Shopping Sustainably (And Affordably)
Where (and why!) to shop sustainability within the Twin Cities area.
By Dez Ulrich with art by Brooke Lambrecht
Shopping sustainably is one significant way to reduce your carbon footprint. Not only has clothing production doubled over the years, but also the lifetime of an article of clothing has decreased. Both factors contribute to the fact that humans discard 92 million articles of clothing every year (Mulhern 2022). Therefore, shopping sustainably, like with thrift stores, can decrease the amount of textile waste. Not only are there plenty of sustainable stores within the Twin Cities area, but they also still have current trends and styles alongside the vintage look.
There are wonderful thrift stores in the area: Sisterhood Boutique, an East African, woman-owned thrift store, focuses on empowering young girls and providing affordable clothing, helping millions of Americans a year; The Salvation Army, a nationally known thrift store, offers countless different styles of clothes; roughly 5 miles away from campus is Hidden Treasures, a thrift store that centers on building and connecting within the community; The Golden Pearl Vintage caters mainly to the vintage look, although it is a tad pricey; the iconic Goodwill may be overrated but still remains a solid choice, and they started the idea of leaving behind “not charity, but a chance.”
Additionally, if you’re trying to clean out your closet, give back to the community, or simply just make money—do it sustainably! Instead of adding your clothes to the waste, first try reselling them. My two favorite consignment stores are Plato’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange. I have had great luck selling my clothes at both, although it is important to note you’re probably not going to make hundreds of dollars. But! I know as a broke college student, $15-$20 can be a lot! Additionally, they are both thrift stores, and since a majority of their clothes were sold to them, they’re in wonderful condition and still affordable.