Reduce the impact of your wardrobe on the environment and on your wallet by thrift shopping.

I have shopped at thrift/recycled/vintage/opportunity shops for over twenty years. Some former buyers for some of our big department stores opened up small shops in inner Melbourne, selling designer, recycled clothes at extraordinary prices. Those ladies guided me and led me to repurpose and buy economically. From the outset, however, I do stress the need to look at tips to minimize your environmental and social impact

As I began scouring the web for some links to include today I stumbled upon Vintage and Thrift Store Shopping In Nice and ended up exploring Allison Coe’s rabbit hole. Her blog is a wonderful example of how you can create niche sites using programs like WordPress. She even promotes some accommodation. At $62 AUS a night, I could be seriously tempted to be like Virginia Wolfe and have a room of my own in Nice for a month. While in Nic I could fit in some serious thrift shopping. Better still, I could find a place where a group of like-minded could go, and have a retreat with a bit of a difference.

Thrift shopping is a form of treasure hunting! Just as I love to stumble upon a ‘lemonade stall’ selling plants that the big nurseries never stock, I do love to find a good thrift store. “Op shopping cuts out concerns you may have while trying to be an ethical consumer. Since everything purchased has been donated, you help break the cycle of fast fashion by giving old clothing another chance. Instead of your money financing unsafe production methods or working conditions, the cash goes to a charity that aids crucial social work in the community. Nothing tops the feeling of wearing an upcycled, unique outfit from the local Salvos that’s contributed to a better world.”

Apart from scouring thrift stores for clothes, they are a repository for all sorts of discarded objects. Just imagine Margery Williams finding an old rabbit in a thrift store and going on to write the beloved Velveteen Rabbit. When I run my Travels With A Donkey Course I always include a visit to thrift stores, disposal shops and would include a salvage yard if there was one nearby. These places are full of seeds of inspiration, just waiting to be gathered. For example, these shoes have a narrative to tell; may have provided a clue, in one of Peter James’s murder mysteries.

So what are you doing looking at your computer screen? Find space for intuition to guide you. Get yourself out on a treasure hunt and see what ideas materialize!