Sofia MakePeace

I love this conversation about thrifting, especially given how many options we have to do so in Los Angeles. I've only gone a handful of times during my time living in LA and I honestly wish I could do it more!

To add onto the options Jacqueline posted, I've been to Jet Rag once before for their Sunday sale and it really is a fun experience to hunt around for $1 finds. I will say, the quality of their cheaper items does vary, but I did buy a pair of retro sunglasses from their store (albeit not for a dollar) that I still love and wear nearly three years on. 

I personally really love Crossroads Trading. This is the consignment store chain I've frequented the most and I do think they have one of the better selections I've seen, especially when it comes to brands Gen Zers love. Although that means they carry a good amount of fast fashion, such as Urban Outfitters, amongst others, it makes me feel better to buy clothing which has been 'pre-loved.' Additionally, these items are usually cheaper than their brand-new counterparts, which makes it more affordable for anyone on a college student budget, and they last just as long!

I also recommend Out of the Closet, another thrift store chain. The nonprofit's sale revenues provide medical care for patients with HIV/AIDS, which means that not only are you benefiting the environment by buying second-hand, you're also helping a great social cause! I've shopped from both their household and clothing sections (pro tip: they have a great selection of books!) and I loved both.

While thrifting is a great way to buy trendy pieces that might break the bank for cheap, it's also a way to experiment with trends that may go out of style without the environmental and social costs of buying something you'll only wear for a few months.  I speak from experience; one of my favourite finds is a two-toned denim jacket from a local LA boutique. I found it for a fourth of its original price and I get compliments on it all the time. And while I see myself wearing this even if denim jackets go out of style, it's definitely something I wouldn't have paid full price for and I love it even more because I didn't have to.

I also love thrifting online too. While I haven't dabbled with buying thrifted clothes from platforms like ThredUp as much as I would've liked, my roommate has been quite successful and it's an app I want to peruse since it's definitely better than Amazon. Personally, I love second hand book shopping - ThriftBooks has never let me down and I, alongside my household, have never been disappointed by their quality.  While you can't find every title and it's not always as cheap as Amazon is, it's definitely a great resource for buying secondhand literature. My other roommate even bought her textbooks on it!

Yes! I think going thrifting is a great way to help reduce waste and not contribute to fast fashion. A lot of these clothes are still good quality and thrifting helps give them a second life so that they aren't discarded and contribute to the carbon emissions that come from waste disposal. I have a couple of other thrifting options that I would like to share.

Jet Rag
This is a vintage thrift store located on N La Brea Ave. This place has a lot of great finds, and on Sundays they have a sale. Every Sunday, they have a sale where every single item is only $1. This sale takes place in the parking lot outside of the store and this is when they release a lot of newly donated clothing items and shoes.

Unravel
Unravel is a student-led organization at UCLA that focuses on sustainable fashion. They often hold a lot of clothing swap events on campus throughout the school year. A lot of clothes are donated to the organization prior to the event, and during the event, these clothes are available for anyone to keep as long as you donate at least one clothing item. This is great for people who were planning on throwing away their old clothes and want to refresh their wardrobe. 

I love the Goodwill in Santa Monica! Over the initial year of the pandemic, I developed a habit of online shopping pretty frequently, and unfortunately most of the time the websites I used were huge contributors to fast fashion. After a couple of months, I forced myself to take a step back and reevaluate what I was doing. Recognizing that I was contributing to a larger scale issue really led to me thinking of alternatives I could participate in instead, and so I started looking into thrifting. Since I don’t have a car in Los Angeles, I started out by just searching up the closest thrift stores to Westwood, and the Santa Monica Goodwill was one of the ones that popped up. My roommate and I went together one weekend, and we were very surprised to both come back with multiple items we were really excited about. I was initially conflicted about shopping here because I felt like I was potentially taking away from others’ ability to shop at a place that is beneficial to those of lower socioeconomic lifestyles. One solution to this dilemma that my roommate and I came up with was to make sure that we were also consistently taking clothes to donate. We try as hard as we can to match our purchases with our donations with at least a 1:1 ratio, and that has also been a good way for us to remain conscious about how much money we are spending overall.

Hi! I also haven't been in any of the dining halls or restaurants at UCLA since the pandemic started, so I think that's really cool that UCLA is trying to encourage sustainable habits, especially through food. I remember UCLA offering plant-based "impossible meat" at Rendezvous and they had this large poster showing greenhouse has emissions for each meat, dairy, and vegetable products, which I also found on the Dining Services website where they do have a page dedicated to fighting climate change with food. Food systems, which include the production, transport, and disposal processes, account for 25-30% of human-created greenhouse gas emissions, which is about the same as emissions from just transportation (29%). On the dining menus, they also symbols that label low- and high-carbon footprint foods. I think UCLA has put a lot of effort towards increasing environmental consciousness among students and a lot of this information they've provided wasn't something I was previously aware of so it's definitely helpful just making simple changes such as using reusable water bottles or cutting back on meat just 3 times a week can be really impactful in reducing carbon footprint.

https://menu.dining.ucla.edu/Pages/Foodprint

That's so interesting to note Sofia, I would also decide to give the squash tacos a try if I were to visit the dining halls again! I noticed that another addition that UCLA uses to reduce our carbon footprint is the water refill station. You can find the water refill stations in almost every building on the hill and on campus I think, and these refill stations promote using reusable water bottles. Single-use plastics are one of the major pollutants when it comes to ocean pollution. In addition, the plastic takes years to decompose. As a result, these water refill stations not only help conveniently provide water but also combats the use of single-use plastics. I also like how the stations let you know how much they helping. For example, the water station I used in Pritzker has helped eliminate waste from 1,805 disposable plastic bottles so far.

 

I decided to check out this instagram page and one of the newest posts mentions Zara and H&M, which are two places that I have shopped at before and loved getting trendy pieces from. Unfortunately, one of my favorite activities to do when I am stressed out is online shop or window shop, just because of the boost it gives me each time I receive the item. However, I realize that shopping from these brands is supporting fast fashion, especially because I know that some of the items I buy are trendy. 

I also realize that many of these items are made from India where none of the workers are making a livable wage. I feel extremely regretful of my purchases especially when I remind myself of the fact that these shopping at these big corporations is inevitably giving support to continue this cycle of not only destroying the environment but also for not applying enough pressure against these brands. I plan to shop more sustainably, for pieces that I will withstand the age of time, but also use the tips mentioned in this ig page such as using clothes I don't want to use anymore as pjs or rags!