Thrifting Takes Off in India, But the Industry Has Miles to Go

Inside Iqbal Garments' thrift warehouse, as winter approaches in Kashmir, Abdul Basit, a 21-year-old student from Kokernag, a village in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, needs warm clothing to prepare for the season. While he has a limited budget of Rs 4,500, Basit doesn’t want to compromise on the quality of the clothes he buys.

One jacket from a brand like Adidas, Puma, Nike, and US Polo Association is priced between Rs 3200-4000 each, making them too expensive for his budget. To use his funds well, Basit opts to shop from Iqbal Garments, a well-known thrift store in Anantnag. He manages to buy three top-quality jackets from international brands – Puma, Nike, and North Face – for just Rs 3500. Excited about his purchase, Basit shares, “I love this thrift store. I got jackets that would normally cost thousands for only 3500. The quality is amazing, and the best part is that these jackets look so unique.” Basit told The Core that he loves thrifting, and would prefer it over normal shopping.

Anantnag’s local thrift shop

Thrifting refers to second-hand or pre-owned goods bought at a cheaper price than their original ones. The concept is typically Western where one could find great clothes or accessories at lower prices in thrift stores, garage sales, or even flea markets at heavily discounted rates. Anecdotally, thrifting often leads to finding vintage designer finds at really cheap prices. In India however, the concept wasn’t so popular because of the cultural norm where wearing second-hand clothes wouldn’t an option at all. That, however, is changing.

The thrift market has experienced significant growth globally in recent years. According to a recent report by ThredUp, a global thrift retailer, the global second-hand apparel market expanded by 18% last year, reaching a value of $197 billion. It is expected to continue growing at a pace three times faster than the overall apparel market, with projections indicating it will reach $350 billion by 2028.

Mohsin Ahmed, a business administration graduate and co-owner of Iqbal Garments, explained how his family's business evolved since it was started by his father in 1998. "Back then, people weren’t aware of thrifting; it was just second-hand clothes, and most people avoided it," he said. For years, they operated mainly as wholesalers, as there wasn’t much demand for thrift shopping at the time.

However, things started to change for the business in 2017, two years after Ahmed began managing the shop. He noticed a surge in customers searching for international brands and unique clothing to stand out. This shift, he attributed, was largely due to the influence of social media and e-commerce, which exposed people to fashion trends and popular brands. In response to the growing interest, they transitioned from wholesale to retail, catering to the increasing demand for thrift items.

"We've been making good money through retail sales, especially after we shifted to retail and after the boom of social media and e-commerce," said Ahmed.

Rise Of Thrifting In India

Currently, India’s second-hand apparel market is valued at $3 billion, and it's projected to grow significantly, reaching $9.1 billion by 2032, according to Credence Research, a market research and consulting firm. This growth is expected to occur at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.04%. Though it is gaining traction, the thrifting industry in India isn’t nearly has big in scale as its Western counterparts.

For now it is the bigger metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru that dominate the thrifting industry which is quite small to begin with. North Indian states such as Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, J&K, and Uttar Pradesh constitute 30% of the market while West Indian states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan constitute 25% of the market followed by South Indian states like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh at 20%. The increased use of social media is however leading to awareness about it in the tier 1 and tier 2 cities as well.

Does It Make Business Sense?

Thrifting businesses in India are mostly based online. More and more of them are coming up online be it through social media platforms like Instagram or their own websites. But some of them have seen success enough to open brick-and-mortar stores.

Adrija Halder, co-founded of ReThought in 2021, with a focus on sustainability and affordability. Halder was inspired to start her business while she was working at a fast fashion company in Germany. There, she witnessed large piles of barely used clothes, including shopping and production samples, being discarded by the company. This wasteful practice sparked the idea to create a business that would sell lightly used garments at discounted rates.

"The contribution of the fashion industry to pollution shocked me, and I promised myself to do something to reduce its harmful impact," Halder told The Core. While in Germany, she was introduced to thrifting by a friend. She purchased a few items and was greatly influenced by the concept of thrifting, which further shaped her views on sustainable fashion and inspired her to explore the idea of starting her own thrift business.

Rethougth's Thrift Store in Hauz Khas 

Upon returning to India just before the Covid-19 pandemic, Halder started an Instagram page to sell thrift clothes. Later, she teamed up with her friend Rohan Tuteja to launch ReThought. Initially, the business functioned as a marketplace connecting small thrift stores with customers, but issues with standardisation and quality control arose as third-party stores managed the inventory.

To address these challenges, they pivoted the business into a thrift fashion brand, taking full control of curating and managing the quality of their inventory. The company soon became one of the few thrift-focused businesses to attract investment.

In June 2023, 100X.VC invested $160K in ReThought, a Gen Z-focused managed thrifting marketplace.

The growth of the thrift industry is largely driven by technological advancements and the influence of social media. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook have played a key role in promoting the second-hand apparel market. Thrift sellers often collaborate with social media influencers who help promote the thrift culture. Sellers note that this visibility on social media is attracting a significant number of Gen Z shoppers to both online and offline thrift stores.

Halder said that in thrifting, it's essential to engage customers just as traditional fashion brands do. "We collaborate with social media influencers to attract and engage with the Gen Z crowd and make the content fun," she explains. She believes this strategy is why they not only attract a large number of Gen Z shoppers but have also grown a strong following on Instagram. Their page now boasts over 141k followers, with most being between the ages of 18 and 27.

ReThought’s plans involve expanding the thrift market by opening more stores in metro cities and commercialising the concept. Their immediate focus is on scaling the business, continually improving quality, and raising additional capital to support this growth.

Bombay Closet Cleanse, another thrift store gaining strong traction recently, operates three physical locations—two in Mumbai and a newly opened store in Goa—as well as an online platform. The company was founded by sisters Sana Khan, a dentist, and Alfiya Khan, a designer. The idea began when Sana realised her wardrobe was filled with rarely worn clothes. Rather than discarding them, her sister helped her list the items on Instagram, where the post quickly went viral. By the next day, nearly 80 buyers showed up at their homes. Inspired by the overwhelming response, Sana delved into the thrift market and saw a major gap due to its unorganised structure, sparking her idea to open a dedicated thrift store.

In 2021, Bombay Closet Cleanse officially launched in Mumbai with an initial investment of Rs 15 lakhs from personal savings. The company later appeared on Shark Tank Season 2, further boosting its popularity. In addition to importing clothes, the sisters introduced a unique concept allowing customers to sell their gently used clothes to Bombay Closet Cleanse, which are then resold. This innovative approach has contributed significantly to the store’s appeal and growth in India’s evolving thrift market.

Sana shared, "It really troubled me to see massive piles of clothes discarded and ending up in landfills. With about 10,000 crore units of clothing produced globally each year, nearly 30% go unused, and it takes up to 200 years for these clothes to decompose. Learning this gave me the push to start a thrift brand. I made a promise to myself to do my part in addressing this issue, and that’s how Bombay Closet Cleanse began in 2021."

Bombay Closet Cleanse’s store in Mumbai's Bandra

Currently, Bombay Closet Cleanse generates about Rs 25 lakh in monthly sales from its two stores in Mumbai, maintaining a net profit margin of 10-14%. According to Sana, the company’s plans focus on scaling operations by expanding the store chain and establishing a franchise model.

“While it hasn’t been officially announced, we aim to be a franchise business by next year,” Sana shared.

Who’s Thrifting In India?

The industry in India is gaining momentum thanks to the younger Gen Z. They want to buy good quality clothes, but at discounted prices. They’re also much more conscious of sustainability than the previous generations.

Mushtaq Ahmed Shawl, a thrift dealer who imports clothes from countries like China, South Korea, and Canada, supplies second-hand items to small vendors and thrift stores in Kashmir. He explained that these stores sell branded thrift items, originally worth thousands of dollars, for just a few hundred rupees. "We get brands like Puma, North Face, Nike, and others that are typically very expensive, but in thrift, they are sold for just a few hundred rupees," he said. Shawl highlighted that this affordability is a key reason why people in Kashmir prefer thrift shopping, especially for warm clothes, which would otherwise cost them thousands.

Gen Z and millennials are also slowly letting go of biases against second-hand clothing that were deep rooted in India.

Inside Mushtaq Shawl's thrift warehouse

According to the Deloitte Global 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, over 60% of Gen Z and millennial respondents are concerned about climate change, and many say sustainability significantly influences their purchasing choices. Thrifting allows these young consumers to minimise waste and support a circular fashion economy, where clothes are reused rather than discarded.

"There are now a large number of Gen Z customers who visit our stores and thrift because they are aware of the environmental impact of fast fashion," Halder said. She noted that many young people are choosing thrift shopping as a sustainable alternative to reduce their environmental footprint.

In addition to the cost savings and environmental benefits, thrifting offers something mass-produced fast fashion can't—personality. While fast fashion tends to produce identical styles, many Gen Z shoppers are turning to thrift stores in search of unique pieces that reflect their individual style and set them apart.

Basit finds following general fashion trends boring, especially since Indian brands offer the same old designs in warm clothing. "Thrifting gives me more options and character, and I feel more like myself in thrifted clothes," he says. He adds that thrifting allows him to stand out from the crowd and express his individuality.

The 2023 PwC Global Consumer Insights Survey revealed that over half of Gen Z shoppers preferred to buy unique second-hand items rather than follow mass-market trends. This desire for individuality, combined with the need for affordability, is driving the global rise of thrift fashion.

Mukthy S, assistant professor at NIFT Kannur and a specialist in retail planning and merchandise, sees a highly promising future for thrift stores in India. She believes that stores should expand their approach by not only focusing on brand-specific items but also embracing product thrifting. According to her, product thrifting would involve curating specific items, such as shoes or jackets, rather than limiting selections to branded items from companies like Puma and Adidas. This shift, she feels, could create a broader appeal and cater to the diverse preferences in the Indian market.

“Considering India’s vast population and the growing awareness among younger generations around sustainability and affordability, the Indian thrift market has the potential to surpass the Western market within the coming decades.” Mukthy said, adding that focusing on product thrifting aligns naturally with the Indian culture, where reusing, borrowing, and bargaining on clothes are already common practices. She believes that this cultural inclination, combined with the rising popularity of thrift shopping, will help further establish the importance of thrifting, ensuring a sustainable and affordable fashion future in India.

Long Way To Go

Although thrifting holds significant potential and benefits for India, it also comes with considerable downsides. Developed nations like the US have been using this strategy to offload their used clothing onto developing countries such as India. The thrift fashion industry has highlighted the gap between wealthy countries exporting second-hand garments to developing nations and turning them into textile dumping grounds, suffering the environmental consequences.

In 2023 alone, India imported 3.82 lakh kilograms of second-hand clothing from the US, compared to 3.14 lakh kilograms in 2021.

Zuhaib Rashid Bangroo, an economics fellow at Ashoka University, explained that this dumping issue has been an ongoing problem for developing nations. “Countries like the US and others dump their clothes in developing nations such as India, Pakistan, and several African countries, using this deceptive strategy,” he said.

Bangroo believes this can be addressed through essential measures, such as implementing regulatory checks on clothing imports, similar to those used for items like steel, dry fruits, or cosmetics. He suggests that importers and the government ensure that imported clothing is relatively new and not overly worn. Additionally, Bangroo proposes restrictions on clothes made from environmentally harmful materials like nylon, advocating either a ban or strict import limits. He also recommends that the government impose restrictions on excessively cheap clothing imports.

While this is a trend, in terms of business it has a long way to go. A significant challenge for the thrifting industry in India is it's highly fragmented. There is no regulatory framework and depends entirely upon small-scale vendors, informal thrift shops, and online platforms.

Mukthy this as part of India’s unique character. However, she believes that some structural changes are necessary, particularly through the introduction of a unified regulatory framework. According to her, a collaborative effort between the government and thrift stores could improve standardisation, quality, and fair practices across the Indian thrift industry. She notes, though, that achieving levels of organisation comparable to Western markets will require time and careful planning.

Mukthy said that the cultural landscape must be considered first, as a single solution won’t work for a country as diverse as India. “India is vast, with each region differing in culture and consumer behaviour. The same approach used in developed countries wouldn’t apply here,” she says. For instance, while thrift markets are gaining traction among younger customers in places like Cochin and Bhopal, the strategy for these areas cannot simply replicate those for metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai. She believes that each market requires a tailored approach that respects India’s regional dynamics.