RECYCLING RAD
FOUND FASHION REPLACES FAST FASHION AS THE THRILL OF THRIFT ACCELERATES
Two years ago, I watched my then 20-year-old son, Gavin, get deeper and deeper into thrifting. He would spend hours all over town scouring vintage stores, second-hand shops and estate sales. He was looking for vintage art tees (M.C. Escher, Keith Haring, Warhol) to pair with his modern streetwear brands. With $15 a day to burn on scores, Gavin quickly amassed a mountain of pre-worn wardrobe items. Boxes, bags and laundry baskets overtook the garage. Our cats began nesting in the waist high “to be sorted” pile. To help fund his new habit, Gavin began reselling on eBay, Depop, Grailed and Instagram.
As I watched his online presence spike and our laundry loads quadruple, I couldn't help but feel a fondness for and connection to the stuff he was finding. These were all brands and graphics that I loved when I was his age (from sports to Star Wars, The Simpsons to Smashing Pumpkins). As a designer and avid collector myself, I could feel this scene pulling me in. I joined Gavin on his hunts, thumbing through racks of clothes, scanning the debris to uncover a lost gem. I was hooked. In short order, I couldn’t pass by a thrift store without slamming the brakes and dipping in, just for a minute, to see if I could find something solid.
It quickly turned into a minor (or major if you ask my wife) obsession that involves frequent trips every week to the local Goodwill Outlet Centers, where clothes and home goods are unsorted and sold by the pound. It’s like the Klondike of clothing, complete with a colorful cast of hard core regulars prospecting the piles to find their fortunes. Aside from the aesthetic nostalgia of spotting good design amidst the clutter, I love knowing that I have liberated hundreds of items destined for the landfill and found people who will treasure them. I also love the scarcity of finding unique pieces that few people will have or may never have even seen before. But what I love most is learning about the history of the garments and the brands that made them. I can tell you what year a Nike shirt was made and the country of origin by glancing at the color and material of the neck label.
It would be a miss if I failed to mention the rush of finding something cool, then finding out what it’s worth. When my son lists an item I dug out of obscurity and flips it for big coin, it brings me deep satisfaction. Like many others mining for vintage gold, I was blown away when I heard about a 1990s-era Disney Aladdin full-print t-shirt (pristine condition, single stitch) that commanded a staggering $6,000 at resale auction. Legendary. This kind of news has fueled my fingertips with a certain urgency as I search for the next big score. Whether it's an R.E.M. “Automatic For the People” tour tee, a rainbow 1980s Reebok sportswear tank top with just a tiny rip in the armpit or a Spielberg blockbuster pop-culture promo jacket ... getting a huge payout is all about networking, knowing your audience and staying on top of trends.
GEN Z LIFTS THRIFT
Tracing the changes in my own household to the broader picture, I can see a generational shift taking shape. The resale and thrifting industry has seen huge growth over the past few years, with industry experts predicting it will double to $51B by 2023. Major retailers like Nordstrom and Walmart have entered the space. A trigger for this rise in vintage and thrifted clothing is a generational shift as Gen Z and Millennials seek nostalgia for things from their (and their parents’) youth.
Another part of the new generation’s value system is a growing concern over the impact of fast fashion on the environment. The apparel industry is a major polluter, with the equivalent of one garbage truck full of textiles being dumped in a landfill or being incinerated every second.
And fueling the interest is the constant frenzy of social media and content created. Resellers like Sean Wotherspoon and Slobby Robby have reached celebrity status among the vintage community, which has also added to the mainstream popularity. Both Sean and Robby have opened several retail locations across the country, even as traditional retail continues to shrink. Some even claim “re-commerce” will overtake the traditional thrift segment within the next 4 years.
This explosion in popularity within the thrifting and vintage industry, especially online, means that there’s more competition for used goods at distribution centers, thrift stores and estate sales. For those hoping to strike it rich, don’t expect it to happen overnight. It takes resellers years to build up a following and develop a niche, along with hundreds of hours of networking and thousands of hours of sweat equity learning the nuances of what is trash and what is truly a treasure.
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Written by Jeff Bartel, Creative Director & Founding Partner at Nemo Design
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