So I don’t know about you, but I miss thrifting. For a couple of months, we haven’t been able to hit our fav vintage stores, and some of us are starting to get shaky about it.
Can’t wait to look like this arriving to my fav vintage store – only without the plastic cups and straws, of course
So today I’m bringing you a little post with some of the most unique and most sustainable online thrift stores to take the edge off.
Buying second hand is an amazing sustainable alternative to dirty, fast, unsustainable fashion. By shopping second hand, we avoid extra emissions and waste that would be created by the production of new clothes – and don’t even get me started on the amazing deals you can find in second hand or consignment stores $$$.
Another super cool alternative to buying new clothes is renting them. The obvious downside, of course, is that you cannot keep them forever, but sometimes it’s the most practical and sustainable option – if we’re talking about fancy party dresses that you’ll wear only once, for example.
If you want to learn about the other 6 forms of sustianable fashion, don’t forget to read this post!
There are lots of second hand and consignment store options online, but something that makes these unique is that they have the planet’s best interest in mind. You’ll see.
The best and most sustainable online thrift stores
1. ThredUp
Thredup is the biggest online thrift store. Everyday, they upload new curated second-hand finds to their website.
This is the place to go not only if you’re looking for an everyday look, but also if you want designer goods.
I also love that they have a marternity section and a plus size section, making sure they’re as inclusive as possible.
What makes ThredUp unique?
If you go to their Rescues page, you’ll find pieces that need a little TLC, those with a couple of imperfections that we can forgive and fix.
I want to start a standing ovation for the ThredUp team because if it wasn’t for them, these clothes would end up in the landfill.
And needless to say, the discounts are like nothing you’ve seen before. Maybe you’ll need to mend a dress, or to add a button to a shirt, but the little effort is completely worth it!
Psst! If you buy something using this link you’ll get 10 $ discount!
2. Thifted
If you’re looking for a genuine vintage experience, Thrifted is your place.
They offer vintage and retro designer pieces worthy of your best 80s/90s dreams – and still so in tune with what the youths wear today. Just check their website and you’ll know what I mean. And all the pieces are high quality, curated and authentic.
Thrifted stands for circular fashion, and its team firmly believes that quality clothing can have more than three lives., and they want to lift the stigma off wearing recycled, reworked and vintage clothes – the wardrobe of the future.
I have to say that my favorite part of their site is the jean section because, as everyone knows, the jeans from yesteryear are just better.
What makes Thrifted unique?
They have the coolest editorials with posts like this one: Is Vintage Fashion Saving the World?
They also feature music suggestions from their Thrifted HQ, and things to watch like vlogs and festival highlights.
And speaking of festivals! A part of their vintage selection is dedicated to festival clothes – this section is freaking magical, you have to see it for yourself.
3. Beyond Retro
Beyond retro is another UK-based vintage and retro brand with a very solid set of sustainability values. They’re incredible transparent about their business pracices and their suppliers.
They know everything about the impact of the fashion industry, and they know that the quality of vintage items can survive the pass of time and make you veeery happy.
They have a selection of retro and vintage clothing, from the 60s to the 90s, and the way everything is catalogued makes it super easy to find exactly what you’re looking for – I can’t be the only one that feels very overwhelmed at thrift stores!
And their goal is reclaiming, reducing and reusing 10 billion items. So why don’t we help them towards that goal?
Why is Beyond Retro unique?
I love that they have their own vintage line: each piece of LABEL is 100% unique, reworked from up-cycled materials.
LABEL offers clothes and bags, always keeping the essence of the original vintage piece, but giving it a very special and contemporary twist.
4. Tradesy
If you profer going the high fashion route, you can find vintage and second hand luxury pieces in Tradesy.
We know that high fashion, just as fast fashion, doesn’t really have ethics or the planet’s best interest as part of their business agenda. This is why buying these pieces second hand can be the best compromise between your inner fashion victim and your values – and you’ll wallet will agree with me on this, too.
Tradesy is a luxury marketplace where people can buy and sell luxury pieces, and with the goal of extending the life of desinger bags.
Imagine a worldin which everything can be used and reused, sold and resold, infinite times.
Why is tradesy unique
First of all, I have to say I love their selection. They have the perfect balance between classic pieces and contemporary ones.
Also, on their site they talk extensively about the importance of extending the life of each high fashion piece: what if everything could be used and reused, sold and resold endlessly?
So I think what makes them unique is their compromise to close the loop of the fashion industry, and cutting waste in the high fashion sector – a sector that is often forgotten in fashion activism.
5. The Real Real
The Real Real is another favorite in the luxury consignment department for me – both in terms of sustainability and the selection they offer.
If you go to their sustainability page, you’ll find inspiring statements like “the future of fashion is circular”, “the circular economy is restorative by design”. Love it.
And you know that I love me a good carbon neutral company, and The Real Real is working towards becoming carbon neutral by 2021.
And I could go on and on for days singing the praises of the sustainability team over at The Real Real, but maybe it’s best if you check their compromises first hand here.
What makes the real real unique
They have a calculator to learn the possitive impact that your consigned item has – this calculator is one of its kind!
Thanks to it, they know that they’ve saved more than 14,3000 metric tons of carbon and 660 million litres of water.
EXTRA SECOND-HAND STORES
Regular second-hand stores are awesome, but don’t forget that you can buy directly from other people!
These are the places you should check out:
And remember that you can also use these sites as a seller, so take this chance eto decllutter your closet, give your unused clothes a second life and earn some extra cash.