Thrifting has become a lifestyle for young shoppers in Eau Claire, but is it about sustainability or just another way to buy more?

Across the city of Eau Claire, secondhand stores are seeing more traffic from younger shoppers in search of affordable fashion, vintage finds and creative ways to express themselves. 

Many say thrifting offers a more intentional way to shop — one that feels better for their wallets and the planet. But as popularity rises, so does this question: Can thrifting stay intentional, or will it become just another way for people to purchase things they don’t need? 

UW-Eau Claire alum Madeline Nelson has picked up vintage T-shirts, purses and even her own wedding decor while thrifting in Eau Claire. 

“It’s so fun to find something totally unique,” Nelson said. 

For her, the draw goes beyond scoring a good deal; it’s about the treasure hunt and the discovery. Earlier in life, Nelson said she wasn’t totally comfortable with the idea of wearing someone else’s clothes, but that mindset shifted as she got older. 

Now, she said she sees thrifting as a way to shop more consciously while staying on a budget and finding one-of-a-kind pieces she can’t get anywhere else. 

Wanting to stand out is part of what draws another young shopper, UW-Eau Claire alum Ellie Ulbricht, to thrifting. 

“It’s a fun way to be creative and not look like everyone else,” Ulbricht said. 

She said that thrifting helps people explore their personal style without spending a lot, especially as old trends cycle back, and she loves how much variety thrift stores offer.

Ulbricht’s experience reflects a national trend. Across the country, secondhand shopping is becoming a regular part of how people shop, especially for young adults focused on saving money, showing their style and making sustainable choices. 

According to ThredUp’s 2024 Resale Report, the United States’ secondhand apparel market is expected to hit $73 billion by 2028, driven largely by Gen Z and millennials. The shift toward secondhand shopping is something Eau Claire’s thrift store managers have noticed up close. 

“Within the last few months, we’ve definitely noticed an increase in younger shoppers coming in,” Chelsea Tate, store manager at AbleLight Thrift Shop, said. “They come in to look at our apparel more than anything else, and our jewelry.” 

Jill Henselin, director of retail operations at Goodwill of North Central Wisconsin, said she has also seen more young people turning to secondhand shopping — many drawn by sustainability or the thrill of the find. 

“As people think about how to protect the environment and keep trash out of the landfill, that sustainable shopper really now understands the value of thrifting,” Henselin said. 

Henselin said that others are drawn to Goodwill’s mission, which is to help people gain job skills and overcome barriers to employment.

Other Eau Claire thrift stores emphasize community impact as well, according to Emily Brantner, manager at Hope Gospel Mission Bargain Center. 

“We’re funding a mission to help people grow and flourish,” Brantner said. 

The store provides affordable goods along with job training and recovery support, helping individuals build practical skills and rebuild their lives. 

At AbleLight Thrift Shop, Chelsea Tate said the focus is on inclusivity. The store offers employment and housing support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

 “Our goal is to provide a place where people feel valued and supported, no matter why they’re here,” Tate said. 

Each store may have a different mission, but they all serve the community in meaningful ways, providing job training, support services and affordable goods to the community. Whether shoppers realize it or not, buying secondhand helps fund that work and is a more sustainable way to shop. 

“Secondhand is the way to go,” Tate said. “I think thrifting is the new Target.”

While thrifting helps keep clothes out of landfills, sustainability experts emphasize that it’s only part of the solution to fashion’s environmental toll. 

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, every second, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothes is burned or buried in a landfill — a reminder of just how much waste the fashion industry creates.

Even thrifting can do harm if it turns into a habit of buying too much, too often. 

“Overconsumption and overdemand are the original causes of fast fashion, and they don’t go away just because you start shopping secondhand,” said a report from Fashinnovation. “It simply changes form.” 

The rise of thrift hauls and resale apps has made it easier than ever to buy cheap, trendy clothes in large quantities, sometimes without real intention or need. When donations overwhelm stores, many items end up in landfills or shipped overseas where they create new problems for other less privileged communities. 

But with more awareness and balance, shoppers can shift that cycle by asking whether they need something, how long they’ll keep it and where it might end up next.

That’s something Mike Shoultz, owner of EC Vintage, said he thinks about often. 

“Clothing is one of the most wasteful industries,” he said. 

At EC Vintage, Shoultz said he sources inventory from a mix of thrift shops, garage sales and other secondhand outlets — places where good pieces often get overlooked. In addition to EC Vintage’s racks of curated and high-quality vintage items, one way his store stands out is by rescuing old, unused blank crewnecks and shirts that would likely be thrown away. 

“They’re everywhere, and some of them are in really good condition,” Shoultz said. 

By printing new designs on them in small batches, he gives these forgotten pieces a second life.

This fall, local sustainability advocate Eclypse Armstrong is working to expand Eau Claire’s reuse efforts with a plan for a textile reclamation center. Her vision includes collecting clothing, fabric and other donations, then sorting, upcycling and ethically recycling them. 

Upcycled pieces would be resold to support the local economy, while leftover materials would be repurposed locally instead of being sent overseas. 

“It would be a place for the community to donate responsibly and for creators to find materials they can turn into something new,” Armstrong said.

To kick off the work, she’s launching a five-week volunteer research cohort in September. UW-Eau Claire students can participate for service-learning credit. They will work in teams to explore key questions around sustainability, infrastructure and innovation. 

Students interested in getting involved can sign up for the cohort through the UW-Eau Claire Service Learning Center. 

“At the end of the cohort, we’ll bring in speakers from the industry and present our findings to the community,” Armstrong said. “It’s a way to start building something together from the ground up.” 

Looking ahead, her long-term goal is to bring the textile center to life by collaborating across local universities and departments, from fashion and design students at UW-Stout to engineers and business students at Chippewa Valley Technical College and UW-Eau Claire. 

“We already have everything we need here; now it’s about bringing it together,” Armstrong said.

While local leaders are thinking big, Nelson said she believes it still comes down to individual everyday choices. Thrifting can be affordable, creative and sustainable, but only if people also resist the urge to overconsume. 

Nelson said that balance is what makes secondhand shopping feel meaningful — it’s what keeps it from becoming just another trend and gives it the power to create real, lasting change. 

Editor’s note: This story was first written for class  CJ 495: Independent Study, taught by Professor Kris Knutson in the spring of 2025.