There is an ongoing debate about the ethics behind thrifting loads of clothes from Goodwill to resell for a profit.
Some people blow up their Depop shop and some turn it into an independent vintage shop with a target market and centered aesthetic.
Many people are against it because goodwill is supposed to be a non for profit to provide affordable clothing options for low-income consumers.
I understand that notion because the people flipping thrifted clothes are privileged enough to dawn a sowing machine to modify clothes themselves, where the original target demo for goodwill just needs clothes to get by.
Here are a few comments I have seen under a video from a reseller defending and educating viewers:
"People complain about thrift resellers but don’t complain about Walmart marking up cereal, milk, water, essential things, etc"
"The thrift stores dump way more than they ever sell. AND thrift stores are fundraisers for their charity."
"What you are charging for is your time and expertise to curate a thrifted collection and organize the pieces for sale. Fine by me!"
"People who think this have no idea how goodwill works. The money raised buys people new goods. It’s not charity giving someone discarded items"People tend to forget that when a business makes a price, part of that price pays for the materials. In order for resells to make a substantial profit they have to buy the clothes from somewhere.
I personally think it becomes a point of concern when established resellers start to mark up basic items more expensive than Forever 21 or Ross. At the end of the day, if thrifting and consignment shopping are better for the environment, sellers should take responsibility to make used items more appealing price than fast fashion. If a used "vintage" gap t-shirt is 50$ but a similar shirt from Zara is only $30, why is it wrong for the consumer to think of her wallet and her budget before thinking of the environment? Garment workers like to shop too, and if they are getting paid an unfair wage, how is it fair to ask them to spend more money on used clothing versus less money on something new?
This is a prime example of gentrification. Altering and tailoring goodwill clothes to sell at a markup is the same as "renovating and improving [something] to appeal to the middle class (thank you dictionary.com for that definition!). According to Remake.word, "There are more than 65,000 shops on Etsy with vintage in the store name. There are more than 150,000 vintage skirts, more than 124,000 vintage blouses, and more than 17,000 pairs of vintage Levi’s for sale in Etsy stores in the United States alone." What was once a charitable way to give to those in need, now serves as suppliers for the myriad of small businesses that make up the reselling community.
Another angle not often explored criticizes business practices of the corporate giants of the secondhand retail sector. Greenamerica.com exposes that 700,000 tons of clothes deemed unsellable get exported. That's just from what is donated. Let's say a reseller takes an old ratty sweater and flips it for profit. The sweater was purchased for $2 and when altered the seller prices it at $10 or $15 depending on materials used and labor. If that sweater was going to be taken off the rack and shipped off the landfill, thrift flipping can actually help reduce the carbon footprint and the impact of clothing pollution.
I would love to hear your opinions on the gentrification of secondhand shopping or the environmental impact of Goodwill and Salvation Army down below in the comments.
Sources
The Ethics of Resale: Recognizing Privilege in the Second Hand Market (remake.world)
https://www.greenamerica.org/unraveling-fashion-industry/what-really-happens-unwanted-clothes#:~:text=One%20popular%20charity%20shop%20chain,contaminate%20entire%20bales%20of%20clothing.
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