Circular Chic: The Best Online Stores for Buying Secondhand Clothes
Where and How to Shop Conscientiously
Want to live your best sustainable life? It all starts with your closet. We get it—eco-friendly fashion can be pretty bougie. Sure, “disposable” fast fashion doesn’t cost much, but brands with organic cotton, high ethics and fair wages don’t come cheap.
Call it vintage, preloved or refashion—secondhand shopping saves you bread, gives you a unique vibe and helps you go green. (Did you know that the average American throws away 80 pounds of clothing every year, which ends up in landfills? That’s giving us the ick.)
Here, we’re spilling the tea on where and how to shop secondhand to score some serious drip (IYKYK). You already know mega secondhand shopping resources like Ebay and Etsy, right? We’ve rounded up even more options. And don’t worry: All these sites ship to the U.S., so you’re good to go.
At Doo Dah Apparel, we believe in a sustainable, regenerative, circular, eco-friendly and socially responsible apparel industry. That’s why we’re fans of these online stores;
BEYOND RETRO
“Pieces from our past to save our future” sums up Beyond Retro’s purpose. Launched in London in 2002, the retailer offers its own upcycled clothing and collaborates with Coach, Converse and Wrangler in challenging the fashion industry’s waste problem.
Inspired by global fashion runways and street style, Beyond Retro prides itself on tracking down treasures from yesterday’s closets. “Fanatical about vintage yet precise with what we carry,” according to its website, the retailer sources merchandise ahead of each fashion season. It uses a sophisticated information management system for internal trend updates.
DEPOP
Launched in London in 2011, Depop is a circular fashion marketplace where anyone can buy chic, affordable secondhand style. With over 43 million registered users, it’s made preloved fashion cool while promoting resale culture around the world. In 2021, Etsy purchased Depop as a wholly owned subsidiary; today, it functions as a standalone business.
GIRL OF THE EARTH
A graduate of the London College of Fashion, Ruby Sinclair launched her retail brand during the pandemic with face masks made from repurposed fabrics. The daughter of antique dealers, she grew up in downtown Manhattan and has a built-in relationship with vintage suppliers and flea market purveyors. Today, Girl of the Earth has expanded into a complete women’s wear line made from vintage fabrics.
“Maybe you’ve heard that fashion is really wasteful—the third-worst polluting industry in the world,” said Sinclair. “Our pieces are made of truly upcycled vintage textiles with zero impact on the environment. You're not shopping—you're recycling.”
GOODWILL
A nonprofit organization in Rockville, MD, Goodwill Industries International helps people with disadvantages (i.e., welfare dependency, homelessness and lack of education or work experience, as well as physical, mental and emotional disabilities) land jobs. Clothing is one of its largest donation categories—letting you shop sustainably and affordably while rocking your individual style. Goodwill may be best known for its OG stores (with more than 3,000 locations across the country), but you can now shop online: shopgoodwill.org.
NA NIN
Meaning “I am” in Korean, Na Nin offers a wide selection of vintage apparel and accessories as well as upcycled styles. The Richmond, VA-based retailer recently featured a collaboration with local design studio Lasso La Lune for cashmere bandannas recreated from vintage cashmere sweaters. As its website explains, “This line reflects Na Nin's love of vintage, cashmere and our dedication to reworking and reinventing as a sustainable practice.” Na Nin also supports charitable organizations including Safe Harbor (a nonprofit organization helping victims of domestic violence and their children) and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
POSHMARK
Designed to making online thrifting fun, easy and socially driven, Poshmark is a leading fashion resale marketplace powered by a vibrant, highly engaged community of buyers and real-time experiences. “Poshmark is getting it right,” says Forbes. “The site manages to mirror the polished ecommerce experience shoppers have come to expect. Information is presented in visually appealing ways and complex search tools make discovery easier.”
Launched in Redwood City, CA, in 2011, Poshmark now has more than 130 million users. Its mission is to help pave the way toward a more sustainable future. “With refashion’s rebranding as a hot commodity deserving of the trappings of a glossy website,” Forbes continues, “it’s clear sustainable shopping is primed for a level-up.”
THREDUP
“Inspiring the world to think secondhand first” is ThredUp’s mantra. Based in Oakland, CA, the company facilities buying secondhand, and has emerged as one of the world’s largest online retail platforms for apparel, accessories and shoes (all at up to 90% off estimated retail prices). So far, ThredUp has processed nearly 200 million unique secondhand items from 55,000 brands in 100 categories.
Top brands and retailers use ThredUp’s Resale-as-a-Service program to deliver customizable, scalable resale products to customers. According to its mission statement, “By extending the life cycle of clothing, ThredUp is changing the way consumers shop and ushering in a more sustainable future for the fashion industry.”
THRIFTED
Thrifted believes in “circular fashion, not fast.” Headquartered in Essex, England, the retailer specializes in vintage ’80s & ’90s brands and styles targeted to students. Its sustainable, on-trend focus combined with value pricing and powerful social media marketing has gained a loyal following.
Founder Jonny Kemp launched the business in 2018 as a college side hustle, believing that “consumers are more concerned with where their clothes come from and the true cost of wearing something once.” Today, Thrifted sources from a global network of graders and wholesalers for a mix of vintage essentials and designer brands. All apparel is washed, modelled and photographed at its warehouse, where it’s sold on the company’s website as well as ASOS Marketplace. Instagram advertising and influencer marketing drives traffic to both sites.
THRIFTSOME
Encouraging everyone to “Shop Thrift, Save the Planet,” Canada’s Thriftsome ships secondhand clothing to the United States and beyond. Founded in 2018, according to its website, “We believe that looking good must not be at the detriment of the environment and fashion workers. By shopping at Thriftsome, you’re not only extending the life cycle of clothing; —you’re contributing directly to saving our planet.”
VINTED
As Europe’s largest online C2C marketplace dedicated to secondhand style, Vinted launched in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2008. Its mission: to make secondhand the first choice worldwide. Customers buy preloved clothing from each other, helping to give each item a second or even third life.
With offices throughout Europe and more than 2,000 employees, Vinted is now backed by six venture capital firms. Its new brand, Vinted Go, develops products and solutions for seamless shipping and delivery.
