Secondhand costs

Alex Eben Meyer

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You recycle, bike to work, shop at the farmer’s market, and buy vintage clothing—anything to do the right thing and minimize your ecological footprint. You also regularly scan the racks of your local Goodwill or Salvation Army store, and when you go to a vintage shop that buys or consigns, you feel stylish and sustainable trading castoffs for cash or credit you then can use to buy yet more vintage fashion.

Unfortunately, your thrifting habit may not be doing as much good (or as little harm) as you think. 

According to a study published this fall in Scientific Reports coauthored by Meital Peleg Mizrachi, a postdoctoral fellow in economics, “consumers who buy a lot of secondhand clothing tend to also buy a lot of new clothing,” she says. “So, eventually, secondhand consumers are ending up buying more used and new clothing. And not only that, they’re getting rid of their clothes faster than other consumers who don’t engage in secondhand consumerism. They’re creating more waste than consumers who are only involved in the primary market.” So, adds Peleg Mizrachi, the idea that “secondhand is sustainable” can make it “easier to overconsume.”

In the study, 1,009 people in the US were surveyed on fashion and consumer behavior. When Peleg Mizrachi crunched the numbers, she found that secondhand buyers who think they are getting something “cheaper”—in terms of cost and in the effect on the environment—give themselves “moral license” to buy more.

Donating equals charity and that’s good, right? It turns out that it’s part of a problematic cycle that’s leading to even more waste. “Charity shops receive tons of unwanted clothes every day, managing to sell between 10 and 30 percent,” she says, while the rest is being sold to African and Latin American countries that cannot possibly handle the amount. A lot of it ends up in landfills or dump sites.

“I always feel like I need to do a disclaimer,” Peleg Mizrachi says. “I love fashion. I studied fashion. I am the first one to understand why people enjoy buying a new item or celebrating themselves through fashion.” The solutions, she says, lie in regulating and adding transparency to the secondhand supply chain. “It’s not about fashion; it’s about fast fashion . . . and the dopamine hit you get when you buy something.” On a personal level, she counsels being aware of your role in the cycle. “At the end of the day, the only way to get out of it is to reduce consumption. The most sustainable garment is the one that you already have in your closet.”