A smiling woman wearing a dinosaur print t-shirt standing in front of racks of colorful clothing. — Valhalla Resale owner Danielle Ferrari Credit: Courtesy of Valhalla Resale

If the algorithm has served you up a video of someone’s massive clothing haul, you probably already know that fast fashion is cheap, quick, and unfortunately, still trending. If yours hasn’t, consider yourself lucky, and know that the clips are typically made by influencers “unboxing” poorly made synthetic sets, trying to make you feel like you, too, need a brand new pile of clothes to wear once before donating to your nearest drop-bin…where most don’t ever even see a sale floor.

Where do all those “donated” clothes go, then? The National Institute of Standards and Technology says 85% of clothes donated that aren’t chosen for resale go straight to a landfill (or an incinerator). And then, they wash up on the shores in Ghana, or become literal mountains in the backyards of South American homes. See: National Geographic’s “clothes mountain,” in Chile, where unsold or unwanted clothing has been dumped (illegally) by global retailers. So much for good will.

What some people think is a harmless indulgence in the season’s latest trends and a “donation” to the neighborhood organization is becoming an actual pipeline to environmental and human harm (oh, you didn’t know about the microplastics in textiles?)

What’s more? Let’s consider the people who make these clothes.

“Garment production is one of the few industries that still relies on human labor,” Danielle Ferrari, Best of the Bay-winning owner of Valhalla Resale says. “Machines aren’t making cheap Shein dresses; people are.” And when clothing is sold at incredibly low prices, Ferrari notes, that means that somewhere along the way someone is paying the price in likely poor, exploitative, or even forced conditions.

But, this is not to shame the individual, especially the good-hearted folks washing their plastics for the recycling bin when they may see a garbage truck take it off anyway. No, this is a much larger problem, a global one, but one we can still have an impact on if we consider, together, how we interact with the supply and demand chains offering this garbage up.

It is the season anyway—reflection, rebirth, resolutions. I offer to the good readers of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay a simple challenge: No “new” clothes for six months to a year. And do note the technicality because that’s where this gets fun. By all means, we should indulge in new-to-us items. But when the fashion industry is on course to create 138 billion items of unworn clothes every year by 2050 (enough to “almost reach from the Earth to Mars and back”) maybe we can come together and get a little creative in what exactly it is we are buying and from where.

If you find yourself in my shoes (pun intended), wanting to explore the world of clothing rental and resale, look no further than our non-exhaustive list of homegrown heroes who’ve set up shop for clothing rental, upscale resale and rare vintage finds right here in Tampa Bay:

Valhalla Resale (@valhallatampa)

Located right in the heart of Seminole Heights at 6112 N Central Ave, Valhalla Resale, owned and operated by Danielle Ferrari, is a one stop shop for fun vintage finds as well as gently used, high-quality women’s clothing items, shoes, bathing suits, bags, and accessories.

Valhalla is the only resale shop in the country that offers a rental program for members where members receive professional styling, rent clothing items (some of which are exclusive to members only), hold onto them as long as they’d like, and return them when ready.

Danielle does the laundry, and if membership isn’t what you’re looking for, she also sells all items to customers, and gives store credit to customers for clothes they bring in that pass inspection.

First month membership rates are 50% off and $49 after that with the ability to pause when needed. For a closet that feels limitless without the guilt that may come with overconsumption, this option could be right for you.

Labelswap (@labelswaptampa)

Located in South Tampa at 3143 W Kennedy Blvd., Labelswap (stylized all-lowercase) is your go to spot for upscale fashion resale with 4,000 square-feet of shop to explore. There, you can find current styles for both women and men, with hundreds of new pieces added daily.

If you’re looking to sell your clothes, you can do that at Labelswap, too. What’s more, you’ve got the option to trade in your items, or sell them for cash if that’s what you’d prefer. Brands they love include Michael Kors, Lululemon, Madewell, Tory Burch, YSL, and more.

Follow the shop to hear when their next Level Up sale will be—where over 75% of the store is 50%-95% off original pricing.

Avalon Exchange (@avalonexchangetampa)

Also located in South Tampa, Avalon Exchange at 2823 S MacDill Ave. is where people are invited to “come in and get lost.” Avalon is a family-owned-and-operated resale fashion store that’s been buying and selling “gently-loved” fashion from the community.

Avalon takes pride in offering hot trends that also encourage sustainability, with options to buy, sell, and shop its online inventory. What started as a passion for vintage in 1970 has poured over into several shop fronts across states where people can find special pieces, new and old, that are just what they may be looking for.

Valhalla’s Ferrari also adds that with all that’s been said, there are actually some glimmers of hope in the dark landscape of fashion right now.

“I’ve seen a rise in influencers openly promoting thrifting and secondhand fashion,” Ferrari says. “And France has also taken a meaningful step by banning fast fashion brands from advertising.”

These shifts, Ferrari shares, even if seemingly small, suggest that public awareness is growing, and that people are beginning to question the true cost of cheap clothes.

While on your No “New” Clothes journey, should you need to supplement via online outlets, consider broadening your scope to Rent the Runway, Poshmark, or Lucky Sweater.

You may be surprised at what you find, and by how you feel knowing you can skip that pile of synthetics and invest in something better: high-quality, local finds curated just for you.

Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.