Lots of people dislike thrift stores, for a number of reasons. Often people feel they are “above” thrift stores, that thrift stores carry nothing but junk, or that thrift stores are dark, dirty, and depressing.

While there certainly are some pretty dismal thrift stores out there, most are fairly clean and well-organized stores that weed out the broken, filthy, and otherwise unusable before putting stock on the sales floor. And the customers come from all walks of life, from street-walking transvestites to trendy college kids to retired heiresses.

“Thrifting” is fun and it’s cheap — and it’s also a good deed, providing funds for various charities as well as keeping perfectly usable goods out of landfills and incinerators to provide a few more years of service.

If you’re new to thrifting, here’s a few pointers to help you make the most of a visit to a thrift store near you.

Be nice. The people who work in thrift stores are, as you can imagine, not usually paid very well. They may not be paid at all, as many thrift stores provide vocational training or rehabilitation services to people on some form of state aid. So be nice to them, just because it’s the right thing to do.

Do the circuit. Thrift stores tend to cluster together in areas with high traffic and low rent. Make a day of visiting all the shops in an area. Since each of the major charities that runs thrift stores tends to appeal to a different kind of donor, each store will have a slightly different kind of stock, so take the grand tour and take it all in.

Know the specials. Many thrift stores run different kinds of specials, often offering discounts of 50%, 75%, or even more off their regular daily prices. In my area, one chain takes 50% off anything with a different color tag every week, another discounts anything dated over a month ago, and still another puts out a monthly calendar with different half-off items each day (like ‘anything with a zipper”, “anything plastic”, and so on).

Know your charity. Some thrift stores are run for profit, so this doesn’t apply to them; for the rest, knowing who sponsors the store might provide valuable insight into what you’ll find there — or incentive to patronize (or not patronize) specific stores.

Be creative. One of the fun things about thrifting is that you will see things that lend themselves to uses quite different from their original intended functions.

A waste-basket can hold poster tubes, a suitcase can act as a coffee table, a record crate can be turned sideways to organize binders, etc. Keep your eyes (and mind) open for objects the might fill a need in an unusual and interesting way.

Have a use in mind. This is a warning: don’t get carried away. Be creative, be practical, but also be sure that you can actually use everything you pick up at thrift stores.

Low prices and the “here today, gone tomorrow” nature of the stock can lead to hasty purchases. Don’t shop for needs you might have, down the line — shop for things you can use immediately when you get it home.

Give back. Don’t forget to drop off the things you no longer use or need when you’re at the thrift store! Most of us have a pile of stuff to give away “someday” — old clothes, an unused piece of furniture, a box of books pulled from the shelf to make more room. When you’re heading to the thrift store, pack it up and take it with you.

Haggle. I don’t like to say this, because I hated when people bickered over prices with me when I worked in thrift stores. Don’t haggle for the sake of it — chances are you’re already getting a bargain, and stores aren’t under any huge pressure to move any particular item (unsold stock, especially clothes, is often sold to exporters who ship it overseas).

But thrift store employees don’t have much to go by in pricing goods for sale, and they make mistakes — if something seems clearly overpriced, ask to speak with a manager (don’t put floor staff in an awkward position) and make a more reasonable offer.

Don’t be afraid to leave empty-handed. Thrifting isn’t like other shopping, where you go in with a list of what you want, get it, and go. Thrifting is a scavenger hunt, where you can hope and dream about the Ultimate Bargain but have to expect not to find it.

Half the fun is in the looking — and in thinking up goofy uses for the unidentifiable products that someone, somewhere, once thought fit to spend good money on, or in making up back stories for the forlorn detritus of people’s lives, stuff marked “Bobby, 1st grade” and “Cheryl, love you forever, Dina”. Have fun and don’t worry if nothing strikes your fancy enough to take home with you.

Thrifting is obviously not the most efficient or productive way to shop, so think of it as part of your leisure activities (with occasional payoffs) the time you spend hopping from store to store is what you do next action lists, priority quadrants, and time tracking to make time for.

Take a day your next free weekend to explore the thrift stores in Lebanon, TN and see what you come up with!

Shopping today takes many different forms from shopping centers to online websites, but one way to shop that has re-emerged on the scene is thrift shopping.

Thrift stores first popped up in the late 19th century, according to Time magazine. When the industrial revolution introduced the mass production of clothing, clothes were seen as more disposable.

As urban populations grew, the size of living spaces shrunk, and more possessions were being tossed. Time also reports that thrift stores like Goodwill and The Salvation Army started becoming organized like department stores and changed their name from junk shops to thrift stores in the 1920s, allowing the middle class to feel comfortable shopping there.

In 2018, there are currently more than 25,000 resale, consignment and not-for-profit resale shops in the U.S., according to The Association of Resale Professionals.

About 16 to 18 percent of Americans will shop at a thrift store during a given year, according to America’s Research Group, a consumer research firm. For consignment and resale shops, it’s about 12 to 15 percent. Whereas, 1.4 percent of Americans shop in factory outlet malls, 19.6 percent in apparel stores and 21.3 percent in major department stores.

In 2012, rubber, leather and textiles made up nearly nine percent of the 251 million tons of waste produced in the U.S., according to the EPA.
Throwing out old clothing just shortens its journey to a landfill.

Cotton takes one to five months to biodegrade in landfills, whereas nylon can take 30 to 40 years, and synthetic fibers, like polyester, can take between 20 to 200 years to biodegrade, according to a Biodegradability Study on Cotton and Polyester Fabrics.

“Buying second-hand is better for the environment because it’s recycling someone’s old into my new,” PSUC junior environmental science major Teresa Moran said. “It also saves me a lot of money as a college student.” Thrift stores have clothes that aren’t sold in mainstream stores today.

Graphic sweaters from the ‘90s, flannels with oversized look and even retro boots are just some of the things people can find in a thrift store.
Michael Otton, PSUC senior environmental planning management said, “You can find things that you wouldn’t find in department stores, and it’s really cool how you can find various fashions from different eras.”

Otton frequents thrift shops because of the low cost of everything, even expensive articles of clothing like winter jackets.

“Unlike department stores, I have never walked into Salvation Army and spent more than $10 on one item,” Otton said. “I have found some of the most high quality stuff for so cheap at thrift stores, and it’s always so exciting to dig for new stuff.”

Thrift stores are like treasure hunts to some shoppers. Thrift stores today can carry a wide variety of items and clothing from kitchen appliances to retro hats for very low prices.

“You can find so many unique items that you really can’t find in any retail store nowadays,” Lewis said. Thrift shops in Lebanon, TN are appealing to people for unique items and low prices.

“Whether or not I’m looking for oversized sweaters and flannels or an outfit for a themed party, I can always find something,” PSUC junior environmental studies major Charlotte Martindale said.

“I also feel like most items that I have purchased from a thrift store have been made from durable material in comparison to some new items bought at malls that are also priced way more than items in a thrift store.”

Thrifting or shopping secondhand is a great way to reduce your environmental footprint while finding some really cool and unique items that you wouldn’t be able to get elsewhere.

Buying items brand new might not seem like it has a very big impact on the environment, but every small action counts. By shopping for things second hand, you are voting with your dollar as a consumer to not support the industries that cause pollution and tons of waste.

Here are some of the many reasons why thrifting is better than buying new items. 

1) Less Resource Consumption

The creation of new things takes a lot of resources, especially in today’s world of fast fashion and hyper-consumerism. Some of these natural resources are being used at a rate that is faster than they can be produced and are non-renewable.

When it comes to clothing, electronics, and other home goods, it takes a lot of water and energy to make these items. When you thrift something, you are not directly supporting the demand for new things to be made, and this has a positive impact since resources and energy were already used to create that item.

Specific to clothing and textiles, less fabric is wasted, and the water footprint of an item becomes less since the life of the item is extended. 

2) Fewer Things are Thrown Away

Not only are we using fewer resources when we thrift something, but overall, less things are thrown away as well. Shopping second hand is a great way to give a new home to some awesome items that would otherwise end up in the trash. 

In today’s society of consumerism, people often buy things without realizing they don’t really need them, and with items that are cheap and accessible people tend to throw them away.

To help lessen the impact that this has on the environment, you can choose to donate things instead of tossing them and consider looking for an item secondhand next time you need something.

 One thing might not serve the person that originally bought the item, but maybe it’s an item you’ve been looking to have or something that goes great in your home. With thrifting, you keep these items from going to waste by giving them a new life. 

3) Less Chemical Pollution

It takes a lot of manufacturing and processing to be able to create new things. When it comes to clothing, textiles need to be grown using pesticides, and then those fabrics are treated with harsh chemicals and dyes that can be not only harmful to the environment but also to our health.

When we create synthetic fabrics, greenhouse gases are released which contribute to climate change. These chemicals contaminate our water, soil, and air, and this can impact wildlife and the quality of many resources we use to survive.

Toxins can also disrupt our hormones and gut microbiome, and there’s still research to be uncovered as to how these chemicals can impact our bodies.

By choosing to buy secondhand, you aren’t supporting the demand for new products to be made using these chemicals, and the negative impact the item has on your health can also be much less compared to buying the item brand new.

These are just a few of the reasons why shopping second hand is beneficial for the environment. Whether you find something new with the tags on it still or a preloved vintage item, you are choosing an option that didn’t involve new resource and energy consumption, potentially saving something from being thrown into a landfill, and lessening the burden of pollutants on the environment that come from consumerism. 

Shopping at the thrift stores in Lebanon, TN are a great way to find some pre-loved pieces that still have a lot of life in them. The beauty of thrifting is that you never know what you are going to find!

Whether you are donating your unwanted items, looking for something specific, or just seeing what is out there, thrift stores are a great resource to find cool items while saving money and the planet.