Published by Vanessa Brunner under Reuse/Recycle

While digging online for bargains is one way to get around the price barrier of Eco-Luxe, another time tested way to skirt the big price tag is to hit up your local Thrift Store or Consignment Shop. Not only is everything incredibly inexpensive, but chances are that you’ll find something wild and totally unique.

I’ll be honest, thrift store shopping can be pretty overwhelming. Sometimes the stores look more like a jungle of dirty sweatshirts and cordless phones. But, patience is key when it comes to finding the perfect item. And of course, it makes whatever you find seem like the ultimate treasure.

I spent an afternoon this week perusing Thrift stores in the Mission District of SF.  Michael Jackson CDs, fake gold watches, old Nancy Drew books, and tons of paperbacked romance novels are just some of the stuff piled up in the front of Mission Thrift. I almost scored a normally $50 metal hi-tech trash/compost can (priced at $18.99), but the tiniest woman I have ever seen snagged it from me. Such are the trails and tribulations of the Thrift store…

Clothes wise, you can see from my photos that I found a ton of treasures, and this was only surface diving! (Check out our Flickr page for more photos from my Thrift store trip)

Vintage stores, yard sales, garage sales, and Craigslist are just a few of many options to purge for re-used goods. One of my favorite things to do when I’m bored is look at the “Free” section on Craigslist. You wouldn’t BELIEVE some of the things people are trying to get rid of.

The best part about this (obviously) is what you’re doing to decrease the demand for new goods in the market. Shopping at thrift stores on a regular basis can do wonders to decrease your carbon footprint.

Donating to thrift stores helps too! It’s always better to reuse something than to throw it away.

Some quick facts:

-Americans throw away more than 68 pounds of clothing/textiles per person per year (according to the U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste).

-In 2001, an estimated 9.8 million tons of textiles were generated, approximately 4% of the total municipal solid waste stream (from SolidWasteDistrict.com)

-currently, every American purchases an average of only 10 pounds of recycled clothing per year, which is about 2.5 billions pounds total of post consumer textile waste that has been prevented from entering the waste stream (according to the Council for Textile Recycling)

-80% of textile waste is reusable: the quality of clothing we throw away in the US is unusually high. Often we discard clothes when we’re bored of them, or if they’re just out of style (from Reclaimfashion.com)