The Best Online Thrift Shops for Affordable Eco-Fashion & Vintage Style
Thrift shopping and purchasing second hand items is a great way to refresh your closet and lower your carbon footprint.
But not everyone has the bandwidth to "hunt" for the perfect piece of clothing at a thrift store.
In recent years, thrifting has received a lot of attention for creating unique style, shopping one of a kind vintage clothing, and creating an affordable way for conscious consumers to be part of the sustainable fashion movement.
This post does contain some affiliate links which means The Honest Consumer may receive a commission if you decide to purchase, however, at no additional cost to you!
While the ethical & sustainable fashion movement has highlighted some incredible fair fashion brands, shopping new socially responsible clothing tends to be a bit more expensive.
Shopping online thrift shops is a great way to make conscious consumerism more accessible and inclusive. Thrifting can also go beyond fashion. Just about everything consumers buy can be purchased secondhand, from books to clothing to furniture and more.
From clothing to tech items, home decor, sporting goods, and more, these items can all be found nestled inside your local pawn shop, thrift store, antique shop, or a seasonal garage sale.
While the pandemic put a damper on in-person thrifting, this guide features some amazing online thrift stores to shop while exploring the benefits of thrifting.
Is thrifting secondhand clothing better for the environment?
The thrifting phenomenon, either online or in person has significant environmental benefits that have captured the attention of eco-advocates.
But what are some of the impacts of thrifting? Thrifting is helping us more toward a more sustainable future! Let's explore!
THRIFTERS SEND LESS CLOTHING TO LANDFILLS
UC Berkley estimates that Americans send over 10 million pounds of clothing to landfills every year. When consumers purchase secondhand clothing this helps keep unwanted clothing out of landfills and extend the life cycle of the garment.
ThredUp found that the life of an item is extended by 2.2 years if sold secondhand, which reduces the carbon footprint by 73 percent.
Thrifters are also more likely to re-sell, donate, or upcycle their clothing rather than throw away items at the end of their lifecycle.
Essentially, thrifters create a more circular fashion system by buying second hand, reusing, and giving new life to unwanted goods.
THRIFTERS CONSERVE RESOURCES
Energy, water, materials, and land are all resources needed to produce new clothes. To create textiles materials must be grown, harvested and processed before being made into clothing.
It’s estimated that a single pair of jeans can use up to 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton. Due to the growing trends within the fast fashion industry there have been higher demands for these resources in order to produce enough inventory and styles.
By choosing to purchase secondhand clothing this acts as a buffer and helps slow the demand for fast fashion. Shopping secondhand does not require virgin materials to be produced in order to satisfy customers because thrifters are taking part in circular fashion.
Many fast fashion companies will throw away or destroy unsold inventory, where as thrift stores embrace the culture of reuse and re-love.
The more people who shop thrift the better, as it sends a message to everyone that secondhand is cool, and that it's important to care about the entire lifecycle of a piece of clothing.
UNIQUE VINTAGE STYLE THAT INSPIRES OTHERS
By shopping for clothes secondhand this is a great way to find unique pieces and create a fun sense of style.
When consumers are complimented on their one of a kind thrifted pieces, this starts the conversation and helps educate other consumers.
By spreading the word and encouraging others to thrift instead of purchasing new this can create a chain effect pushing others to join the circular fashion movement.
No longer do you have to purchase what's on trend right now (and some style cycles are not quite it!) by thrifting you can find clothes from decades ago or from a few years ago.
MORE AFFORDABLE PRICES
Second-hand clothing is already going to be more affordable than shopping department stores. One of the additional benefits of shopping from an online thrift shop is you can find luxury items at a discounted rate, way cheaper than the retail price.
Select places verify brands and make sure you're not only getting great deals, but getting the real deal and high quality items. It's the best way to shop design clothing and accessories in a more sustainable manner (for your wallet and the planet).
Is Shopping Secondhand Trendy?
Circular fashion is particularly popular with the younger generations. In fact, 49% of Millennials and Generation Z say that they prefer to shop in the resale sector instead of shopping new due to the trend of unique style.
Business Insider reports that because Gen Z has grown up with the technology to price search and shop online their entire life, Gen Z is incredibly thrifty and are less loyal to brand names and more focused on finding the best deals.
While it may be unrealistic for some people to go zero-waste, thrifting is an approachable and accessible way to practice an eco-friendly habit.
Thrifting is a versatile market, and there is no one perfect customer or audience. Those under all incomes, age brackets, genders and identities can shop secondhand, making it an inclusive, money-saving, and sustainable habit for everyone.
Another bonus to thrifting? You get to stretch your creativity muscles and really figure out your style.
Scrolling through pinterest or flipping through magazines to figure out what you want to look for and then getting that style to translate from thrifted finds is thrilling.
When you find a piece you love that is the right price and the right fit is like putting on a dress and realizing it has pockets. Ultimate joy.
Many thrift stores--online and in person--buy clothes right from their consumers. So, you often get to clear out your closet, de-clutter, and give a new home to a good piece of clothing or accessories that would otherwise sit in your home forgotten. The best part?
When you sell your clothes you can opt for a cash or store-credit option, and often the store-credit is a higher value. You get to fund your new style with your untouched older clothes!
What About returns, Sizing, and all that shipping?
An impact we don't often think enough about is the toll shipping takes on our environment -- from one-day shipping on trucks to global shipping on huge ships, or via airplane. Same-day or "fast" shipping from companies takes a toll.
Originally, the idea of delivery was thought to decrease carbon emissions from individual shoppers driving to and from specific stores by using big trucks that made more efficient delivery routes with lots of stops.
Then, quick-shipping came about to entice shoppers--they would receive their orders on the same or next-day.
That means more individual drivers and routes. UPS disclosed in 2017 that the e-commerce boom had decreased the number of packages it dropped off per mile, leading to more trucks on the road and higher greenhouse gas emissions.
While cargo shipping contributes other type of pollution: air, ocean, sound, oil, and greenhouse gasses.
According to the International Council on Clean Transport, global shipping emits 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year or just over 2% of all man-made emissions...that's the equivalent of the amount of emissions produced by a country the size of Germany. Not to mention, the return shipping for clothing that doesn't fit right.
What can you do about that? Shop carefully: many online thrift stores will disclose product dimensions, imperfections, and size guides. You can order many items at once and if you have to return them, you can return in bulk.
Or, some online thrift stores have a local shop and if you live in the vicinity you can opt to pick up your purchases in-store once you've purchased them online.
The same for returns. Then, you can go to the store on a day you're already out running errands and just include that stop on your loop.
Many environmentally conscious thrift stores offer shipping with carbon offsets, "slower" shipping to take more economical routes, and use sustainable plastic-free packaging.
There's never one perfect solution, but so may small choices we can make that have a bigger, more positive impact. There is a way to be socially consicous, environmentally conscious, and budget-conscious all at once. So, let's find your next favorite online thrift store!
A List of The Best Online Thrift Shops for Affordable Vintage & Secondhand Style
This list does contain some affiliate referral links. If you decide to make a purchase we may make a commission at no additional expense to you.
We’re all different, so naturally we all have a different take on thrifting. This is just a small list of the countless resources and options there are out there to shop secondhand. Take it upon yourself to try shopping online thrift stores & curating some secondhand style.
These are some of the best places to find vintage items, second-hand clothes, designer items, luxury goods, and more at a fair price.
MAW SUPPLY: BLACK OWNED VINTAGE & RECLAIMED APPAREL BRAND
MAW SUPPLY, also known as Man and Woman, is a vintage and reclaimed apparel and accessories company founded in 2012 by husband and wife, Norman and Rachelle Clark.
This Black owned brand specializes in sustainable day-to-day pieces, Norman and Rachelle share their love for vintage and secondhand goods that reflect simplicity, style, comfort, and individuality for the wardrobe of today.
KIDIZEN: SHOP & sell gently used kids’ fashion
Kidizen is a platform for shopping, selling, and sharing kids’ style. Built by moms and created for families everywhere.
Kidizen believes in a new state of mine, which means they’re reimagining how we shop and what we shop for—emphasizing community over closets.
Whether you’re a mom starting your first shop, stylist sharing a unique point-of-view, or just find yourself looking to browse, you’ve arrived.
LUXANTHROPY: DESIGNER RESALE THAT GIVES BACK
LuxAnthropy is where LUXury resale meets philANTHROPY. This purpose-driven online resale shop has a variety of designer brands.
LuxAnthropy is a top-rated, female-founded and women-run resale website with prices up to 80% off retail, and are giving back to charities making a difference.
This resale shop believes that conscious consumerism, sustainable actions, along with small but thoughtful acts of generosity, breeds global change. Conscious consumers can discover clothes for men, women, maternity clothes, high end bags, and more.
PERSEPHONE VINTAGE: QUIRKY FEMININE STYLE
Persephone Vintage offers quirky and reconstructed vintage clothing and accessories for women. This fun brand features a mix of high end and low end pieces but generally, vintage pieces that have modern day relevance.
Time and care is invested into altering certain items for modern day wear. This small business run on Etsy ships their vintage finds from California.
EBAY: VINTAGE FASHION FOR UNIQUE STYLE
eBay is a global commerce leader that connects millions of buyers and sellers around the world. While you can find both new and used goods on eBay, I think eBay is a great place to find vintage clothing and accessories.
Clothing is only the beginning of what you can find on eBay.Along with sunglasses, handbags, home goods, toys, you can find just about anything on eBay.
It's also a great place to re-home any of your previously loved items and recoup a little money, rather than send them to the landfill.
VESTIAIRE COLLECTIVE: SECONDHAND DESIGNER STYLE
Vestiaire Collective is a platform that enables people to buy and sell luxury, pre-owned fashion products. This UK brand cares deeply about fashion and the flaws the industry has: overconsumption, overproduction, environmental impact, work ethics.
Their goal is to transform fashion to an industry with a sustainable future--without loving fashion any less.
The secondhand clothing platform curates and connects the world's most desirable wardrobes and provides a trusted and sustainable new way of buying and selling pre-loved items.
If high-end luxury is your style, Vestiaire is a more sustainable way to purchase.They also has an authentication process and resells designer items for up to 70% off of their original price! So you can get the same quality clothing for much less money.
THREDUP: HIGH QUALITY SECONDHAND CLOTHING
ThredUP is an online thrift store focusing on affordable fashion. This platform allows consumers to buy and sell secondhand clothing online. They are part of a larger Collaborative Consumption movement, which encourages consumers to live in a more collective, circular economy.
ThredUP features over 35,000 name brands including J. Crew, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Christian Louboutin, Michael Kors & many more. ThredUP features a wide variety of women’s, children’s, and plus size clothing.
Along with buying clothes order a clean out kit. The clean out kit will arrive in the mail with pre-paid shipping.
Simply put all of your previously loved styles into your clean out kit bag, and drop it off at your local post office.
ThredUP takes in upon themselves to sort, photograph, and list your items for you, while you get to sit back and earn! They make an effort to divert ALL clothing they receive from landfill.
With 73% of apparel is sent to landfill or incinerated, 95% of which could be reused or recycled, they sustainably re-home any items they can't re-sell on their site from the ThredUp bags.
POSHMARK: AFFORDABLE NEW & SECONDHAND STYLE
Poshmark is a social marketplace for new and secondhand style for women, men, kids, pets, home, and more. Poshmark connects shoppers and sellers, allowing consumers to easily shop quality clothes.
With over 70 million community members across the U.S., Canada, and Australia and 200 million items for sale, we know you'll find something you love. I’ve been using Poshmark for years.
By using the search feature you can actually find quite a few ethical fashion brands on Poshmark too such as Nisolo, Eileen Fisher, and more. You can use my code HONESTCONSUMER to save $10 and check out my closet of ethical clothing.
MERCARI: AN AFFORDABLE MARKETPLACE FOR NEW AND PREOWNED
Similar to Poshmark, Mercari is an online marketplace for consumers and sellers. you can purchase new and pre-loved items from users all across the U.S. There are 50 million users on the app and more than 350,000 new listings daily.
This app is a great way to reduce clutter and re-home the gently-loved items of clothing and accessories. If you love conventional brands but don't want to shop brand-new, you can find clothing from your favorite brands and buy secondhand on the app!
This is a great way to divert fast fashion from landfills and also not shop brand new in-stores. You can find brands and makes across the board on this app! From new with tags, to like-now, to gently-loved vintage.
THRIFTED: CIRCULAR VINTAGE NOT FAST FASHION
Thrifted is a UK-based online thrift store has one mission: to make fashion circular. They're all for re-using, re-homing, and re-loving items and avoiding fast fashion that goes straight to landfills.
They aim to make thrifting cool again (come on, when was it not cool!) and disrupt the stigma that sometimes comes with second-hand shopping.
Conscious consumers across the globe can purchase one-of-a-kind vintage clothing. They ship their items in reusable, biodegradable mailers or recyclable boxes.
SWAP: THRIFTED CLOTHES FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Reduce waste and boost your closet by shopping secondhand with swap.com. Their focus is to provide affordable, quality clothing through secondhand shopping.They have clothes for the whole family–men, women, kids and baby!
Swap.com has affordable clothing from so many brands so you can always find what you're looking for! Thousands of new items are added to the site every day, so you may just find a surprise or two that speaks to you.
FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE: SHOP LOCALLY
Facebook Marketplace is a great way to buy used items online and connect directly from people in your local area. You can find clothes, furniture, electronics, and so much more. The best part is that you find deals locally too and pick up the goods you purchase.
This saves on shipping and is better for your wallet and the environment! This is a great way for you to clear out gently used things in your house that are taking up space and making clutter, too.
BUYNOTHING - A community group for every neighborhood
An alternative to Facebook Marketplace, you can join your local Buy Nothing group on Facebook or with the BuyNothing app. BuyNothing is a nonprofit community organization dedicated to regifting items into a circular, neighborhood-based economy.
Everything posted is free, and it's a great way to "shop" locally by keeping it within your small town or city neighborhood. The items are not limited to clothing and accessories–members post anything.
From furniture, to books, to clothing and shoes, to unexpired food and DVDs. The goal for this group is to avoid sending things to landfill, especially when the items have more life to live!
MIRTH: Classic, Timeless, Vintage
This Brooklyn, NY based thrift store is the place to go for thrifted and vintage pieces that will give a classic look and seamlessly integrate within your wardrobe. Mirth sources a selection of clothing, accessories and shoes from the early 20th century through the early aughts, and also specialize in vintage denim.
You can shop online or in their store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. You can also shop online and opt to pick-up in stores to save on shipping if you live locally.
BEYOND RETRO: Shopping Retro Through the decades
Specializing in vintage clothing from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and Y2k, Beyond Retro is one cool online thrift store. This UK-based thrift store cares about secondhand and has a goal to reuse, reclaim, and reduce ten BILLION items. Sounds like a lot, right?
But according to their website, they along with their parent company Bank and Vogue, re-home 90 million items. Pretty great start!
They also have brick-and-mortar stores across the UK and Sweden, so if you're local you can shop for and exchange your vintage style. People say fashion always comes back around, and this time they are really right!
THE REAL REAL: HIGH END FASHION
The RealReal is the ultimate destination for shopping and consigning luxury fashion. This online thrift store has a wide range of items from designer clothing to accessories, jewelry, fine art, and more.
What makes this platform special is that their authentication process guarantees the authenticity of every item purchased with The RealReal’s Authenticity Promise. The RealReal also has a consignment program, where you can send in your pre-loved items and have them listed on their site to be sold.
This is a great way to shop designer without the retail price, and to keep beautiful designs from being sent to the trash.
DEPOP: ONLINE MARKETPLACE FOR EVERYONE
Depop is an online thrift store that allows you to buy and sell clothing, accessories, and vintage items all from the convenience of your phone.
Depop is a global online marketplace where users can browse through secondhand items from people all over the world. It has everything from vintage fashion pieces to unique streetwear, as well as handmade jewelry or other unique items.
The great thing about Depop is that you can find a variety of rare vintage pieces and special one-of-a-kind items for a fraction of the cost. Plus, shipping on Depop is free!
RENT-A-ROMPER: Secondhand Kids Clothing on Subscription
Constantly purchasing new clothes as your kids grow can be so tough--on your wallet, your time, and the planet. Rent-A-Romper is a great solution: you can order a curated capsule of clothing for your kids up to the age of five.
Your membership allows you to pick the style you want and receive curated clothing just for your kiddo. They built their company with sustainability in mind - from circular practices to sustainable, gentle detergent used for the clothing they receive back.
They also have a closet-clean-out option where you can send them any unused gently-loved items of clothing your kids have outgrown.
Secondhand Stores from Retailers
It's also become popular for retails to launch their own secondhand shops reselling their brand's used clothes. Brands such as Patagonia, Northface, Everlane, ASOS marketplace, Madewell, and H&M are offering resale or trade-in programs for used apparel.
While select brands like H&M & ASOS might be using this as a greenwashing opportunity, this is a more sustainable way to purchase fast fashion than buying it new.
There are so many ways to shop secondhand and find quality, cool, stylish thrifted clothing for a variety of budgets. We hope this article encourage you to consider shopping secondhand for sustainable style and the planet!
Don't forget about the small businesses too! Local thrift stores in your area may be a great resource for secondhand clothing that is just as stylish as traditional retail stores.
This is an online thrift shop guide for sustainable shoppers!
We hope you found some great online thrift and vintage shops!
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