This EcoMinutes is about buying second-hand and was suggested by a listener, so if there are any topics you’d like to hear on this podcast, let me know at EcoMinute@wuwf.org.
You may not know it, but it's very likely you've participated in an important activity that helps reduce waste. Have you shopped at the T&W flea market, stopped by the Habitat for Humanity Restore, or gone to an estate or garage sale? If so, then you're reducing waste through the process known as thrifting, which is the act of shopping for second-hand or upcycled items, extending their lifespan and reducing the demand for newly manufactured products.
RELATED: This thrift store at NAS Pensacola is a lifeline for the community it serves
There are all sorts of ways to thrift. Locally, we have nonprofit and charity stores, where profits are directed to a specific mission; for-profit thrift stores, antique and vintage shops, specialty second-hand shops like used bookstores, consignment stores where profits are shared between the store and the original consigner; then there are flea markets, yard sales, estate sales, online stores, groups like the local “Buy Nothing” groups, or just a clothing exchange between friends.
Except in specialty second-hand stores, clothing is the largest single category of items sold in thrift stores. This is followed by home goods and décor, furniture, and books, media, and electronics.
In many of my daily EcoMinutes, I encourage thrifting. Buying pre-owned keeps the items in circulation and is better for the environment:
- It saves natural resources — creating new things uses a lot of water, energy, and raw materials
- It lowers the carbon footprint — factory production and shipping of brand-new goods are greenhouse gas-intensive processes
- It reduces landfill waste – things you sell or give away aren’t ending up in the landfill where they can take years to break down (if ever) or are incinerated
- It reduces chemical pollution – as I discussed in my podcast on plastic production, many of the chemicals that go into plastics and synthetic fibers are toxic, and then there’s the pesticide use on crops
Source: thrivabilitymatters.org
But how green are they really?
According to the book, “Secondhand,” by Adam Minter, the average thrift store in the U.S. only sells about one third of the stuff they get; the rest ends up somewhere else. And how green thrifting is depends on where that somewhere else is.
For example, according to the Council for Textile Recycling, an organization trying to raise public awareness about the need to reduce textile waste and the importance of textile recycling, only 10-20% of the clothing that is donated to charities is sold at their thrift locations, leaving 80% of the donated clothing to be sold to salvage recyclers. Forty-five percent of the clothing is reused and repurposed by being exported as secondhand clothing, 30% is recycled and converted into wiping rags for industrial and residential use, and 20% is recycled into fiber for items that make home insulation, carpet padding, and raw material for the automotive industry.
A lot of that exported secondhand clothing gets sent to developing countries. When my daughter was in the Peace Corps in Madagascar, she bought most of her wardrobe in street markets. She was able to buy well-known brands such as Gap, but the vast majority of the clothes she found there were from Asia. Unfortunately, there are always more clothes than there is room, and often the excess is burned out in the open, leading to pollution.
Solid wood furniture is generally resold with people willing to refinish them and use or resell them. Unfortunately, a lot of low-cost laminate or particleboard furniture often doesn’t sell and ends up in the landfill.
Appliances can be sold as long as they are in fairly good condition and all the cords are there. I was able to get a relatively new Keurig for work at the local Goodwill store. Electronics are a little iffier. A lot of thrift stores won’t accept old, outdated electronics, and what they do accept often doesn’t sell. So, a lot of electronics end up somewhere else.
According to the EPA, an undetermined amount of used electronics is shipped from the United States and other developed countries to developing countries that lack the capacity to reject imports or to handle these materials appropriately. Without proper standards and enforcement, improper practices may result in public health and environmental concerns, even in countries where processing facilities exist.
There are serious concerns about unsafe handling of used electronics and e-waste in developing countries, which results in harm to human health and the environment. For example, there are problems with open-air burning and acid baths being used to recover valuable materials from electronic components, which expose workers to harmful substances. There are also problems with toxic materials leaching into the environment. These practices can expose workers to high levels of contaminants such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, which can lead to irreversible health effects, including cancers, miscarriages, neurological damage, and diminished IQs.
EPA estimates that, in 2009, US consumers and businesses discarded televisions, computers, cell phones, and hard copy peripherals (including printers, scanners, faxes) totaling 2.37 million tons. Approximately 25% of these electronics were collected for recycling, with the remainder disposed of primarily in landfills, where the precious metals could not be recovered.
How to thrift:
It’s easy to over-buy when thrifting due to cheaper prices. However, buying things you don’t need just continues the waste cycle. Make sure nothing you purchase ends up back in the donation box. Before you buy an item, consider the following:
- Would I buy this if it were brand new?
- Do I have things in my closet that I can wear with this?
- If I plan to repair an item, do I have the time and materials to do so?
- Do I have something like this already?
- Will this fit me? (size, style, etc.)
- Is it outdated technology? Will you be able to update it or get parts?
- Does it work — are all the power cords, cables, or chargers there? If it requires batteries, bring some to be sure it turns on.
Source: colorado.edu
Contribute to circularity. When you have items in good shape (still usable), consider donating or selling them. If your clothes are too stained or damaged to sell or donate, cut up old clothes for rags or use them for a sewing project. One of my most treasured possessions is a quilt made from my husband’s T-shirts. A lot of my children’s baby clothes are too stained or stretched out for my granddaughter to wear, so I’m making a quilt and some pillows.
For things that are broken, consider repairing them or repurposing them. If they’re beyond reuse, find a place to recycle them. There are a number of businesses locally that take electronics waste and used CFL bulbs, and you can always go to Earth911.com for more information. There are lists of places in the area that take everything from boomboxes to ink toner cartridges or packing peanuts.
More references/resources:
biologicaldiversity.org
earth911.com
