This is Spitfire, a style of head-to-head debates between The Accolade’s two Opinion editors. Kyuwon is green. Elise is pink.
PREVIOUSLY ON SPITFIRE: The two opinion editors went head-to-head about whether it’s more productive to be a night owl or a morning bird. The final verdict was a draw. Which editor is going to win this debate? One thing’s for sure: they’re both about to spit FIRE.
Here are the rules:
- No profanity.
- An editor attacked by the other will be given three sentences to respond.
- The readers will decide who wins through a poll at the end of the article.
- Once a rule is broken, the debate ends.
Walking into a thrift store is like entering a treasure hunt; you never know what gems you’ll find within each rack. Thrifting is better than shopping at retail stores because it allows you to discover more unique pieces that best suit your personal style. Instead of blending in with the crowd of mall-bought outfits, you can stand out with clothing that has character; I feel that some of my thrift finds are one-of-a-kind pieces.
I get what you’re trying to say, but currently, thrifting is a trend, rather than a sustainable option for acquiring clothes. Unlike thrifting, which sells pieces someone else has already worn, chain stores offer clean, new and on-trend clothing. According to a sellallyourstuff.com article, it takes longer to find the outfits you need from a second-hand shop, and retail stores have a wider variety of items.
Well, thrifting is also more budget-friendly for people who don’t want to, or can’t afford, spending hundreds on clothing from chain stores. You can often find high-quality pieces for a fraction of the price of retail clothes, saving money for other essentials in life, like food and housing expenses. Normalizing thrifting makes fashion accessible to everyone, rather than feeling exclusive and elitist.
But retail stores are guaranteed to have high-quality clothes, and you wouldn’t need to spend countless hours in the thrift shop just trying to get nice apparel; so, instead of wasting valuable time, it would be better to spend a bit more money and save a lot more time. Also, many thrift stores, such as Republic of Thrift and Beautiful Lives Thrift Boutique, have a no-return policy, so you have to put a lot of effort into finding the perfect clothes you want.
Above all else, thrifting is far better for the environment than buying retail clothes or fast fashion. According to an earth.org article, clothing production requires massive amounts of water, labor and material, and fast fashion sadly contributes to huge amounts of textile waste. By choosing thrifted items, you can improve your environmental footprint and help relieve the negative effects of mass-produced clothing.
Elise, according to an article published by The Green Shot, many retail stores today are also trying their best to “go green” by producing products made with renewable materials. Instead of focusing on the clothes themselves, some stores prioritize eco-friendliness by offering reusable bags and reducing energy use.
Because of the violation of rule No. 2, Spitfire ends by default. Who do you think is right? Click on Kyuwon’s or Elise’s picture to declare your winner.
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