Exploring the Gentrification of Thrifting
By Maddie Hall
Graphic inspired by Cindy Proaño / Daily Titan
Gentrification is a process in which middle and upper-class individuals begin to occupy a lower-class neighborhood and “rebuild” it. It’s a slow and gradual process that prices out the original residents of a community due to the cost of living drastically increasing. This term has been adapted to the second-hand clothing industry which is experiencing a similar phenomenon. The idea of thrifting gentrification refers to the influx of upper and middle-class individuals who voluntarily purchase second-hand clothing or individuals who have taken on the trendy “thrifted” look. However, there continues to be debate as to whether or not this has directly caused non-profit thrift shop prices to increase, making it harder for those who rely on thrift stores to find adequate clothing.
Over the past decade, the look of used clothing became societally rebranded as stylish amongst middle-upper-class individuals. Especially amongst teenagers and young adults, the “vintage look” has become desirable and trendy. The practice of thrifting, which was traditionally reserved for and associated with people of a lower economic class, has now become considered fashionable and unique. This desire for unique “one-of-a-kind pieces” could stem from the lack of variety in the current highly uniform retail environment experienced by these more affluent consumers. These new thrifters may also be opting to purchase used clothing in order to avoid directly supporting the fast fashion industry.
Another driving factor behind this shift towards thrifting from well-off individuals is social media. In recent years, thrift haul videos have become extremely popular on YouTube and especially TikTok. These influencers, who are primarily young white women, often film themselves searching through the racks of Goodwill, and trying on and styling garments. These videos are responsible for introducing thrift shopping to a new generation of teenagers and young adults and inspiring them to go out and hunt for their own bargains. What teens wouldn’t want to buy a bunch of items for their closet to style and experiment with for cheap?!
Social media also plays a role in the gentrification of thrift stores through second-hand buying and reselling platforms such as Depop, Poshmark, and Mercari and the creators that use them. Not only have these apps significantly popularized selling and buying used clothes amongst the middle and upper classes; they have also made “thrifting” more accessible and popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary issue associated with thrifting gentrification is the excessive shoppers that strip the racks of the “good clothes” from thrift stores in a plan to flip them and sell them on these apps at a highly gouged price. Some Depop creators have been shown to sell used items from the likes of Walmart for over a 600% price increase under the guise of being “vintage” and “thrifted”, simply because now it is a highly sought-after style.
Aside from price gouging, another critique of this movement towards thrifting is the lack of diversity. Thrift stores were meant to help aid those in poverty. Oftentimes these thrift shops are located near communities of color that have faced, and continue to face, systematic social and economic oppression; yet, the stereotypical “new rebranded face” of the thrifting trend is highly whitewashed and more often than not of affluence. There has also been discussion about how the notion of a “Depop seller” tends to be characterized as a conventionally attractive, slim, white teenage girl, and of the middle-upper class. This is also problematic in terms of the gentrification of thrifting because it is being observed that privileged individuals are taking resources from the less fortunate for the sake of pursuing capital gain. As the demand for thrift items is increasing, prices have been raised by some corporate thrift shops (such as Goodwill) in order to capitalize off of the trend revenue as well.
“An article originally published in El Vaquero found that in 2010, all of Goodwill’s clothing was valued at a flat rate of $4.00 for shirts, $6.00 for jeans, and $6.00 for shoes. Fast forward to 2020 and the valuation guide has nearly tripled for all of these categories. Women’s shirts were now $2.00 to $ 12.00, jeans were $4.00 to $21.00, and tennis shoes ran from $4.00 to $9.00.”
(Have We Ruined Thrift Stores for People Who Actually Need Them? August 29, 2021 by Allia Luzong)
As a result of these price increases, lower-income shoppers might be priced out of thrift stores in their area and may struggle to find any leftover “desirable” clothing on the racks. However, the price increases appear to be a result of corporate greed fueled by the instability of capitalism. In the end, we must blame the corporations for directly raising thrift store prices, not the girl on Depop. When talking about the shift of supply and demand and the subsequent price increases, in this case, it's important to note that correlation is not direct causation. Demand is in fact increasing in thrift stores, but they have no dearth of inventory. These thrift shops acquire inventory for free as donations, thus undermining the application of the law of supply and demand in this case.
“In other words, even when demand increases, if the supply is so enormous it’s virtually impossible to fully deplete, and acquiring this supply costs relatively nothing, the price doesn’t actually need to increase.”
(Thrift store “gentrification” is a symptom of a broken clothing industry, October 12, 2020 by May Braaten)
Overall, the discourse surrounding the gentrification of thrifting centers around the issues of overconsumption and questions the profit motivations of resellers. It also appears to be a broader critique of social inequity and capitalism. The concept of gentrification has been around for over 60 years, but over recent years it has been catalyzed and perpetuated by the internet and social media. There is not much evidence establishing the increase in demand of second-hand clothes as causation for thrift shop price increases, but it is a discussion worth having. We must continue to examine how this appropriation of charity by the middle-upper class is affecting those who rely on it. But this isn’t to say to never thrift again- just a reminder to be more conscientious when you do. Despite the desire to bulk purchase because of cheaper prices, refrain from impulse buying at the thrift: buy only what you are going to wear and use. If you are a creator or reseller who needs to bulk buy, consider buying from thrift outlets instead, where clothing will be tossed, recycled, or shipped overseas. Additionally, creators must also be mindful of price gouging: charge a fair price for your work but try not to highly capitalize off of charitable donations. (1113 words)
Sources:
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22396051/thrift-store-hauls-ethics-depop
https://jezebel.com/the-complicated-reality-of-thrift-store-gentrification-1846113458
https://www.alittlebithuman.com/have-we-ruined-thrift-stores-for-people-who-actually-need-them/
