Review: ThredUp digital vintage clothing superstore

I've read several threads in professional theatrical costume fora about the fashion waste generated by shows set in the present--they don't require a team of skilled drapers/tailors/stitchers to create the clothes from scratch, they get shopped online and often overshopped. You buy a bunch of options, fit the performers, and sometimes you've missed the window for returns so the "inexpensive" pants have actually cost the price of all five options purchased. The propensity for programming contemporary work in regional theatre means most costume stocks are swimming in nearly-brand-new clothes which may never be used again.

If your activewear/jeans/trendy-modern bins are overflowing in your costume stock, ThredUP could be one way to thin out your stock of contemporary clothing.

 

This dress was my first ThredUP purchase.

There's been a lot of talk about eschewing fast fashion and how to disrupt the wastefulness inherent in the current fashion industry. There's no doubt, it's a huge drain on resources, source of environmental pollution, exploiter/abuser of its workforce, and producer of waste. But what can we--any one solitary person among us--do?

I don't believe there will be a single solution to this issue but rather  a constellation of processes and practices, and everyone's initiatives will be different. One person might commit themself to buying no new clothing for an entire year while another might pare down their existing wardrobe to a capsule wardrobe. Another might choose to wear the same outfit every day, while another might commit to the #MeMade challenge, wearing only clothing they've made.

One idea to reduce fashion industry waste and contribute to reuse might be a costume shop manager who set up a ThredUP account for their theatre, shipping gently used contemporary clothing still in good condition to the company in exchange for credit, then shopping contemporary costume pieces from ThredUP's vast inventory using that credit.

What are some other suggestions you have for how a theatrical costume shop might push back against "fast fashion" in a meaningful way?