The rise in thrift culture

For Nicola Miles, thrifting offers a space for creative expression.

An outlet.

“It’s literally the only way I can find a unique outfit that really fits my vibe,” said Nicola, who also owns and runs her own vintage shop.

“When you walk into a thrift store, there’s just so many clothes there from so many different decades, different styles, different colours, it’s a field day, you could just pick and choose, mix and match - it’s just so much fun.

“Whereas, if you go into a store on the high street, it’s curated to a particular audience.

“But what if you don’t want to fit into that group?

“What if you want to express yourself outside of that box?”

To Nicola, thrifting also represents a window to connecting with herself.

She said: “I feel with thrifting, your desire is to find something that fits your personality and style – so it feels more personal.

“It’s more inward, more intimate – it’s like you’re reflecting on yourself.

“Whereas I feel when you shop at more mainstream high street brands, the thinking is more – ‘what is everybody else wearing?’”

The desire to step out of trend-sized boxes is gaining momentum, with a survey conducted by Statista showing as of March 2024, 63% of respondents in the UK said they had bought second-hand items, an increase from 40% in 2022.

(Brick Lane market: Nicola Miles)

(Brick Lane market: Nicola Miles)

And this desire to develop an individual style has only been fuelled by social media.

Sarah Morgan, a master’s student at the London College of Fashion, said: “If we didn’t have social media, thrift culture wouldn’t be as relevant.

“A massive part of why it’s blown up is due to Instagram and TikTok influencers promoting it, or people showing what they have got from thrift hauls, or people doing vlogs going thrifting.

“A lot of people are seeing the cool pieces people get from thrifting, and then wanting to jump on that.

“It’s become a trend.”

Sarah highlighted how the psychology behind para-social relationships, which are enabled through social media, has heightened the thrift culture craze.

“People want to do the same thing that their favourite influencers are doing, so if they’re promoting thrifting, then that is going to start filtering down into audiences.”

(Nicola Miles at Stockport vintage village)

(Nicola Miles: Brick Lane market)

Shopping second-hand was once deemed a social taboo, and was often subject to stigmatisation in the past.

Has social media provided the catalyst for this cultural shift?

Dr Stine Hedegaard, Course Leader in Strategic Fashion Marketing and Sustainability at London College of Fashion, said: “For second-hand shopping to rise in popularity, a shift in norms has also been necessary.

“Where second-hand fashion was not broadly accepted by all demographics and subcultures, it has gained more traction amongst broader consumer groups.

“I see social media as playing a significant role here, shifting our perceptions of second-hand as we witness influencers focused on second-hand fashion content.”

Perhaps social media has accelerated a culture where experimentation is encouraged.

“Maybe ten years ago, you would see someone in a different outfit, and it would really stand out,” said Sarah, 23.

“But now you see someone like that, and it seems a lot more normal because a lot more people are expressing their style and being less afraid to completely express themselves as they are. Society is more accepting and more 'woke.'"

And it’s no surprise given the centrality of social media with younger generations, that they are the drivers of this shift.

Data from Statista showed 68% of Generation Z along with 68% of Millennials had bought second-hand in the last year.

This compares to the 59% of Generation X and the 46% of the Boomers who made second-hand purchases.

“I do think the shift to some extent is driven by younger consumers who are experienced social media users and therefore are exposed to more information about sustainable consumption,” said Dr Stine Hedegaard.

“From spending so much time with Gen Z, I’m seeing a shift in the value of ownership, which is an emerging trend that younger consumers do not put emphasis on ‘owning for life,’ but rather see fashion items as something to be valued for a shorter period before they are happy to pass it on to someone else via second-hand reselling platforms.

“They don’t form attachments to ‘things’ to the same extent as older consumer groups.”

(Nicola Miles: Brick Lane market)

(Nicola Miles: Humana Portugal)

The desire to make sustainable choices is a huge driver of thrifting, particularly amongst younger generations.

Especially when consumers are exposed to cheap fast-fashion and ultra fast-fashion alternatives which have huge environmental impacts.

But does thrifting deserve the sustainable kudos it receives? Some fear consumers are thrifting as well as purchasing items from fast-fashion companies.

Dr Stine Hedegaard said: “I haven’t yet seen comprehensive, reliable and complete data that tells us if second-hand shopping is replacing buying new or if it’s simply an add on leading to increased consumption, which would have a negative environmental impact.”

Sarah further echoed this: “I do think thrift culture drives over consumption.

“It’s different to over-consumption and fast fashion, it’s a step in the right direction, because you don’t have the same fundamental problems you have with fast fashion within the vintage industry.

“But it’s still driving over consumption.”

Production of textiles amounts to 100 billion garments annually.

With 92 million tonnes of textile waste ending up in landfill.

The only barrier preventing this fate for the discards are textile collectors and sorters.

(Canva)

The Textile Recycling Association (TRA), who represents more than 75% of the UK’s used textile collectors and sorters, said in April 2024 that processing plants across the nation were reaching capacity – threatening their ability to collect textiles from charity shops, recycling centres and community textile banks.

The European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) also put out similar warnings in October 2024, stating Europe’s textile sorting and recycling industry was in ‘crisis.’

Jo-Anne Godden, CEO of RubyMoon – the world’s only completely circular, not-for-profit swim and activewear brand - said: “We’re in a position now in the UK where textile sorters and recyclers are going bankrupt.

“They won’t last much longer.”

The sustainable fashion advocate highlighted how thrifting is compounding the issue of overconsumption and overproduction.

Jo-Anne said: “It’s a bit of a diversion tactic, in my view, the way it’s been embraced, especially by big brands, unfortunately we’re now having the wrong conversation.

“Thrifting doesn’t solve that problem – it’s not a system change.

“In fact, it’s created a burgeoning second-hand market as well as a burgeoning first-hand market.

“People are buying things, wearing it once, and then putting it on a platform. And so, it’s creating even more excess than we had before.

“And every day our planet is being destroyed.”

Is thrifting an attempt to plaster the dark underbelly of click, click, click consumption?

Jo-Anne cites the law as the key to unlocking system change.

“The quickest way we can create system change is for people to campaign for political and therefore legislative change,” said Jo-Anne.

One example of legislative change, which came into force in Europe in January 2025, is Extender Producer Responsibility (EPR).

EPR is essentially a fee on textiles produced by companies, which is determined based on the environmental performance on the textiles.

These fees then raise the money required for companies to collect, sort and recycle the textiles they place on the market.

Jo-Anne stressed the importance of the fees being high enough to actually incentivise companies to use eco-friendly materials and to pay for effective recycling and collection infrastructures.

(Canva)

“That fee applied, the value of that needs to be high – we’re looking at £10, £20 for the worst offenders,” said Jo-Anne.

“That allows us to have a proper end of life solution for those garments.

“So, for me, EPR is crucial.”

However, maybe thrifting’s sustainability value should not be nailed to the coffin just yet.

“The second-hand market does prolong the life of the garment – which is great, but we must stem the flow of new garments because that would also help the second-hand market,” said Jo-Anne.

“But as it is, it’s just perpetuating the cycle of over consumption, and no one is addressing our addiction to over buying all of this stuff.

“If you really want system change, and you’re going to buy clothing, you buy it from a sustainable or circular brand.”

The fashion industry contributes 8-10% of global emissions.

Whether legislation is introduced or not, everyone agrees thrifting is here to stay.

Sarah said: “I think there will be an even bigger market for vintage shopping and I think we’ll just continue to see an even bigger rise of people promoting thrifting and sustainable shopping.

“I think it will become even more aggressive.”

(Canva)

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