Value Village™ is releasing its sixth annual Thrift Shopping Survey. A survey that explores you – the vintage visionary, the denim designer, the one-of-a-kind curator and the rack-combing, risk-taking, mold-breaking tastemaker. Beyond saving money and supporting our environment, thrifting is a movement and lifestyle that allows everyone to express their own style – whether quirky, romantic, bohemian or untamed. Thrift shopping is a trend that never goes out of style – and you can look good while doing good.

Doing good isn’t just for your style and wallet. By shopping secondhand, you are also helping the environment. Considering it takes 700 gallons of water to make a t-shirt and 1,800 gallons of water to make a pair of jeans, when we throw away more than 83 million tons of unnecessary apparel waste each year, it also means we’re throwing away the resources that went into making them. That’s why Value Village™ is proud to celebrate the solution that’s dedicated to getting this apparel in the reuse stream instead.

“National Thrift Shop Day is a time to celebrate just how easy and exciting reuse can be and how fundamentally good it is for your wallet, your home and the environment,” said Duane Woods, Chairman and CEO at Value Village™.  “We want to educate consumers about the importance of purchasing goods with a circular mindset – which includes shopping secondhand to ensure the life of every garment and household item produced is extended.”

Some highlights from the Value Village™ 2018 Thrift Shopping Survey surrounding North Americans’ shopping behaviors include:

• Thrifters are hunting for bargains: Half report their love of thrifting came from a desire to save money, with “savings” and “economic” being the most-associated words with shopping secondhand (41 percent and 30 percent, respectively).
• And unique treasures: Forty-seven percent report they love finding hidden treasures.
• It’s all about the thrifting experience: Despite growth in e-commerce, shoppers still head to retail stores for the thrifting experience; 60 percent report they prefer to buy secondhand in person because it allows them to touch and feel products.
• And they find their come-ups by roaming: Forty-nine percent report they roam until something catches their eye, while 33 percent report carefully looking through each rack.

About Value Village™

At Value Village™, we believe good style is more than how you put together your closet and home – it’s being able to do good while looking good – for yourself, your neighbourhood and your planet. As a for-profit, purpose-driven retailer, the Value Village™ family of thrift stores provide a wide selection of must-have secondhand clothing, accessories and household goods at an affordable price and keeps more than 700 million pounds of reusable goods from reaching landfills each year.  Learn more at www.valuevillage.com and join the #RethinkReuse conversation.

SOURCE Value Village