Commercializing Thrift: A Sustainable Solution to the Fashion Industry's Carbon Footprint

Abstract

This paper will discuss the impacts the fast fashion industry has on the environment and human labor conditions as well as, how established brands and start-ups in the industry are incorporating sustainable and ethical business practices and programs into their core functioning, the rise of thrifting and its viability as a solution to the detrimental effects of the fast fashion industry, and finally my personal proposal for a curated, contemporary thrift store that includes arts and education programs to promote artistic creation through repurposed textiles while educating the public about post-consumer textile waste.