Curious about Thred Up? Benefit from my experience!
Many of you may be like myself, trying to do better job of protecting Mother Earth by reusing, recycling and repurposing. I often find myself asking how I can reduce my footprint in my daily life.
As a business owner, I have made choices to reduce my waste and purchase supplies that are ecologically sound. I recycle my metals, purchase recycled metals and purchase items for my packaging that are made from recycled materials.
In my life, I am drawn to brands that consider environment issues when creating their products and running their businesses. We all have a role to play in limiting the destruction we cause to the environment. If there is a choice I can make that is better for the environment, I feel compelled to do so. It's the least I can do!
When it comes to clothes, I love thrifting. It appeals to my nature in many ways.
1) I am cheap ;)
2) I love treasure hunts
3) I feel better about recycling the use of clothes rather than engaging the "fast fashion" industry
So, when I saw the "Thred Up" website in the digital universe, I was curious. I have made several purchases and returns with Thred Up now, and I thought I'd share my experience with you all as fellow environmentally conscious shoppers.
If you have not heard of Thred Up, it's a digital second hand clothing site.
They also have purses, shoes and some accessories. I recently bought some sunglasses. They also have kids clothes, which is a nice option for me since I have a funky teenage girl who likes funky clothes.
Fair warning: you can get sucked down the rabbit hole looking at clothes on this site! There is a TON of merchandise. From my experience, here are pro's and con's.
1) Take note of the categories.
Items that indicate "gently used" or any kind of wear and tear really DO look worn. If that bothers you, only look at "excellent" or "new with tags". You can't go wrong there. I went with "gently used" for some better brands (I like Athleta) because I know certain brands will last longer.
2) Be somewhat flexible with sizes.
I did the size quiz so that the site only shows me items that fall into the size category that it picked for me. As all women know, sizes are not consistent across brands. I bought a pair of shorts in my usual size that was an expensive brand, and they were enormous. Of course, it will make more of a difference in fitted clothes.
3) You can only see what they show you.
There is a front and back 2D view. You can zoom in a bit, but I always feel like I want to see more. If you are the type of person who must FEEL the clothes etc., this experience will be frustrating for you.
4) The filters and search options are awesome!
I found this really fun. You can narrow down to certain colors, patterns, accents, types of clothes, brands, condition, cost, size (of course), etc. There is such a huge selection that you can really narrow things down if you have something specific in mind. You can't do this at a thrift shop!
5) The website features are very cool.
You can click favorites and keep track. You can also save a certain "type" of search with various filters so you can do it again. There is a phone app (dangerous). They have "rescue" boxes if you want to upcycle clothes. They have a goody box feature, if you want someone else to find items for you (there is an extra fee).
6) The prices can be high for second hand, in my opinion.
I have found inexpensive items that were practically new that I was really happy with. However, generally, the prices seem higher to me than at a thrift store. If you are really into certain high-end brands, this might not be a problem for you. I think the prices reflect the benefits you get by being able to search up exactly what you want.
7) The shipping fees and return policy are fair.
It's $5.99 to ship for orders less than $79. Believe me, it's easy to get up to $79! There is a re-stocking fee to return items (if you just don't like the clothes) but they give you points for purchasing items so it didn't cost me anything to send a couple items back. You can just print out a return label and stick it back on the original packaging.
I have enjoyed Thred Up. I just ordered a couple new items with my return bank and it's fun to look forward to the polka dot package in the mail. I hope if you give it a try that you have fun with it.
Namaste,
Sarah
FYI- Thred Up is not giving me any benefit for this review!! :)