Shopping secondhand (with stores like PhillyFwd) is the most sustainable way to take part in micro trends, or just shop in general. The exponential rise of fast fashion has led to an equally fast rise of waste in landfills. Textiles specifically are the fastest growing waste in landfills. The average consumer throws away 100 pounds of textiles a year (up from 44 pounds in 1999), with 84% of those ending up either in landfills or incinerated. This then decomposes, releases harmful chemicals into the ground and local water supplies, and creates more greenhouse gas emissions than plastic or glass. (Full article linked here)
Some of the biggest thrift store chains in the US (Goodwill, Savers, Salvation Army) already have such an overwhelming amount of inventory. They are then tasked with disposing of a lot of the stuff that doesn't sell. This ends up at landfills, or other dumpsites. Dumpsites, like those in Kantamanto, as of recently have been giving more and more clothing to landfills due to the decrease in quality materials used. (If you’re interested in learning more about this, click here)
The sheer quality of clothing that you can find for a fraction of the price of retail is amazing. Even designer and higher-end retail brands end up regularly stocked by us, as can be seen below.
Shopping secondhand is the best way to extend the life of an article of clothing, keeping them out of landfills across the world. It also decreases the demand for fast fashion and newly made clothing in general. It's best to find a secondhand shop that has a curation (keyword, more on that in another article) that suits your tastes. I take pride in my curation, but that's mainly because everything I sell on here I'm genuinely into.