“A bunch of my clothing get so many accolades,” says Dutta, 28, a research director at Clean Creatives, a non-profit promoting conservation in the creative business. An Alo Yoga bottom and glamorous clothes she wears when performing at jazz nights in Mumbai are two of her favorites finds.
Dutta is a member of a growing group of post-millennials and teenagers who think disposability is no longer fashionable. They want to purchase and celebrate outdated, or preloved/secondhand, clothing items because they are cheaper, more special and more important, better for the environment. According to a McKinsey statement, The State of Fashion 2024, 75% of Gen Z aged 11-26 users consider sustainability when making payments.
In India, thrifting began sincerely in companions’ houses, where garments were piled on to rooms and sifted through up. Garage sales and informal swaps were also known, but weren’t a popular concept. With millennial and Gen Z customers’ growing curiosity in informed style post-pandemic, thrifting has evolved beyond purchasing clothing, culminating in the fall of clothes swap parties. Imagine if you exchanged six old clothes for six new versions without spending a single dollar. That’s one of the causes for their rising popularity.
Prudence companies like The Shift, Bombay Closet Cleanse, The Relove Closet, Fashion Revolution India are now hosting standard clothes-swap events across the country, promoting spiral fashion. The swap-and-shop concept works on three ideas: decrease waste, promote ingenuity, and encourage individuals to recycle and prettify existing clothing.
At non-profit Fashion Revolution India’s latest transfer gathering in Bengaluru, for example, near to 230 people showed up. According to Shruti Singh, 36, the land head of Fashion Revolution India, the majority of them were Gen Zers and teenagers.
Saanvi Pahari, 17, a home student planning to pursue a bachelor’s degree in fashion design, was one of them. Given how filthy the fashion industry is, “I’m trying to be as informed as probable,” says Pahari, who received a red embroidered shake at the swap and a navy blue flowering mini skirt. Saanvi exchanged them for two of her mother’s cargos and two of her outfits.
Anuhya Katta, 26, a technical advisor at Deloitte, embraced her interest in fashion during the epidemic by surveying over 100 thrift shops on Instagram about their procedures. This led her to launch The Shift, a Bengaluru-based thrifting system that promotes upcycling and swapping. As a former fast-fashion consumer, Katta says she doesn’t want to be a “bad fashion citizen.” “Swap parties are important because we intervene even before the waste process. It’s about curvature in that little action” she says.
Clothing swap parties set rules for what can and cannot be exchanged ( no items that have been stained or worn-out ) to ensure a fair and enjoyable experience. By setting anticipation, organisers prevent disappointment and anger, allowing individuals to focus on the fun factor of transferring and building contacts with like-minded individuals. Anuhya explains, “By swapping clothing within societies, we’re building relationships and reducing waste. Therefore, it may turn into a two-piece set or a dust cloth. With a little entrance fee to cover logistics, swappers come up in man, fostering a shared expertise that’s extremely rare in the online-dominated prudence landscape.
Media planner Anushka Chhikara, 25, attended The Shift’s Heatwave Edition 3. 0 Swap group, where she browsed through some 600 products, alongside 55 different swappers. She had low expectations, but her haul surprised her, and she said, “I probably wouldn’t have tried any of these pieces myself. It was a guilt-free buying experience,” Chhikara says. She purchased a mustard yellow sweater with a black ribbon information, an anime-inspired colored grain bottom with a criss-cross bejewelled ring details on the chest, and movable sleeves, two items she would’ve never picked herself.
That’s something that drove Sana Khan, 35, and her girl Alfiya, 27, to launch Bombay Closet Cleanse (BCC). BCC began with a car sales at their Bandra apartment, used the money to pay for shipping, and gave the Salvation Army a part of the price. Now, BCC hosts clothes swap events every five to six months, offering a special thrifting knowledge. For a nominal service fee of ₹99, individuals can examine their clothes, get business credit items, and swap them for new items. The events are highly popular, booking up quickly, and limited to 40-50 people per session, with time slots available for 8 hours.
There is a shift in the tide, Sana says, “youngsters want to make more responsible decisions. It will only take a while before thrifting becomes a habit in India. ”
Sruti Ashok agrees. Her online charity initiative The Relove Closet in Chennai’s Besant Nagar was launched in 2019 as an online charity, but it has since expanded to include offline events. “We see mostly women since they are always keen on looking for something new and different,” Ashok, 33. “Also, they are more open to thrifting and shopping secondhand. ”
Making a strong style statement is likely to be the main benefit of thrifting. As Dutta puts it, “Thrifting is like expressing yourself by transforming something old into something new. Isn’t that such a cool thing? ”