The pandemic has driven us to introduce a number of fleeting trends—some of us tried our hands at baking banana bread; others spent innumerable hours playing ‘Among Us’.
These fads were soon erased from public memory. However, a trend that has stayed on to gradually become a way of life is thrifting.
The practice of buying and selling pre-owned or upcycled items, thrifting has resonated with a segment of the younger generation that is looking forward to embracing a slow and conscious lifestyle. Three individuals from Delhi-NCR share their experiences of sustaining the trend by operating thrift stores on Instagram.
THRIVING AMID the pandemic
The shift to remote working amid the pandemic gave Anmol Kriti (25) from Raj Nagar Extension both the time and the space to finally implement her long-standing idea of launching ‘Thriftiva’.
“I have been into thrifting since my college days and I used to get a lot of compliments for my outfits. The whole idea behind this [Thriftiva] is to support sustainable fashion and make thrifting a more popular concept in India,” she shares.
With over 4,000 followers, ‘Thriftiva’ has received an encouraging response from consumers.
“I was fortunate enough to get my first order on the day I started the store. It was very motivating! Then there were some lows too but as more people joined, I was able to build a community and we haven’t looked back since then,” she shares.
Kriti juggles the demands of a corporate job and the store on a daily basis. Every day, a few hours post-work, she packs the orders received and completes other tasks related to her thrift store.
CURATING ART, FASHION and more
East Delhi’s Muskan Pradhan (23) teamed up with Monika Rawat (22) from Dwarka to launch ‘Chhoti si Dukaan’. The idea was simple: the duo wanted to build a platform to showcase and sell artworks created by them and other small artists.
Eventually, in September 2021, they started selling pre-loved goods. Their Instagram store now displays a number of thrifted products—pre-owned clothing, jewellery, books—and also seeks to promote artists.
“‘Chhoti si Dukaan’ is not just a thrift store… We also exhibit and sell artworks through this page. We want people to learn about ethical consumerism,” shares Pradhan. They also encourage people to sell pre-owned items through ‘Chhoti si Dukaan’, thus promoting conscious buying practices. Currently, they are gearing up to organise a book exchange sometime next month.
MAKING EVERY STEP SUSTAINABLE
‘Viola Vintage’, a thrift store launched by Naina Goyal from Malviya Nagar in September 2020, is a reflection of Goyal’s personality.
“I didn’t have many friends in college but people knew me because of the clothes I wore, so I started it [Viola Vintage] right after I graduated, and it was a hit,” shares Goyal, a graduate of Sri Venkateswara College. Goyal would initially scour various shops in the city and hand-pick clothing items to later display them on her Instagram page. Now, she procures second-hand goods from a few suppliers. Goyal is also very particular about keeping the entire process eco-friendly.
“I try to keep our packaging as sustainable as I possibly can. Being sustainable does not always mean excluding plastic but it also means using resources judiciously, without any wastage. I never invest in fancy packaging,” she explains.
The 21-year-old also crochets and takes commissions through her page and plans to shift to crocheting so as to promote slow and ethically-made products.