A DJ blares TikTok by Kesha from an oversized, black speaker, shoppers bobbing their heads to the beat as they bargain with vendors. People swipe through racks on racks of vintage graphic tees and jean shorts, and cash swaps hands as they find their favorite pieces. Welcome to Guadalupe Market and the world of thrifting.
Thrifting has become an undeniably popular practice over the past decade, with shops such as Goodwill, Savers and other chains allowing for widespread access to secondhand items, and more curated, antique stores such as Pavement and Buffalo Exchange offering unique pieces. Teens, however, have proven particularly enthusiastic participants of the activity, holding various reasons for their love of thrift shopping.
“[Thrifting] kind of forces you to adapt and change,” senior Lucas Weston said. “Because you’re not always going to find exactly what you want, but if you get creative with it, it can turn into something even better than what you wanted before.”
According to Capital One Research, around one-third of clothing purchased in the U.S. during 2024 was classified as second hand, and with the thrifted market generating $53 billion in revenue, the practice of thrift shopping is huge nationwide.
“I really started to get into thrifting and filling my wardrobe with thrifted clothes [around] eighth grade, because eighth grade was [when] I found myself and I found my style,” junior Helen Tack said. “When you’re growing up, you just want to be like your friends. But by eighth grade, I was [ready] to do something more personal.”
For Tack and Weston, the practice of thrifting is partially in an attempt to find unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that many first-hand stores lack. Particularly due to the presence of antique or discontinued pieces at second-hand stores, the clothing truly cannot be found anywhere else.
“For me, [thrifting is] 50% the community,” Weston said. “Because nowadays, we go into flea markets and the Guadalupe Market, and the people there are just super chill. I like talking to the people, bartering – trying to kind of get the lowest price possible, while making some friends there. It’s fun to do that.”
Guadalupe Market, one of the biggest vintage and second-hand markets in Austin, is made up of around 30 different vendors – offering pieces ranging from graphic tees, to swimsuits. For many, bartering not only means getting a cheaper price, but it means building connections with vendors.
“And then the other 50% is the price, especially now when clothes even from places like H&M that are supposed to be cheap have super high [prices],” Weston said. “Going to the Goodwill Bins and getting an entire wardrobe for like 20 bucks is great.”
Another popular thrifting location among students, the Goodwill Bins is the outlet version of the more well known Goodwill. The store consists of bins filled with various clothing pieces, with shoppers rummaging through them in order to find their desired clothing. Since prices are received by pound, usually around $1 per pound, it is an extremely economical way for students to grow their wardrobe.
“I would say the economic aspect [of thrifting] is important, primarily because I do pay for my clothes myself,” Tack said. “Sustainability just comes with it.”
With the clothing industry being the second largest consumer of water, and accounting for around 11.8 million tons of textile waste in the U.S. per year, constant clothes shopping is not always a sustainable practice. Thrifting, however, contributes to the “reuse” part of the common phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle.”
“[Sustainability’s] not always the first thing on my mind, but it’s nice to feel that I’m helping the [environment],” Weston said. “Especially with how bad clothes have been affecting the environment. It’s nice to stay away from that and have a clear conscience.”
By purchasing second-hand, thrifters reduce the demand for new products and give used pieces a new home – saving them from life in the landfills. Some thrifters will even pick out unique pieces, and resell them as is, or altered, to others.
“I tried to get into [reselling] for a while. Basically just doing Depop,” Weston said. “The thing is, I didn’t like taking clothes for cheap and upscaling the price. What I like to do instead is just alter them – I learned to sew over the summer. [I] then sell at a fair price, so it feels like the upscale was earned, instead of just me trying to make a quick buck.”
Online sites such as Depop, Poshmark, and ThredUp offer opportunities for individuals to find thrifted pieces from around the world online. With nearly 95% of Americans partaking in online thrifting in 2024, it is a particularly popular facet of second-hand shopping. However, due to the more curated nature of the sites, prices tend to be higher than that of a traditional thrift store.
“It’s a dopamine boost when you find something [you’ve] never seen, or something [you’ve wanted],” Tack said. “It’s definitely a treasure hunt.”
