If you are someone who values sustainability, the greenest gift this holiday season isn’t the one stamped sustainable. Rather, it’s the one you find secondhand.
Shopping for gifts can be hard—staying on a budget, finding something personal, keeping it original—these are all challenges when looking for gifts this holiday season. But there is a solution: thrifting or buying used. Cedar Walters, Public Information and Education Officer at Otter Tail Solid Waste, suggests you look for used this holiday season. “The greenest product is the one that already exists,” said Cedar.
“Some estimates are that 67% of everything we extract from the planet every year exits the system as waste [the same year],” said Cedar. “Buying used slows that system down a little bit and keeps things in use longer.”
Thrifting for Used Gifts
When thrifting, keep a list of potential gifts, and whenever you head to a thrift store, remind yourself of the list. Because you are shopping secondhand, it can be next to impossible to find the exact thing you are looking for, so part of thrifting is being open to different options and flexible to different products.
“You’re not always going to find exactly what you had in mind,” Cedar said. “But often, you’ll find something that suits your needs, and you will save money and reduce your environmental impact.”
Some Potential for Thrifted Gifts
- Vintage jewelry
- Unique housewares
- Fancy serving-dishes
- Board games and puzzles
- Picture frames
- Upcycled clothes
- Funky mugs
- Used books
- Storage baskets
- Retro lamps
- Vinyl records
- Sports gear
- Decorative rugs
- Rare artwork
- Wallets
- Vases
These are all photos from thrift stores in the region. You may not find something every time you look, but if you increase your frequency of thrifting, you might be surprised with an unexpected, perfect gift found in your local thrift store.
Combating Fast Fashion
Finding a gift for the fashionista in your life? Look second-hand first to help fight fast fashion. According to Berkeley College, Americans throw away 10.5 million tons of clothing every year. By thrifting, you keep clothes in the consumer cycle longer alleviating waste caused by the fashion industry. By choosing something slightly used, you save it from being thrown into a landfill and keep it in use longer.
Fast fashion is the business practice in the fashion industry involving the speedy production of clothes. It includes rapid design, production, distribution, and marketing. This rapid speed allows businesses to cut financial costs while staying trendy and relevant. But the real cost of fast fashion falls onto the environment.
Because of the poor quality of the cheaply made clothes, they are more likely to be replaced sooner. The cycle of buying, discarding, and buying again strains waste streams, causing waste management issues. Instead, buying something slightly used or keeping your clothing longer will lengthen the garment’s life, thus keeping it from a landfill.
A Green Holiday
Even if you don’t have time to physically go to a local thrift store, there is a growing number of online second-hand stores, like, Etsy, Mercari, The RealReal, Poshmark, Grailed, or Thredup. These stores may have more variety as well and help you look for a specific item, but Cedar suggests you look local first.
Donating and buying used keeps items out of landfills and waste-to-energy facilities, supports local businesses, keeps money in your community, prevents pollution, and saves resources that go into new products. Shopping used first should be the first option when looking for that perfect, one-of-a-kind gift.
About the Author
Brogan Ludwig is the ACC AmeriCorps member for West Central Initiative. His year of service includes working on the Climate Action Newsletter and Climate Action outreach. Brogan graduated from Concordia College in May. He lives outside his hometown, Hawley.
