Climate Action
The Top Thrift Treasures
August 17, 2025
Today is National Thrift Store Day, and the Earth Day staff wanted to take a moment to share some of our own favorite thrift store finds. Thrifting is a great place to find durable, hand-me-downs at a reasonable price. Anything from books, to art, household appliances and clothes. They already have a story, you can just add to it.
Thrifting isn’t just about scoring cool vintage jeans or finding that perfect quirky mug for your kitchen; it’s also a small but mighty way to push back against the environmental cost of fast fashion and our addiction to shopping.
The fashion industry alone is responsible for up to 10% of global carbon emissions; more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.
The reality is that an estimated 85% of all textiles end up getting trashed or burned. By choosing to thrift, you’re giving everything the chance of a longer ‘life’, saving perfectly usable items from landfills, and reducing the demand for new production, which means less plastic being thrown away, less wasted resources like energy, fewer toxic dyes in our waterways, less microfiber pollution, and less pressure on exploited garment workers.
Here are some of our most memorable thrifting finds here at EARTHDAY.ORG:
Aidan Charron: Prime Prints
One of my favorite finds is a set of three animal prints I picked up from a vendor at a farmers market in D.C. They’re simple, just magazine cutouts of creatures I have no personal connection to, yet they bring me a quiet kind of joy every day. There’s something beautiful in knowing that, throughout history, people have felt such a deep reverence for nature that they’ve captured it in art over and over again.These prints are a small reminder of that timeless connection.
Emily Walker: Taking Time
Every Saturday, my mom and I would set out on a mission: antique sales. She loved the thrill of the hunt, and I loved the adventure. One morning, we wandered into an estate sale full of fascinating relics from another time. That’s where I spotted the clock; a beautiful floral piece that immediately caught my eye. I was completely taken by it. My mom, noticing how drawn I was, managed to snag it for a great price. I couldn’t believe it — my very own vintage clock, and I already knew exactly where it would go in my room.
We left that day with a handful of treasures, but that clock meant the most. It was the very first thing I ever picked out on one of our outings together. More than just a decorative item, it marked the beginning of a lifelong love for antiques, something my mom passed down to me with such care.
Now, twenty years later, that same clock still ticks away. It’s been a constant in every space I’ve lived in, a symbol of those early adventures and the beauty of things with history. It’s easily one of my most cherished possessions.
Terran Fielder: Clothes That Last
My favorite person to shop with is my mom. She is always honest with me about what is flattering and has a great sense of style (which is why I say my favorite place to shop is my mom’s closet).
Most new clothes these days are not made to last and are sourced in unethical ways that harm the environment. This has brought us to thrift for our clothes. It is much more exciting; you never know what you are going to find. For instance, we went on a thrifting tour in New York City the summer before I began college. I was not banking on buying anything, but I happened upon my now favorite shoes and pants and knew I could not leave the city without them.
The shoes were just my size, hardly worn and the shoes were no longer made by the producer. Not to mention I paid less than 15% of the original price!! For the past 5 years I have worn those shoes almost every day – so much so that I wore holes in the soles and had to retire. They’re the kind of shoes that you go through so much with that they hold memories.
The pants. These pants also fit like a glove. They seemed impossibly long and I almost didn’t try them on, but my mom insisted. And boy am I glad she did! These aren’t your typical jeans. They are sized so that they do not need spandex, which is a synthetic fabric made of a number of carcinogenic chemicals including formaldehyde, but allow you to move freely. It’s all the comfort and fashion, but none of the damage to your health.
These pieces have lasted me so long and are now sentimental. They have treated me kindly, and every time I wear them I get to think of the wonderful times I shared with my mom.
Sarah Davies: Pewter Perfection
I have always loved thrifting, it is a passion that started when I was a student to save money and it’s just never stopped. My home is full of old furniture I have found and lovingly restored, having a husband who is a carpenter helps on that front, along with vintage curtains, books, silver ware and even plant pots.
But my favorite item is this old pewter bowl above. I think it is pewter, but I got it in a beach thrifting adventure on Fenwick Island, and it cost $22 which felt like a lot at the time but I love that darn bowl. It holds car keys and coins and basically anything small that needs a home. It’s old and clearly it has been used for years, decades and I love that it had a life before it met me.
It makes the most lovely cling when I put the lid back on and that makes me smile every single time – it is so much better than anything made of plastic!
Thrifting is Acting for the Climate
Thrifted finds may seem small, but they carry big stories; of craftsmanship, memory, and conscious choices. Whether it’s vintage art, an old pewter bowl, a pair of well-loved shoes, or a floral clock passed down through the years, these items remind us that style doesn’t have to come at the planet’s expense.
Most of us thrift looking for clothes and that is important because fast fashion is choking the planet. This one industry uses an estimated 93 billion cubic meters of water annually—enough to meet the consumption needs of five million people—and produces 92 million tons of textile waste each year, much of which ends up in landfills or oceans. If you believe the fashion industry needs to do better, add your voice by signing our The Fashion Industry Must Change petition. Together, we can help make sustainable fashion the norm, not the exception.
But the fashion industry is just one part of the puzzle. It seems that right now everything is under threat – from our right to live without being poisoned by microplastics, our right to buy clean energy, breathe clean air, drink clean water to having leaders who understand science and believe in fighting climate change. Right now, specifically the Environmental Protection Agency is in danger of becoming the Environmental Pollution Agency.
The EPA is trying to undermine its own ability to keep our air and water clean and tackle climate change – tell Congress we expect them to protect clean air and clean water for all and to fight back, you can write to them here. Demand that Administrator Zeldin abandon this reckless plan here and tell President Trump that our children deserve better here.
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