Thrift Reselling

Thrift Reselling at Unfair Prices Is Indicative of False Consciousness

Thrift Reselling at Unfair Prices Is Indicative of False Consciousness


In recent years, the popularity of the shopping app Depop has skyrocketed, and its trendy, Instagram-like approach to shopping has resulted in an explosion of thrift resellers. Many middle- and upper-class individuals with storefronts on the app shop at thrift stores in low-income communities, buy trendy, good-quality pieces in bulk and resell them for three or four times the price. With the right lighting and fashion blog posing, a T-shirt that cost a few dollars from Goodwill warrants a $20 price tag on Depop. Though the mainstream popularity of thrifting is certainly a win for sustainability advocates, thrift reselling for multiple times the original price of an item from a store particularly catered to lower income communities is unethical and indicative of a flagrant lack of class consciousness in the sustainability movement.