The Sustainability Paradox of Secondhand Fashion
SFCN Student Lead
February 22nd, 2026
Secondhand fashion has become the ultimate sustainable fashion practice among young consumers, the “thrift” and “vintage” market dominating social media and fashion trends. Rooted in the promise of reduction of waste- the general idea is that buying used clothing is a practice of recycling and circularity that increases the lifespan of garments while also making fashion more accessible. However, recent research conducted by Yale economist Dr. Meital Peleg Mizrachi and legal scholar Dr. Ori Sharon challenges the ideas we have accepted about how to be more impactful when it comes to our consumption of clothing; the growth of secondary clothing markets complements consumption in the primary market and undermines the environmental benefits typically attributed to it by coexisting with continued overproduction and fast-fashion frameworks. Surveying 1,009 consumers across the United States, the researchers found that people who spend more on used clothing also tend to spend more on new clothing (r = 0.58, p < 0.01), as well as disposing their clothes faster and generating more textile waste showcasing how resale functions as an addition rather than a substitute, a behavior pattern observed outstandingly in younger populations and students.
The question of how we can consume fashion sustainably is extremely important, considering that the fashion industry is responsible for approximately 2-8% of global greenhouse-gas emissions and the second largest consumer of water, more polluting than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Over the past two decades, clothing production has nearly doubled while consumption has risen by roughly 400%, not to mention the social injustices and labor abuses that emerge from the unsafe working conditions enabled by the fast fashion market.
Among this chaos, resale has been widely framed as a corrective mechanism, a circular-economy solution that extends product life and reduces textile waste in landfills or incinerators, projecting environmental benefits that the individual can correct by engaging in these sustainable practices. The “sustainability bias” as described by Colasant and D’Adamo (2021) aligns with the contradicting results provided by this research, wherein secondary markets project environmental benefits but simultaneously feed into continued overproduction, undermining their impact.
Two behavioral theories have been attributed to explain why this paradox emerges. First, the rebound effect occurs when something becomes cheaper or more efficient, leading to increased purchases; if secondhand clothing feels inexpensive or environmentally harmless, consumers may be inclined to buy a larger amount of overall garments. Similarly, moral licensing describes the psychological phenomenon in which doing something perceived as virtuous gives individuals permission to indulge elsewhere; in this case, buying used clothing can function as a kind of moral credit that justifies additional purchases or later indulgence in the primary market.
The study’s results align with both dynamics. Higher purchasing activity –across either new or secondhand markets– was associated with greater textile disposal volumes, indicating that increased participation in resale does not necessarily slow consumption but may instead accelerate garment turnover.
Across the sample, 69.4% of respondents reported purchasing secondhand clothing at least once, demonstrating the broad reach of resale participation. However, this widespread engagement did not correlate with reduced consumption. Approximately 40% of respondents reported having never worn a quarter of their wardrobe, while 37.9% discarded garments within a year of purchase, and 14.2% within just one month. Within this pattern of behaviour, the surveying revealed that clothing disposal was not driven by necessity, with 25% of respondents discarding items still in good condition, and 43% because garments felt “unappealing” or “out of fashion”. This supports the assumption that resale complements rather than substitutes primary-market demand, as well as the fact that it promotes short garment lifespans, simultaneous with fast fashion dynamics.
Moreover, younger individuals were found to participate significantly more in the purchasing of secondhand clothing as a sustainable practice, but also in its contradictory increase in environmental impact. 79% of individuals aged 18–24 reported purchasing secondhand clothing, compared with 57% of those over 65, and students exhibited the highest engagement of any group– with 84% reporting secondhand purchases. These same populations also showed higher purchasing frequencies and volumes across both markets.
Most strikingly, increased environmental knowledge across groups surveyed did not translate into more sustainable behavior. The analysis showed a statistically significant negative correlation between sustainability knowledge and sustainable practices, suggesting that awareness alone may not just be insufficient, but even counterproductive or contradictory when not accompanied by structural or behavioral constraints. Both women and student participants exhibited greater environmental awareness and sustainability attitudes, but also purchased clothing in higher volumes and with higher frequency, ultimately counteracting any form of impact made and even increasing their environmental footprints. In fact, older and retired individuals spent more per item, purchased fewer items, and retained clothing for longer, illustrating that sustainable behaviour is more closely related to life stage-factors such as income stability and employment status, rather than driven by values of knowledge.
All that being said, the question arises; how do we move towards sustainability practices and awareness that actually manifests in real impact? The article emphasises the need for policymakers to push both secondary and primary markets to disclose their environmental impact, impose stricter regulations and taxes, and encourage marketing strategies that promote sufficiency rather than acquisition. As individuals, particularly as students, it is important to push for environmental awareness and sustainable practices that are more focused on increasing the lifetime of garments, reducing consumption of pieces, consumption of ethically sourced fibers and textiles, and an overall shift from quantity-culture to longevity-culture in fashion.
Read reviewed paper: Secondhand fashion consumers exhibit fast fashion behaviors despite sustainability narratives
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