By Lilliana Cardenas 

If you were to ask someone on campus where their outfit was from, there is a likely chance part of it was thrifted. For students at the University of Arkansas, thrifting is not just a way to save money; it’s a way to express themselves, help the environment and connect with friends. 

“I like going thrifting just because there’s a lot of unique things,” Emma Livingston, a sophomore at the UA, said. “It’s good to find things that have been previously loved, just to combat all the fast fashion and give something more life.”

Livingston said that even though she doesn’t thrift as often as she would like, it’s always a personal and creative experience when she does go. For her, thrifting is a way to experiment with her personal style on a budget. 

“It’s a good way to expand your closet and have a lot of fun pieces,” she said. “I want to be fun in what I wear–different, not just basic.”

Gabby Keller, a freshman at the UA, explained that thrifting originally started as an activity she would do with her friends, but it quickly became a part of her lifestyle. 

“I probably go [thrifting] twice a month,” Keller said. “At first, it was just something fun to do with my friends, but after taking an environmental science class in high school, I learned why it’s important to thrift, because it’s better for the environment and the clothes are typically better quality.”

Keller explained that she now views thrifting as both a creative outlet and a way to be more environmentally mindful.

 “It’s kind of made me more creative in my style,” she said. “I always try to find something that stands out and catches people’s eye.” 

While thrifting is often seen as a better alternative to finding new pieces to add to your wardrobe, Keller is also aware of certain challenges that come along with thrifting.

 “It’s good that more people are doing it,” she said. “But sometimes it feels like people are just over-consuming. They’ll buy a bunch of stuff and then throw it out again. So it’s good and bad at the same time.”

Riley Holt, another student at the UA agreed with Keller’s outlook on thrifting. Holt said she started thrifting right before high school with her aunt and was a part of her school’s “Eco Fashion Club,” which promoted sustainable clothing habits. For Holt, fashion has always been about being creative while also being ethical.

“I’ve been thrifting for years,” Holt said. “I like getting pieces that have already been worn because they kind of have their own story before me.” 

She said the connection she feels to thrifted clothes goes beyond aesthetics. “It just makes me feel more connected to what I’m wearing,” she said. “There’s more personality that comes from it because I know nobody else I know has the same thing.”

Holt explained that she views thrifting as primarily a choice to be more sustainable. 

“I don’t always like supporting brands that are unethical in how they produce clothes or treat their workers,” she said. “When I buy from a thrift store, I know it’s not contributing to new production.”

Social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram, have also played a crucial role in promoting thrift culture. Many influencers will post “thrift hauls” and provide inspiration on how to style thrifted articles of clothing, which not only promotes thrifting but also glamorizes it. Livingston said she has noticed how Instagram and TikTok have changed the stigma around thrifting entirely. 

“A lot of people who you see on Instagram with really cool style thrift all their clothes,” she said.

Bear Thompson, the owner and founder of Ozark Vintage Market and 233 Vintage in Fayetteville, has seen firsthand how whatever is trending online affects what people search for in thrift stores.

“There are so many microtrends that happen,” Thompson said. “We kind of see the back end of it. Those microtrends show up a couple months after they’re popular.”

Thompson explained that thrifting has definitely become more mainstream in the past few years. A microtrend is a specific trend that becomes popular for a short period of time.

“It’s beneficial because more people are shopping my stuff,” he said. “But it’s gotten so mainstream that it’s harder to find things.”

Even as more students have been gravitating more towards thrifting rather than traditional shopping, Thompson said the rise of thrifting has its own complications. 

“Fast fashion will always be a thing, no matter how much I dislike it,” he said. “Overconsumption affects everything, from pollution to the amount of Shein products showing up in thrift stores.”

Shein is a fast fashion brand that is notorious for its cheap prices and unethical means of producing items. The company, like many fast-fashion companies, plays a major role in the clothing industries environmental impact. Despite the backlash, these companies remain successful due to their low prices.

While thrifting is gaining more and more popularity, many students and business owners are being mindful of what makes thrifting meaningful, which is the individuality, the sustainability efforts, and the sense of creativity it can instill in people.