Back-to-School Thrifting

It’s that time of year again. The time most of us struggle with the joyful anticipation of autumn along with the sorrowful goodbye of long summer days. The time of year we cram in all those summer vacation to-dos we didn’t get to the past 3 months, yet, have convinced ourselves they’ll get done in the next 2 weeks.

We’re reminded that summer is ending and autumn is beginning not by slight teases of cooler temperatures, but by the back-to-school shopping lists, retail ads, and the sudden pressure to buy everything we may need or want to prepare us for the upcoming school year.

As my husband and I made our usual list of back-to-school needs that included pens, pencils, erasers, a couple of pants for him, a silk blouse with a fall pattern for me…

I couldn’t help but wonder… How much waste accumulates with all this back-to-school consumption?!?!

I found from ‘Green Schools Initiative’ that “Americans use about 31.5 million tons of printing and writing paper each year, meaning 660 pounds per person, which requires 535 million trees.” (GSI)

A Nonprofit ‘Council for Textile Recycling’ states “the average US citizen throws away 70 pounds of clothing and other textiles annually” (CTR)

Money is also being wasted!

K-12 families plan to spend an average of $687.72 each, according to a survey done by the National Retail Federation. Money is broken down as follows:

• $238.89 on clothing,

• $204.33 on electronics,

• $130.38 on shoes and

• $114.12 on school supplies (nrf)

One solution to save money and waste is to go back-to-school thrifting instead of shopping!

I went back-to-school thrifting at my local Savers and discovered that some things are easier to find than others:

• Notebooks are impossible to find! Binders, yes, of all sizes and colors! But no notebooks.

• Tons of calculators

• Didn’t find pencils or pens, but did find loads of writing utensil bags & bins.

• BACKPACKS—no matter your flavor, it can be found secondhand!

• Lunch bags of all colors and sizes.

• Large selection of boots in good condition

• Large selection of tennis shoes not in good condition

• Brand names clothes, like-new.

I did not expect to find SO MANY name brand options in all sizes! I do still recommend routes such as Poshmark or Plato’s Closet to make shopping for brand names, secondhand, easier and faster.

Having specific brands are important to most K-12 graders, and these brands can be found secondhand.

A survey done by the National Retail Federation found in 2017

“65 percent of back-to-school shoppers say half or more of their purchases are a direct result of their children’s influence” (nrf)

I myself needed brand new Silver jeans, Aéropostale tees, Adidas runners, and multiple other things for school as a 2002 teen, that at the time, never thought to shop for secondhand. I viewed thrift shopping for the eclectic, not for the athletic me.

I now know that thrifting is for everyone!

Secondhand shoe selections are typically hit or miss. I was satisfied with the sandal selection available all summer long, and it does look like the boot selection for autumn is just as nice.

However, other style of shoes, such as tennis shoes, seemed really worn, and unlikely a kid would want them. Again, routes like Plato’s or Poshmark are good alternatives!

A better solution to thrifting for notebooks and writing utensils would be to invest in a secondhand tablet or laptop. This electronic switch-out would reduce paper waste and is much easier to find secondhand than notebooks, pens and pencils.

Back-to-school shopping is no joke.

Last year, “28 percent of consumers said they planned to start their shopping even earlier... back-to-school shopping now spans six months, from before May to October, and is the second highest shopping holiday in the country, after Christmas” (npd)

Let us save ourselves some money and waste; back-to-school thrift instead of shop!

Together, we can do better.

Thanks for learning with me this week! Continue learning along on Thrift Ethics.

See you on the feed thrifters.