Happy New Year! Can you believe it’s 2025?! I mean, a quarter century, that’s insane. Heck, people born in 2004 can now order a drink at a bar, and I stopped getting ID-ed! What is this?!
But do you know what you can be any age for (or claim to be any age for)? Buying stuff online.
Warning: I’m a sucker for thrifting and am dropping a new thrifted clothing line called Bear Hug Upcycled Apparel that I’ll talk about in this post! Super exciting! But this is about gear as a whole, not just my shirts, so please take this post to heart whether or not you’re interested in my project :-)
Big Spenders
We live in the age of consumerism, where with a couple of clicks, you can go from your Facebook feed to buying that immersion blender you desperately need (I’m right there with you, Queen). With digital marketing analyzing your spending habits and your digital credit card auto-filled in the checkout box, buying online is only getting easier. This is not a condemnation- I’m speaking from experience! You KNOW ya girl loves finding those online deals!
Everybody has their own spending habits that you may (or may not) work into a budget. We all buy stuff, that’s just what we do! I do it, you do it, we all do it! We buy gifts to show love, tools to make our lives easier, decor to make houses into homes, toys for our animal friends, and goods and services that make our globalized world go round.
So I’m not trying to discourage you from shopping, by any means! Rather, I’m here to talk about what we’re purchasing. I promise this is related to a travel blog.
Where Used Gear, Shopping, and Travel Collide
Living in the Pacific Northwest, I am surrounded by multi-sport athletes waiting for the next powder day, clear day, river permit, hiking permit, trail cleanup, windy day, or a “going off” wave day (surfers, please don’t hate me for writing that, I cringed at myself, too). We're all awaiting the best conditions to get out and go. It’s epic and people are crazy and I love being surrounded by that energy!
note: this is not a before-and-after photo! It's the same trail on the same day, just facing different directions. Big shout out to the Gorge's volunteers and workers for trail clean-ups and rebuilding after devastating events.
This concept is not limited to the PNW! No matter where you live, there are microcultures of athletes living their best lives- you included! It may be professional, amateur, beginner, or total newbie, but there are always activities going on. In the PNW- as in most places- these activities require gear.
My plea to you: consider buying used gear!
If you already do, hooray! Here is your Tiff’s Travel Tips gold star ⭐️. If you don’t, here’s why you should consider doing so...I’ll start with the longest one:
Buy Used Clothing Gear:
Most passions include clothing. Some don’t! But I’m here to talk about the ones that do. Whether you need body suits for surfing the chilly Northern Pacific, thermals for snowboarding, or quick-dry pants for hiking, you buy clothes to do the things you love. It’s normal.
The problem: Overconsumption of New Goods
If you buy all your gear new, consider this:
A Quantis study measuring the environmental impact of fashion says,
“The apparel industry’s production impacts on climate change increased 35% between 2005 and 2016 and are projected to steadily rise in 2020 and 2030, if a business-as-usual scenario prevails.”
Fast fashion is an issue and it’s hurting the earth. I know, you may be thinking but I wear the same hiking clothes every year. Yes, but this issue is micro and macro. Each year/season, companies come out with new, “better” apparel, and people are buying it.
The study breaks down the process of textile and footwear lifecycles as such:
1. Fiber production
2. Yarn preparation
3. Fabric preparation
4. Dyeing and Finishing
5. Assembly
6. Distribution
7. Disposal
Every single step takes energy (typically burning fossil fuels) and freshwater consumption. The process of making an article of clothing creates HUGE environmental impacts, right from the start. “Together the apparel and footwear industries generated between 5 and 10% of global pollution impacts…” and that was nine years ago (Quantis). It’s grown since.
I encourage you to read the whole study! There are pretty major analyses that could make the scope of the fashion industry more digestible, and hopefully freak you out (in a good way- knowledge leads to positive impact)!
Just as another not-so-fun fact...
The EPA’s latest data shows that “Landfills received 11.3 million tons of municipal solid waste textiles in 2018. This was 7.7 percent of all MSW landfilled,” meaning SOOOO many clothes are just thrown away and burned (EPA). The clothes trashed instead of recycled kills the textile cycle; fiber production starts over, which, as stated above, uses up energy and requires a lot of fresh water.
Key takeaway: fast fashion is a huge contributor to carbon emissions and its carbon footpring hurts the Earth.
The Solution:
While some brands are dedicated to sustainability- typically by using recycled textiles- buying secondhand is a much more sustainable practice.
You can buy used clothing online through websites like depop.com or poshmark.com, which ship right to your door! For more close-to-home options, there’s good old fashion Facebook marketplace or Craigslist! If you are in an area with people who share the same passions and activities that you do, there will definitely be used gear to choose from on these sites.
You can take your browsing to a brick-and-mortar store and shop at your local thrift stores! Type "thrift store" into your GPS and they’ll pop up.
I haven’t even touched on the world of kid thrifting, which is apparently amazing according to some of my mom friends!! If you have kids, look into this! Since I don’t yet, I’ll let you venture down that rabbit hole yourself.
Do you have gear you bought because you thought you were gonna get really into that one cool thing and then tried it out once? No shame! Use that spark of passion and spending for good! Sell it or donate it to someone who will love it well.
Another Sustainability Solution:
Buy my shirts! Lol, not so subtle self-promotion! My latest passion project is finding like-new/gently-used clothing and putting my art on it! If you want an upcycled shirt that has a little piece of my heart, you can order one by clicking the button below :-)
P.S. upcycling is like recycling, except it takes a pre-owned object and enhances it (in this case, with my designs).
Some of the designs I've made! All shirts on the webpage are thrifted yayyy!
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A Confession:
I do not only buy used gear and clothes!! I’m not going to pretend like I'm the queen of sustainability, because I am far from it. I enjoy new hiking gear. So please know that I’m not trying to castigate you. I’m looking at my own actions and want to do better. Maybe the information will resonate with you, too. I’m also not saying you’re a bad person if you don’t only buy used clothes. I don’t only buy used. It’s not a cold turkey scenario and it’s not a ploy to make you feel guilty when you want something new. I’m simply asking you to look at your habits and notice how those habits affect the world.
Buy Used Equipment
I’ll keep this one short.
New equipment is either expensive and will last a long time or cheap and will last you less than a season. Buy used and get the best of both worlds: lower prices (the seller already spent the big bucks) and equipment longevity. A lot of people want the next best thing, so they sell “old” gear. Other people either don’t want to or can no longer do the sport they once did, so they do not need their nice equipment.
I get it! Sometimes it can be such a rush to know that you’re the only one who has used that snowboard. But in reality, after the first time down the mountain, the other boards that have seen one, maybe two days on the slopes work just as well.
A Caveat:
The only gear I recommend getting new are hiking boots and running shoes. I talk about this in the blog post When to Say Goodbye to Your Old Hiking Boots. I hate throwing away gear, but sometimes it just needs to be done. That post shares ways you can recycle your shoes and contribute less to landfills.
It’s Fun to Buy Used Gear!
It really is! Buying used gear- including clothes and equipment- is a less expensive and more sustainable way to shop. Shopping for the best deal and gear is like a game! You can barter with other people and do exchanges. It's a whole new realm of shopping! If you're a thrifter, going to the thrift store and finding a diamond in the ruff will make your week!
Bear Hug Upcycled Apparel
I'm STOKED to announce that my shirt page is live! I've been working on this passion project for a while now, and it's finally here! Bear Hug Upcycled Apparel was born from my love of drawing, the outdoors, and sustainable fashion. Every shirt is one-of-a-kind because it's thrifted and has a graphic designed by me!
Buy sustainably, support a local artist/dreamer/tree hugger (me, lol), and get a super cute little card with your purchase!
I hope this little blog helps you make your future purchasing decisions. Sustainability is one of my passions, so thank you for supporting that passion by reading my blogs. In the comments below, share your favorite ways to practice sustainable shopping! Let's bounce ideas off each other! I always love to hear how other people are living out sustainable causes!
Thanks for reading! XO, Tiff
Love, love, love this! Thrifting is the way to go! What a wonderful new clothing venture!