by Kelly Madera

Anna Toksvig started thrifting at 13. Now 18, she has noticed a substantial rise in the price of items at thrift stores, but a dip in garment quality. Previously employed as an associate at Fillmore & 5th (a designer consignment store with a flair for trendy pieces) in Palo Alto, California, she ventures that most people did not know they could receive a reasonably good return (40% of the total retail cost) if they opted to resell instead of donating to places like, Savers or The Goodwill. But is this strictly a summer realization? Or a sign of something more permanent?

There is a hypothesis as to why the cost of clothes have gone up, while the quality has gone down, “Everyone thrifts now. Hordes of teenagers will go to a thrift store, buy everything, and then resell it on Depop or Poshmark for five times the price,” Ms. Toksvig said in an interview.

She continues to say that thrifting has become a profitable business, instead of a hobby, or an alternative way to access high quality pieces without the high price tag. Over the last three years she has noticed another trend.

“Fast fashion brands are popping up like crazy. I see Fashion Nova at Savers now,” Ms. Toksvig said. “I don’t know if the prices of these fast fashion pieces are any different in thrift stores vs. online, but probably not. Seeing how people just discard these types of clothes like they’re nothing. Wear it once, then discard it. It’s a toxic cycle of micro-trends.” But even now, she does not see the over-consumption ending anytime soon.

Thrifting has done a complete 180, according to Francine A., 52, a former law office clerk turned associate at Savers in Redwood City, California.

“As a single mom with two kids, I started shopping at this Savers 27 years ago. I could find great pieces for my entire family on a relatively small budget. But everything is fast fashion now, she said in an interview.”

But it is not just Northern California that is seeing an influx of fast fashion popping up in their local thrift stores this summer, it is a reality that is sweeping the nation according to Adam Minter, the author of Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale.

In an interview with the New York Times, Mr. Minter shared that his research proved thrift stores have no shortage of donations, especially in recent years, regardless of season. However, this incredible increase in donations has led to increased business costs. Stores need more employees and more time to sort through the clothes. Inventory and space issues mean more clothes need to get either sold into the export market for a lower cost or disposed of, which has a financial cost, he said. 

“There’s all these clothes out there, but it’s just that they may not be as durable as you would like,” Mr. Minter said in his interview. Because of fast fashion and brands like SheIn and PrettyLittleThing, more than 60 percent of fabric fibers are now synthetics, derived from fossil fuels.

For Ms. Toksvig, thrifting has recently become more inconvenient. This summer, she made the move from Northern California to New York City to attend college at NYU where she is studying addiction psychology.

She said that it was considerably more difficult to find the items she needed for a big move that incorporates weather, transit, and cultural differences. Especially when one desires unique, high-quality, cost-effective pieces that mass produced, synthetic items at Target or Ross are unable to provide.

“Since I started working at Fillmore & 5th, I have a much better understanding of how clothes are made and which materials both look and feel great on my body,” Ms. Toksvig said. “It’s better to buy fast fashion second hand, but still, I wish it wasn’t everywhere.”

For generations of women like Anna Toksvig, just starting out, and Francine A., who has been thrifting for decades, the new reality of second hand shopping is upon us.

But is it really what we want?