Sustainability - Thrift Stores

Thrift stores are a study in re-use. Items are used (sometimes gently). I donate any items I have that have some usable life rather than recycling or trashing…and they generally end up in thrift stores.

The thrift store offerings are unpredictable but often great bargains. I have several I like that are located in upper middle class areas - people that buy more than they need and often end up donating items that are well worth a second round. One has to shop with an open mind rather than a particular item in mind.

At first, I thought it would be impossible to find specific clothing. Now when I look at my closest I realize that almost all my slacks and jeans are from the thrift store. I look for black pants of any kind every time I go to a thrift store. Sometime I find several pairs in my size - sometimes none at all. Right now I am replacing pants that have gotten too big now that I’ve lost weight!

I also have collected skirts. With the low cost - I pull out anything I like and check size and washability. I have several that I would never have bought if they had been priced higher than $5!

Blouses wear out faster than pants and skirts…so when I find blouses that will supplement what I have, I purchase them even if I don’t need them right away. Only about half my blouses/sweaters/tops are from the thrift store…still a substantial contribution to my closet.

Another thrift store find: Several years ago, I discovered that I like ‘meal in a bowl’ (salads, soups, stir fry) and it needs to be a larger bowl than a cereal bowl…more like a small serving bowl. Small serving bowls are easy to find at thrift stores….I just wish I had purchased the second bowl they had like the one I bought! Never count on being able to find it again later!

Anything I am able to buy from a thrift store rather than new is an act toward sustainability….and good for my budget too.

Sustainability - Attention to Packaging

Last month I posted about reusable bags which is certainly a way of reducing ‘packaging’ of plastic bags provided by stores (grocery and otherwise). But what about all the other packaging that usually ends up in the trash or recycling such as envelopes (paper, paper bonded to bubblewrap, filament reinforced paper, heavy plastic), cereal boxes, non-recyclable plastic (in our area: plastic clamshell packaging and stiffer plastic bags), cardboard, plastic/glass bottles/jars or egg cartons.

My first line strategy is to purchase items in packaging that I can reuse. For example - buying spaghetti and salsa in glass jars that I can reuse for left overs (my goal is to gradually reduce my use of plastic to store leftovers). Of course - this only works up to the point that I have enough containers. I also reuse the large padded envelopes although I receive more than I can reuse. I am also saving the padded envelopes for packing away things like Christmas ornaments. I am saving clamshell type bins that I am buying salad in now at the grocery for storing greens I get from the CSA next summer; they’ll keep the refrigerator bins neat and hold the moisture around the greens better than putting them directly into the crisper.

Recycling is the second line strategy. Sometimes this feeds into my decision of which product to buy. For example - the organic eggs in my grocery come in pulp paper cartons that can be recycled while the others come in non-recyclable Styrofoam. I probably would buy the organic eggs anyway but the packaging issue clinches the purchase. I’ve also become very aware of the types of plastic bags and film that can be taken back to the grocery store for recycling; it takes longer to accumulate since I use my own bags when shopping but there other similar plastics like dry cleaner bags and newspaper sleeves to collect and recycle.

There is still packaging that goes directly into the trash: messy plastic (meats, frozen foods, veggies) that cannot be recycled (because they are messy or because of the type of plastic). I don’t know how to avoid that until the stores provide some other kind of packaging. It is clearly not sustainable for us to continue this type of packaging indefinitely.

In the end - the options we have to move toward more sustainability when it comes to packaging are primarily to increase reuse and recycling as much as possible by making choices when we shop…and being very aware of packaging that can be recycled in our community or back to the store (particularly grocery stores). 

What is the next step from the reuse and recycle strategy? I'm beginning to think about it. There is too much packaging that is unavoidable today - from bottles of salad dressing to cardboard centers to toilet paper rolls. We need innovation in packaging as much as we do in actual products!

My other sustainability posts:

Choosing organic food

Focus on Light

Join a CSA

Reusable bags vs single use plastic bags

The Progress Paradox and Sustainability

Water Use