I've wanted to write this post since last summer when my beautiful and funny daughter recommended this app/site: Vinted.com. Have you heard about it? It's a "marketplace," if you will, where people (mostly girls and women) sell or buy gently used clothing.
What a great idea! A person can update their wardrobe at a small cost. (I know we'd all like to do that!) I mean, someone can have an amazing wardrobe and still love the little "kick" that a new top or skirt brings.
Some of your reading this might laugh. After all, I'm hardly the world's biggest fashion maven. Most of my wardrobe consists of business casual clothing for work and hand-me-down sweats for around the house. I sleep in t-shirts. It's functional. It's not that I don't love fashion, I do! In fact, when I was a youngster I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. My small-town, outdoorsy roots kept me from pursuing that dream (but that's a different blog post). I just have other priorities for my income, like making sure my kids get a first-rate education.
Aside from some very cool purchases I've made through Vinted, and even a couple of sales, which I will get to in a minute, what I like about Vinted is that it serves to change the way "Millennials" think about reusing items. Millennials--those born between 1980 and 2000--have become part of this "throw away" culture that is very prevalent in our society. They also are the most educated about the environment, yet seem to do the least about it. According to The Wire, researchers found that, when surveyed decades ago, about a third of young baby boomers said it was important to become personally involved in programs to clean up the environment. In comparison, only about a quarter of young Gen Xers - and 21 percent of Millennials - said the same.
- Meanwhile, 15 percent of Millennials said they had made no effort to help the environment, compared with 8 percent of young Gen Xers and 5 percent of young baby boomers.
- Millennials also were the least likely to say they'd made an effort to conserve electricity and fuel used to heat their homes.
- In the case of heating fuel, 78 percent of young baby boomers and 71 percent of young Gen Xers said they cut back, compared with 56 percent of Millennials.
Recent data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about 5.7 percent of the municipal solid waste (MSW) is textiles. A staggering 12 million tons of clothing and shoes end up in the garbage and make their way to the landfills every year. In New York City alone, clothing and textiles account for more than six percent of all garbage, which translates to 193,000 tons tossed annually. (These numbers mirror national averages: Americans recycle or donate only 15 percent of their used clothing, and the rest—about 10.5 million tons a year—goes into landfills, giving textiles one of the poorest recycling rates of any reusable material.) (Okay to be fair, some of the largest numbers in the documents cited, the 81 billion pounds of textiles in landfills, is more than just clothing, it includes towels, draperies, and other textiles.) But an estimated 12 MILLION TONS of clothing and shoes in the landfill? Seriously? Think about it. As landfills fill up, then they need to expand taking up more precious real estate for garbage. Really? And not to mention that landfills produce methane, one of the worst greenhouse gases out there.
So say you buy something and no longer love it. There are a couple of options. You could donate that item and take a tax deduction (or not). There are retail stores that sell gently used clothing all across the country. There are drop boxes all over the place--how convenient is that? And there are organizations that are upcycling textiles into something useable, which is another great option. (This may be the best idea for something that is torn or stained.) OR if the item is in very good condition. you can advertise it and sell it on Vinted. Plus, the cool thing is that you can get some real bargains on Vinted. (Twitter= @Vinted, Vinted on Facebook).
I know! Last summer I added some very cool items to my wardrobe from Vinted. Check out this great little silk swing jacket that I bought! It was about $15-20 and was originally purchased in a boutique. I love this jacket! It quickly became one of my favorite clothing items. (That's my handsome son by the way!!!)
To be fair, most of the people on Vinted are way younger than I am, so many of the styles are not for me. And that brings up a good point. . . .there's a lot of crap, er stuff that I would never wear, posted on Vinted. You can get all the skull and crossbones t-shirts that you want. BUT you can avoid all that too. You can search by size, style, and designer. ALWAYS some cool Ann Taylor or Jones of New York for us oldies, but stuff from Guess, Anthropologie, Lululemon, and other brands you'll recognize. You can buy shoes and other accessories, like scarves, jewelry, purses, etc.
Another caveat: Sizing. . . . Read the fine print. Ask the seller to take a picture with the item on. Ask if it's true to its size. And be willing to take a risk. Some of the items I purchased last summer would fit someone else who wears a 10 but is more flat chested than I. (And if that happens, you can turn around and resell the item!) There are some items that are just really difficult to buy without trying them on. I rarely buy shoes online, for instance. But at such a reduced rate, I might be willing to try. (I haven't yet bought shoes on Vinted, though I sold a great pair.)
Watch out for those sellers who are selling an item at a ridiculously low rate, but charging too much for shippng.
Some "Vinties" want to swap clothing and if they have something you like, why not?
Selling stuff on Vinted is easy. It's easy to upload a description and photos (make sure you take good, clear photos, on a model if possible). Be patient. If the item has been listed for awhile without selling, try dropping the price by a dollar or two. It refreshes the image in the queue and will often generate a sale. If something doesn't seem to be selling, you can remove it. (And donate it, remember?) Vinted has also added a feature where you can "go on vacation" and not have to worry about shipping an item quickly, if you're not able to do that.
Give it a try! Save money and the environment. See you on Vinted!
