Even though the slow fashion movement of ethically and sustainably made clothing has been gaining traction over the past few years, not everyone can afford $75 leggings crafted from recycled plastic water bottles. As more and more people have learned about the fashion industry's adverse effects on our climate change, they have been frantically searching for alternatives. An easy option to fix fashion is thrifting. But first, let's examine where this thrifting trend started, how it benefits your wallet, and if it is better for the Earth. 

Social media is filled with hashtags like #stopfastfashion and #slowfashion. Each day, nearly one-thousand new posts fill these streams. This movement was initiated because each year, the entire clothing industry emits 10% of the world's carbon and 20% of the world's wastewater while dumping half a million tons of plastic microfibers from factories (the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles) into the ocean. Fast fashion is damaging to our people, our animals, and our planet. Unfortunately, quick and cheap "fast" clothing is the only option for many of us - unless we want to take the damage into our wallet. 

That's where thrifting comes in. Unlike mass-produced garments, slow fashion puts ethics before profits. These items may be more expensive than your typical H&M wardrobe, but they're well worth it. Higher quality fabrics in slow fashion can have a much longer lifespan, meaning they fill the shelves of thrift stores. And these garments are significantly cheaper than the many brands known to today. It's not uncommon for thrift stores to sell clothes that are 50% to even 80% cheaper than the original market cost. That means that you can buy higher-end clothing for less money. 

Thrift shopping tackles fast fashion in several significant ways. 

1. Americans alone throw away 10.5 million tonnes of clothing every year. Yet only one-hundred years ago, clothing was an investment. People would only go through a few high-quality garments a year. Thrifting can bring that number of discarded materials back down. 

2. Next, when you buy used-clothing, you allow it to have a second life and save resources. By wearing used and fashionable jeans versus brand new jeans, you save 1,800 gallons of water and dozens of valuable resources. 

3. Most importantly, thrifting can cut down on the carbon used from garment production and transport. The creation of a new pair of jeans emits the equivalent amount of greenhouse gases as driving a car 80 miles, plus the environmental cost of being transported hundreds of miles from the factory to store.

You can save money, reduce carbon, and live a light life when you thrift shop. Still, merely switching to thrifting isn't going to solve all of the fashion industry's problems. But thrifting is a great way for us to minimize our carbon footprint and put ethics first. With that, we can help live a lighter future for generations to come. Maybe buying used isn't so bad after all.