Hello everyone! It’s me, Farida, I am back for my third year at NJ Veg. Today’s newsletter will be about one of my favorite ways to shop: thrifting.
The term ‘thrift’ first originated in the 1550s, loosely defined as “habit of saving, economy”(etymonline.com). It wasn’t until the 1900s that it began to be introduced in the way we know it today for thrift stores, to go thrifting, etc. Thrifting is one of the most sustainable habits one can develop. Thrifting clothes has become increasingly popular in the past ten years, not only as a way to save money, but because vintage clothes are much better quality, and lots of Gen-Z hit the thrift stores to source rare finds.
Thrifting has skyrocketed in the past few years alone. Since 2025, the U.S. secondhand apparel market has increased 13%, which may not seem like a lot, but this number is projected to increase by 2030; not only that, but by 2030, the market is expected to reach $78.8 billion. (Thredup.com). This means that typical retail and fast fashion faced competition, after a long time of being a practically a monopoly in the shopping industry.
This is great news, as fast fashion is one of today’s biggest threats to the environment. However, clothing is only one way to thrift; things like furniture, books, kitchen items, jewelry, bags, etc, are all available as well.
Oftentimes you will find that thrifting will get you significantly higher quality and long-lasting items, ones that can be taken care of and passed down to future generations.
I encourage all my friends to dabble in thrifting, and I encourage all readers to do the same. Below is a list of some of the most prominent thrifting websites available online for all kinds of items.
Clothes, accessories
https://us.vestiairecollective.com
Books
Furniture
https://www.remixmarketnyc.com
Works Cited
https://cf-assets-tup.thredup.com/resale_report/2026/ThredUp_Resale_Report_2026.pdf