Resellers warn of dark side of vintage shopping

Vintage fashion is a means of self-expression for Dylan Fraser.

Fraser, an arts major at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University in downtown Halifax, said that when he buys an article of clothing from a reseller, he doesn’t mind paying the higher price because he feels that he is paying for the piece and the time and effort to find it.

To find some rare vintage pieces, resellers must often travel to thrift stores across the city, and some go across the country too.

Some resellers buy their inventory from bundle vintage clothes dealers in Asia and then resell the pieces in North America.

Fraser said that he cannot bring himself to wear a piece of clothing if it came from a reseller that sources clothes in bulk from companies with exploitative labour practices.

“Thrifting is an art. Using a bundle reseller to source your pieces is a cop-out,” Fraser said.

Paddy Jack is a job trainer and sales associate at Ventures Thrift in Halifax.

“Resellers who sell vintage pieces that come out of bundle are not vintage clothing sellers . ... They are just like fast fashion dealers who happen to sell vintage pieces,” Jack said.

ETHICAL SOURCING QUESTIONS

These vintage pieces that come from bundles are sourced from developing countries. Jack said that this brings up the ethical question regarding the sourcing and sorting of these clothes.

“People shop vintage because they do not want to support the sweatshop practices that go into making bulk-produced clothes, but the same practices happen in bundle clothes sorting warehouses,” Jack said.

In a report published by the Illinois-based Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment, researcher Nikki Palella, who majored in Earth, society and environmental sustainability, said, “Salvagers sort the clothes into two categories: industrial or vintage use. Those that fall into the vintage category serve as a bonus that makes vendors a little extra cash, as they’re always in demand from the fashion-forward elites willing to pay the upcharge.”

Fashion Revolution, based out of London, U.K., works towards tougher legislation, legally binding agreements and policy transformation within the fashion industry to help hold the industry and individuals accountable.

According to their report, “a large amount of the reusable clothing finds its way to sub-saharan African countries where it is sold on the second-hand clothing market by local vendors.”

The report said that these clothes are hand-picked by people working in sweatshops and then sold off to be bought at a premium by customers looking for vintage pieces.

Braeden Taylor owns Cherry’s Thrifted, an online and offline hybrid thrift store based in Fredericton. He sources vintage clothes, which he then sells.

“Sweatshops are not a good thing and we are not for them,” Taylor said.

He emphasized that resellers like him who source their own garments are not the same as those who source through overseas bundles.

BULK-MADE TRENDY CLOTHES

Bundles that come to North America from Asia also contain clothes from fast fashion brands. Fast fashion clothes are bulk-made trendy clothes. Brands do this with the view of making them for cheap, selling them for cheap and coming out with new collections as the trends change.

“Fast fashion pieces are made with inferior quality material and get threadbare very quickly,” Taylor said.

Cherry’s Thrifted has focused primarily on selling at vintage markets and flea markets. In March, Taylor said they made a profit of around $1,700. Some months are slower than others, especially during summer when people mostly buy T-shirts. His business primarily sells outerwear.

Inventory that isn’t sold at local flea markets is then sent to their secondary location, a barber shop in Amherst. What doesn’t sell there gets listed on ebay.

Taylor thrifts his pieces because he enjoys finding rare pieces and he likes to know where he is getting his inventory from.

DIFFICULT TO SOURCE PIECES

Meanwhile, Halifax vintage clothing reseller Jordan Turnbull has found it hard to source pieces for his store. He said the clothing at local thrift shops such as Value Village is either picked over or overpriced.

Turnbull’s company sells online and he handles the pop-up and in-person events in the Halifax area. The company has sold more than 1,000 pieces online.

He said that his company orders vintage clothing bundles from Phat Cash Fashion, a Bangladesh wholesale bundle reseller of vintage clothes.

“We get curated bundles with only vintage pieces sent to us at a fair price that works out less than Value Village prices and it helps improve my margins on resale while cutting the time spent to source inventory,” Turnbull said.

Vintage clothes bundles are sold on weight with an estimated 200 to 500 pieces depending on which bundle he purchases; Turnbull estimates that a pair of jeans in the bundle cost him around $5, a light jacket would cost him between $4 to $6 and heavier jackets between $10 to $15.

By contrast, a pair of jeans sourced locally would cost him $15 to about $30.

‘I GOT TO DO WHAT I GOT TO DO’

Because of these low inventory prices, the resale value for Turnbull is higher and more lucrative if he sources from bundle distributors in Asia.

Turnbull said the cost of gas to go thrifting, the cost of the clothing item, the time taken to list the piece and photograph it and then paying himself for the work is not worth it.

“Does Phat Cash Fashion function like a sweatshop ... maybe. Do I know that there is exploitation that could happen ... yes, but I am a reseller too, and I got to do what I got to do to keep my business afloat,” Turnbull said.

“I cannot price my pieces too high in Halifax since it is a university town and students have a university budget,” Turnbull said.

Amy Young, a Dalhousie University student who was sourcing clothes for her personal wardrobe at last month’s Northend Vintage Market, said she finds it hard to shop from resellers.

“I am choosing to spend a premium hoping the clothes are ethically sourced, so I do not contribute to fast fashion.”

She added if she is not sure of the source, she would rather shop from fast fashion stores because they are cheaper, and she can keep switching up her style as the trend changes.

For Young, vintage fashion is a good alternative to get pieces that last a long time because they are made with better quality.

“I want to know where my money is going, so unless the vintage store is transparent about where they source from, I will personally not be able to shop there.”