During the lockdown, manyyoung people took to TikTokfor entertainment. In the process they also learned about the damaging effects that fashion — and other powerful industries — has on the environment. OfTikTok’s 800 million worldwide users,60%are members of Gen Z, many of whom are using their fast-growing platforms to promote thrifting as an alternative to fast fashion and an easy way to minimize waste. The numbers don’t lie:#ThriftStorehas 92.7 million views on the app, while#Secondhandhas 90.8 million views. “So much of our clothes get worn a couple of times, then head to the landfill, which is really gross considering how many resources go into producing clothes,” says 24-year-oldLily Fulop, the author ofWear, Repair, Repurpose: A Maker’s Guide to Mending and Upcycling Clothesand a designer at Refinery29. “We need to produce less clothing, and make use of the clothes that are already in existence,” she says. One of the easiest and most affordable ways to do that is by thrifting: “It saves water, reduces microplastics and petroleum use, cuts down on pollution from pesticides, dye, and shipping… the list goes on.”
According toEmily Reyes, a 21-year-old living in New York City, Gen Z YouTube influencers like Emma Chamberlain are in large part responsible for showing young people that, unlike what their older family members or friends would have them believe, fast fashion isn’t the only way to find on-trend clothing at an affordable price. The 19-year-old YouTube celebrity — who has 9.6 million subscribers onYouTubeand 8.3 million followers onTikTok— is known for frequenting Goodwill. Chamberlain’sthrift hauls, videos in which she goes through the items she recently thrifted and styles them on herself, are among her most popular videos on both platforms. Thrifting feels emblematic of the way that Gen Z prefers to stray from the beaten path — a path beaten to death by millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers, that doesn’t even seem to be going anywhere anymore. They want to be independent. They want to save the planet. They also want to save money —and make money. And they want to do it all in a cute outfit, probably one that costs less than $10. Thrifting makes all of that possible. Now that I know this, I look forward to making up for lost time.
Credit: Refinery29 – Click here to view the article
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