Confession – I’m a thrift addict! Most of my adult life, I’ve been interested in bargains and often trawled markets for second-hand goods that would benefit me and my family. But my serious thrifting journey began a couple of years ago when I stumbled upon a myriad of South African thrift stores on Instagram.

During the Covid-19 lockdowns, Instagram became inundated with South African thrift stores because some mothers could no longer work and needed to provide a second income for their families, or young university students needing help to pay for their tuition fees. There were also people who realised they can run a successful full-time thrift business off of Instagram feeds.

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As a lover of bargains and fashion, I was thrilled and soon became obssessed. My body size had also changed, and I needed a wardrobe overhaul. Thus began my thrifting adventure. Now, about two years later, I have a whole new wardrobe with many outfits that I love and that I feel convey my personal style more than the items I found in stores – I always went for the cheapest and not necessarily what I liked. I’d say about 80% of my clothes are second-hand now, and I’m proud of it.

What I love about thrifting is that you get such a selection of clothes to choose from. Many of them are still in decent condition. But the best thing of all is knowing that by buying thrift, I’m helping the environment.

How does thrifting help the environment, you ask?

In so many ways. Firstly, the production of clothing uses incredible amounts of water. One of the Instagrammers I follow is @lemonadeamsterdam. She talks about fast fashion and how it impacts the environment. For example, it takes about 10 000 litres of water to make one pair of jeans. The dye also goes into the waterways and is harmful for the environment. Producing cotton (although better for our waterways when washed as it doesn’t release microplastics into our water system) is also water-guzzling.

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Fabric takes a long time to biodegrade in landfills. Well, certain types are worse than others. Those lovely stretchy jeans have petrochemicals which make up the elastic fibres – not something we want to leach into our soil. And some clothing has plastic in the form of buckles, buttons, parts of shoes, etc. Acrylic, acetate, lycra/spandex and nylon all have plastic inside them. And you know where that goes—into our water, and we, the sea creatures and animals end up ingesting microplastics.

It has been predicted that if things don’t change soon, the fashion industry will be responsible for using up to a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050. And they will need to use 35% more land to produce the fibres needed by 2030. Fast fashion is the biggest culprit. Fast fashion is when a company pumps out multiple new styles every year. Two well-known fast-fashion giants (I won’t mention names here) have brought out more than 11 000 new styles in this year so far. Now, for those who love fashion, I can understand the angst at knowing that may have to stop.

But, what about sustainable fashion?

Sustainable fashion comes in the form of recycled fabric and recycled garments. Some of the thrifters or vintage businesses on Instagram make the most stunning and unique garments out of pieces of other garments. Or they just ‘pretty-up’ old, staid, boring garments. Wouldn’t it be thrilling to know you’ve purchased a garment that is totally unique – that there isn’t a single one exactly like it in the world?

And well, by buying thrift, you’re also supporting small businesses and not padding the pockets of the mega-rich owners of these huge fast-fashion businesses.

I don’t think I’m going to stop thrifting anytime soon. I love shopping online as I don’t have to try on clothes under the uncomplimentary lighting inside the store fitting rooms. And well, I can browse through multiple products on my couch with a cup of tea in hand.

Is it worth it though?

does have a few disadvantages – you have to pay postage. What I do to prevent paying postage too often is to try to buy locally in my area or build a bag over a month or two with the Instagram business – they always seem open to the idea. Then I can pay for one courier fee for all the garments. And yes, sometimes it’s hard to see the size of an outfit in a photo, but many of the thrift stores offer measurements – or you can request measurements of a garment you’re interested in. Whatever doesn’t fit me, I then donate to charity or give to someone who can use the garment. It’s been so much fun, though, and I’ve managed to give my closet a complete makeover without spending thousands of rands.

Here are the Instragram handles from some thrift stores I buy from:

@shop_jess_leighs_; @obspets_catwalk; @thriftypaws123; @pearl_rose_lane; @kerrins_preloved_closet; @singles_thrift

Local thrift stores I love:

Dress for Less – 87 Umhlanga Rocks Drive, Shop 11, Arcadia Centre

Macks Thrift Shack – 22 Davallen Avenue, La Lucia

The Broom Closet – Golden Hours Market at Golden Hours School on Sundays at Uitsig Rd, Prospect Hall, Durban North

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