Thrifting, or shopping for second hand or vintage clothes, is a lesser known activity in Jamaica. But thanks to outfits like Back on the Rack, Mukkle Thrift, Thrift Nature, Thrifty Boutique, and The Thrift Link it is becoming less and less taboo as Jamaicans begin to see the benefits.
For one, thrifting can be a great way to experiment with your style and spice up your wardrobe with unique pieces that you wouldn’t normally find in stores. Thrift Nature, Thrifty Boutique and The Thrift Link all offer a selection of clothes, shoes, jewellery and other accessories to play around with. The Thrift Link even offers books and furniture on occasion while Thrift Nature has its own special vintage collection called FlashJam Vintage.
Thrifting is also incredibly environmentally conscious. The fashion world is a fast-paced industry with trends changing faster than one can keep up. Clothes are often bought, worn once, and thrown out or forgotten in the closet and the process repeated again. But if it takes 2,700 litres of water just to make one T-shirt, one can only imagine the strain such habits place on the environment. Thrifting is thus a great way to practice sustainability. With people donating their old clothes and other people buying these clothes second hand, more clothes are being recycled and reused and clothes production is ultimately being reduced.
In Jamaica, thrifting is also socially conscious. Funds raised by these are donated to good causes. Mukkle Thrift assists boys’ and girls’ homes across the island while Back on the Rack uses its funds to help run the homes of Missionaries of the Poor.
And if all that wasn’t reason enough to go thrifting, the best benefit to consider is how incredibly economical it is! Mukkle Thrift for example has a $1,500 price cap on its quality items, making shopping there an amazing bargain.
The next time you’re thinking of going shopping, try something different and do some good at the same time. Back on the Rack is held the last Saturday of every month. You can check out Prips(Panmedia’s events app) for more details. Mukkle Thrift pops up semi-annually. Follow their Instagram pagefor details. Thrift Nature is at 28 Haining Road, New Kingston; Thrifty Boutique is in Mandeville and The Thrift Link or 876Thrift can be found hereon Instagram.