No More Fast Fashion | 3x Thrifting Tips

The Fast Fashion industry is killing our planet. In this article I’m sharing my 3 most important thrifting tips!

It takes around 10.000 liters of water to make 1 outfit; a T-shirt and a jeans. 80 billion pieces of clothes are produced every year world wide. Can you imagine how much water and energy is needed to produce clothes? It also comes with a lot of pollution, child labor and animal abuse. All of this is “needed” for producing clothes, but 140 million clothes disappear into burning ovens every year.

To me, this is super unnecessary and it brings so much waste and harm to the planet. I felt betrayed when I found this out, since the clothing advertisements don’t mention this and it’s definitely not in my clothing labels. No that I found this out, I had the chance to make a choice. To not participate. 

I started shopping second hand! This has been saving me money, it has made my closet unique and original and all the clothes I have bring me value. Manly because I spend a little more time finding these clothes then I would in the “Fast Fashion Industry”. Every thrifted piece has a story. 

Here are 3 basic thrifting tips that can help you making your closet honest, unique and totally your style.

1. Declutter

Start by organizing your closet. You’d be surprised by all the clothes you have. Take out the clothes that you don’t like anymore. Give them away to friends, bring them to a thrift store, donate or sell them on social media. 

The clothes that are broken or damaged can be brought to a recycle point or textile containers. Click here to get to know more about this!

Then, ask yourself the question about the clothes that you want to keep, if they add value to your life. If not, maybe they will be more appreciated when you give them a new life. 

2. Do Research

Before you go out and buy clothes, it might be a good idea to do some research on finding thrift stores close by. Otherwise you might find yourself lost in a city and you can end up buying fast fashion clothes after all, out of frustration. Take a look on Google, social media or ask your friends. You might get surprised how many thrift stores there are! For more clothes thrifting stores check out this post 🙂

When you don’t have direct access to a thrift store, take a look at online shops like Depop, Vinted, Facebook Marketplace or United Wardrobe. There are many alternatives online if this helps you by shopping second hand. 

Note: Make sure you know what you need before you go shopping! So you won’t buy anything that won’t bring you value.

3. Make mistakes

When I started thrifting, I was a bit lost and I was struggling a lot. You need quite some patience and an open mind to find nice clothes in a thrift store. Just because it’s usually pretty full and a little chaotic (make sure you have time when you go out thrifting!). Sometimes I can’t find the patience to take the time to really look around. Or maybe I couldn’t find that 1 dress that I was looking for. I can get frustrated and sometimes I buy clothes in the Fast Fashion industry.

The secret is to not blame yourself when this happens. It’s normal and it takes time to adjust to a new lifestyle. Be proud that you are trying and know that next time will go better. Learn from mistakes and most importantly, don’t give up. 

I’m really curious what your favorite thrift outfit or item is! Share this via Facebook or Instagram and don’t forget to tag me (@emmawouterson) so that I can repost you.

Questions or comments are always welcome via my social media platforms, e-mail or under this post in the comments.

A new article every Wednesday and Friday!

Good vibes,
Emma