Thrifting Culture during the Covid-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on the Environment

Abstract

Buying and wearing second-hand clothes are still considered taboo and embarrassing by many people in Indonesia. However, a new phenomenon has emerged, namely the thrifting trend among young people during this pandemic. Thrifting means an activity of hunting used clothes. This study aims to 1) explain the cultural changes among young people related to thrifting; 2) knowing the motivation of thrifting among young people; 3) find a relationship between thrifting and the environment. The author uses cultural theory and qualitative descriptive methods, namely utilizing data obtained through literature study. The results of this study indicate a cultural change related to fashion among young people, which is shown through thrifting activities. Thrifting motivation is driven by the desire to be thrifty, look unique, and different, and care for the environment. Thrifting among young people is not just a dress activity but also a desire to take part in saving the earth and reducing waste.

Thrift Shopping and Indonesian Urban Youth Fashion Consumption

“…A further study even identified six motivations for thrift shopping similar to those above, but adding hedonism as one of the reasons people thrift and explaining that someone can splurge by buying second-hand goods (Bardhi and Arnould 2005). Two studies carried out on a very micro scale (interviewing five people) on the practice of thrifting in Indonesia found similar findings, focusing on economic and environmental motivations (Lestari and Asmarani 2021;Ayu et al 2020). But these studies do not fully explain the rising popularity of thrifting in Indonesia.…”

“…As one of the largest textile and garment producers in the world, Indonesia has also experienced a rapid increase in the business of trading second-hand fashion in the last few years (Machado et al 2019). Second-hand trading, popularly referred to as the practice of thrifting, has become especially common on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as e-commerce sites such as Shopee and Tokopedia (Utomo 2021;Lestari and Asmarani 2021). Most of the consumers of this kind of second-hand fashion are urban youth.…”

“…This thread then became a trend that day, with a discussion about how the used clothing business in Indonesia is actually detrimental, because it adds carbon emissions and threatens the survival of the domestic clothing industry. The thread sparked an intense public discussion on Twitter about the thriving used clothing business in Indonesia and its multi-dimensional impacts, as the industry not only violates the law, but also harms the environment and the apparel business as a whole (Lestari and Asmarani 2021). The thread and controversy about the thrifting business reflect broader concerns: the Indonesian government has banned the import of used clothes, and there has been criticism from garment businesses about the demise of their clothing trade due to the increasingly rampant practice of trading used clothes (including second-hand online shops).…”

Secondhand clothing purchase intentions: Generation Z’s perspective

“…Thus, the more stylish the SHC products, the more attractive the SHC is to the consumer. Today, most SHCs offer a current fashion style (Grimmer and Grimmer, 2022;Lestari and Asmarani, 2021), a unique or rare style (Ertz et al, 2017) and historical and cultural values (Perry and Chung, 2016). Accordingly, Generation Z feels that wearing such stylish SHC will improve their fashion presence (Hidayat et al, 2022).…”

The Role of Digital Animation Workflow in Sustainable Fashion Publication

“…Fast fashion that has significant impacts to the environment [ Fig 1], synthetic materials and chemical produces low quality product for the sole purpose of accelerating mass production [2]. During the Pandemic many people reconsidering their consumption in purchasing fashion, its impact the income that has led many people seek more affordable price when it comes to fashion and become conscious about the environment [3], they do thrifting fashion to fulfil the styles and design for more anti-mainstream look. In order to maintain the waste generated by fashion industry, many ways to achieve cleaner activities, such as conserving natural resources, recycling the materials, more durable materials or repairable, maximizing value through any strategies for more sustainable and circular approaches.…”