Can Thrifting Be Overconsumption?

Key Takeaways

• Thrifting skips the most polluting part of a garment's life: initial production. It also keeps clothes out of landfills and incinerators, and keeps money in your clothing budget.
• Buying secondhand is still the more sustainable choice, but buying more clothes than you need undoes a lot of the benefit.
• Secondhand apps, hauls, FOMO, and low prices make mindless buying easy. A 2025 study found that shoppers who bought more secondhand items were also more likely to buy more new items.
• The fix isn't quitting thrifting; it's slowing it down. Shop your own wardrobe first, know your style gaps, keep a realistic wishlist, and be picky enough to walk away from a good deal.

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Shopping for secondhand clothes is far better for the planet than buying new ones. There’s no debate about that.

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When you buy pre-owned clothes, you don’t use up new resources or further damage ecosystems. The clothes you’re buying have already been produced, and the emissions have already been released. In other words, you’re skipping the initial production phase of a garment — the most polluting part.

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You’re also extending the life of these clothes and keeping them out of landfills and incinerators. And because thrifting isn’t driven by fast fashion and ultra-fast fashion trends, it can help push back against hauls and impulse purchases.

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It’s also great for your wallet: it helps you stick to a clothing budget, or even reduce it, so you can spend that money on something else you value.

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Thanks to secondhand shopping apps, thrifting has become convenient too. In a few scrolls and clicks, you can order pre-owned clothes and have them delivered to your doorstep. But that convenience is creating a new problem.

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We’ve started buying secondhand clothes without intention.

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When Thrifting Starts to Look Like Fast Fashion

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Like fast fashion, thrifting hauls are all over social media now. Finding something unique on a secondhand app and buying it in a few clicks can still give you the same dopamine hit as ordering something new online.

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Add in the FOMO that comes with thrifting: What if I never find anything like it again?

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And the affordable prices.

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All of this makes it easier to add items to your cart without thinking. Without being intentional. Sounds similar to shopping on Zara or Shein, right?

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Sure, it’s not exactly the same. It’s a more sustainable choice. But it’s still overconsumption, at least in some ways.

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Overconsumption means buying more than what we need, faster than the Earth renews the materials to create it. The “renewal” part doesn’t apply here, but “beyond what we need” still does: we can overconsume by buying more secondhand clothes than we actually need.

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And this habit can also fuel the overconsumption of new products. A 2025 study found that shoppers who bought more secondhand items were also more likely to buy more new items.

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None of this is to suggest that secondhand shopping is bad. But like all shopping — it’s best when done with intention.

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Buying Secondhand Clothes Without Overconsuming

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The problem isn’t thrifting itself, especially when it’s done occasionally or out of necessity. It’s doing it mindlessly, at the same pace as fast fashion that can veer into overconsumption. Here are a few ways to slow down your thrifting pace:

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• Thrift in your wardrobe first. The most sustainable item isn’t a thrifted one: it’s something you already own. Play around with new pairings, and you’ll unlock new outfits.
• Start by figuring out your style (and your gaps). Notice what you actually reach for on repeat, and what’s missing when you’re getting dressed. You can even digitize your closet to make it easier to see what you have, right from your phone.
• Make a realistic wishlist before you browse. Pinterest boards can be great, but only if they’re grounded in your real life. Save outfits you can genuinely recreate with what you own (or with one intentional addition), rather than fantasy looks that’ll collect dust.
• Be picky. If it doesn’t fit your list, your style, and your budget, let it go, even if it feels like a once-in-a-lifetime find. Thrifting isn’t a race, and the FOMO is part of what makes it addictive.
• Spend with intention. Sometimes it’s better to buy one solid, pricier piece you’ll wear for years than to impulse-buy five good deals.

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