbon emissions. The artificial dyes used on the clothing are also the second-largest polluter of water, contaminating drinking water and harming aquatic ecosystems. Fast fashion brands rely heavily on synthetic fibres such as polyester and nylon, which take hundreds of years to biodegrade and contaminate our oceans with microplastics, and turning plastic fibres into textiles consumes large amounts of petroleum which releases alarming amounts of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.
Why Thrifting Instead?
Buying thrifted clothes can combat this unsustainable, vicious cycle of fast fashion. Donating clothes and purchasing clothes from a thrift store means less clothing in landfills. Buying reused instead of new also means less wasted resources, especially water, and less chemical pollution. Just to manufacture one pair of jeans uses about 1,800 gallons of water! Thrifting is also not only great for the environment, it also can help you save money, as it has much lower prices than traditional clothing stores. Finally, thrift stores can also up and help you find your personal style. Thrift stores often have many one of a kind or vintage clothing items that you can’t find anywhere else. So many of the clothes I’ve thrifted receive the most compliments!
Becoming an Expert Thrifter
As someone whose closet is mainly thrifted items or hand-me-downs I received from one of my five older siblings, I consider myself somewhat of an expert in this area now. Now that you know a little more about the fashion industry and its environmental impacts, I want to give you some of my favorite tips on how to make thrifting the best experience possible!
1. Give Yourself Ample Time
Thrift stores aren’t always quite as organized as your typical clothing store. While one of the benefits of going thrifting is finding unique pieces, that also means that you need to dig for them. You usually need to look at hundreds of different items per trip until you find something that grabs your attention. I would recommend giving yourself at least an hour and a half, maybe two!
2. Stay Energized
Like I mentioned before, thrifting is different in that you can’t just see everything in the new spring collection in 15 minutes like a traditional clothing store. Instead, you need to look at hundreds of individual items and keep your eyes sharp for your next favorite piece. To help with this, I love to stop at a local cafe and grab a coffee to sip on while I search. Just remember to bring your own reusable cup!
3. Bring a Friend
Next time you want to catch up with your friends, why not switch up grabbing a meal for thrifting instead? In my experience, it’s super fun to find cute and interesting pieces at a thrift store and showing them off to your friends. Two or three people opting to buy second-hand is always better than one.
4. Come with a List
Although finding cute pieces you’d never expect is part of the thrifting experience, I think it’s always smart to go shopping with a list. Typically when we go shopping, we find more things we want than what we actually need. So to prevent overconsumption, I recommend coming with a rough list!
Bonus Tip!
Even though this blog focuses on thrifting clothing, buying second-hand is not limited to just clothes. Most thrift stores also carry a great deal of household items, such as glassware and furniture. There is also an awesome craft reuse store in Ann Arbor that sells donated art and office supplies for low prices called SCRAP Creative Reuse. If you like arts and crafts, I highly recommend checking it out! Buying reused items of any kind is sustainable because it means less energy and resource consumption that’s required to create a new product.
Where to Go
If you are living on or near the Ann Arbor campus and want to go to the Salvation Army on State Street, there are bus routes 62 and 6 through The Ride that go from the Michigan Union to a stop steps away from the store.
The City of Ann Arbor also hosts A2ZERO swap days on the third Thursday of each month. You can choose new reused clothing with or without donating any of your own clothing items.
If you prefer to stay on campus, the Planet Blue Student Leaders of U-M host a FreeStore each month to help students find free used clothing, household goods, and other miscellaneous items.
In 2026, I hope you chose to skip out on the easy fast fashion haul and try thrifting instead. Bring a friend along with you, take your time, and see what you can find. I think you’ll be surprised by how much thrift stores have to offer. If you are trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle, small choices make a big difference and choosing second-hand is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to make a real impact!
Julia Kudwa works as the Education Intern in the PBA Program at UM-Ann Arbor.