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Every year, the fashion industry produces over 92 million tons of textile waste. That's the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothes being dumped every second. Fast fashion has made it easier than ever to buy cheap clothing — but at an enormous environmental cost.

Secondhand shopping is one of the most impactful choices an individual consumer can make. When you buy pre-loved clothing, you're not just saving money — you're actively reducing demand for new production, keeping textiles out of landfills, and participating in a circular economy that benefits everyone.

The Numbers Don't Lie

The average American throws away approximately 81 pounds of clothing per year. Most of that ends up in landfills, where synthetic fabrics can take hundreds of years to decompose. By choosing to shop and consign at Used To Be Yours, you're directly reducing that number — one garment at a time.

It's Also Good for Your Wallet

Sustainable fashion doesn't have to mean expensive fashion. At Used To Be Yours, you'll find quality name-brand clothing at a fraction of retail prices. You can look great, feel good about your choices, and keep more money in your pocket.

Next time you're tempted to buy something new, consider stopping by our boutique first. You might just find exactly what you're looking for — and feel even better about the purchase.

We love when consignors bring in beautifully prepared items — it makes our job easier and means more of your items make it onto the floor. Here are our top five tips for preparing your consignment items:

1. Wash Everything, Even If It Smells Fine

Clothing can absorb odors over time that we might not notice ourselves — closet smells, perfume, smoke, or mustiness. A fresh wash ensures your items smell clean and are ready to sell. Use unscented or lightly scented detergent for best results.

2. Inspect in Good Lighting

Take each item to a well-lit area and look carefully for stains, pilling, loose threads, or missing buttons. We see a lot of items that consignors didn't realize had issues. Catching these before you come in saves everyone time.

3. Use a Lint Roller

Pet hair and lint are among the most common reasons we decline items. A quick pass with a lint roller before packing your bag makes a huge difference.

4. Think Current Styles

We look for styles that are current and in demand. If something has been sitting in your closet for more than 5 years, it may be past its prime for consignment. Focus on items you bought recently or that are timeless classics.

5. Pack Neatly

Neatly folded or hung items make a better first impression and are easier for us to review. Crumpled, disorganized bags can make even good items look less appealing.

A capsule wardrobe is a curated collection of versatile, timeless pieces that work together to create a wide variety of outfits. The concept was popularized by fashion designer Donna Karan in the 1980s, and it's more relevant than ever in today's world of fast fashion and closet overwhelm.

The good news? You don't need to spend thousands of dollars to build one. Secondhand shopping is the perfect way to assemble a quality capsule wardrobe at a fraction of the cost.

The Core Pieces

A classic capsule wardrobe typically includes:

• A well-fitted pair of dark wash jeans
• A crisp white button-down shirt
• A quality blazer or structured jacket
• A little black dress
• Neutral-colored tops in a few different styles
• A cozy, quality sweater or cardigan
• Comfortable, versatile shoes

Why Secondhand Works So Well for Capsule Wardrobes

Capsule wardrobes are built around quality over quantity — and secondhand shopping is perfectly aligned with that philosophy. You can find high-quality, well-made pieces from brands like Levi's, Banana Republic, J.Crew, and Anthropologie at Used To Be Yours for a fraction of what you'd pay new.

The Landfill Reality

Each person's discarded clothes take up 1.43 cubic yards of landfill space yearly — about the size of a standard refrigerator. Nationwide, that adds up to:

• 11.3 million tons of textile waste annually
• 85% of all discarded clothing ends up in landfills
• A garbage truck full of clothes every single second

Decomposition Timeline

Not all fabrics are created equal when it comes to breaking down:

• Wool socks: 1–5 years
• Nylon jacket: 30–40 years
• Leather shoes: 50 years
• Polyester dress: 200+ years
• Plastic buttons: 500+ years

A Single Cotton T-Shirt's Journey

Producing one cotton t-shirt requires 2,700 liters of water total:

• 800 liters to grow the cotton
• 1,500 liters for processing
• 400 liters for dyeing and finishing

How Consignment Makes a Difference

Every piece you consign with us stays out of landfills, saves thousands of liters of water, reduces demand for new production, and gives quality clothing a second life.

Last Month's Impact

Our consignment community helped save 665 pieces from landfills, conserve thousands of liters of water, give 246 items new homes, and support sustainable fashion choices right here in Douglas, Wyoming.

Visit us Tuesday–Friday 11am–6pm or Saturday 12pm–4pm to consign your items in excellent condition. Your quality clothing deserves a second chapter — and our planet deserves a break from fast fashion waste.

— Janna, UTBY Boutique

The Shocking Numbers

Fast fashion has transformed the clothing industry into an environmental nightmare. The fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon emissions — more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined — and that figure is projected to increase by 50% by 2030.

Water Consumption: A Thirst That Can't Be Quenched

2,700 liters of water are needed to produce a single cotton t-shirt — equivalent to one person's drinking water for 2.5 years. The fashion industry consumes 93 billion cubic meters of water annually, making it the second-largest consumer of water worldwide. Many of the regions most stressed for water are primary textile production locations.

Textile Waste: A Landfill Nightmare

85% of textiles end up in landfills. One garbage truck of clothes is burned or dumped every second. The average person throws away 82 pounds of clothing annually. Synthetic fibers can take up to 200 years to decompose, releasing methane — a potent greenhouse gas — while toxic chemicals leach from discarded clothing into soil and groundwater.

Carbon Emissions: The Invisible Threat

Manufacturing one kilogram of fabric generates 10–20 kg of CO₂. Synthetic fabrics like polyester are derived from fossil fuels, and global textile production releases more CO₂ than international aviation.

The Human Cost

It's not just about the environment — it's about people. An estimated 170 million children are engaged in textile and clothing manufacturing, with workers often earning less than $3 per day under minimal worker protections.

Used To Be Yours: Your Sustainable Fashion Partner

We're not just a store — we're a movement. Every piece we sell prevents clothing from reaching landfills, reduces demand for new production, and supports a circular fashion economy right here in Douglas, Wyoming. Our carefully curated secondhand collection is our commitment to sustainable fashion and our community.

Fast fashion isn't just a clothing issue — it's an environmental crisis. Every purchase is a choice. Every garment has a story. What story will you choose to support?

— Written by Used To Be Yours Boutique | Sustainable Fashion, Real Change

The Ultra-Fast Fashion Production Model

The math behind a $5 dress only works when every possible cost is cut to the bone:

• Design Theft: AI software scans social media for trending styles, creating copies in hours — no original design costs, no quality testing, no fit reviews
• Mass Production: Orders start at 50,000+ identical pieces to achieve rock-bottom unit costs
• Exploitative Labor: Workers often earn $0.03–$0.08 per garment, working 12–16 hour shifts with no bathroom breaks, no overtime pay, no benefits, and exposure to toxic chemicals
• Cheap Materials: Synthetic fabrics that cost as little as $0.50 per yard, single-layer construction, minimal quality control
• Zero Quality Testing: Skipping durability and safety tests saves $3–5 per garment
• Direct Shipping: Eliminating retail markup by shipping straight from factories saves $8–12 per piece

The Synthetic Fiber Crisis

When you wash clothes made from synthetic materials, the damage continues long after purchase:

• One load releases up to 700,000 microplastic fibers
• These fibers are smaller than 5mm — too tiny for water treatment to catch
• Each synthetic garment sheds approximately 1,900 fibers per wash
• A typical polyester load releases plastic equal to 50 plastic bottles
• Textiles contribute to 35% of ocean microplastics and 14 million tons on the ocean floor
• Microplastics are now found in 83% of global drinking water and have entered the human food chain

How Consignment Fights Back

At Used To Be Yours, we offer quality pieces that last, natural fiber options, fair price points, and transparent practices. Every piece you consign helps break the cycle of cheap, harmful clothing — and keeps quality fashion in circulation where it belongs.

Visit us Tuesday–Friday 11am–6pm or Saturday 12pm–4pm to consign your quality pieces. Let's give fashion the lifespan it deserves.

— Shop Smart, Shop Secondhand  |  Used To Be Yours Boutique

Meet Mai (name changed for protection), a 19-year-old garment worker. Her story is not unique — it's the standard.

A Day in Mai's Life

6:00 AM: Mai's day begins. She lives in a cramped dormitory with 8 other workers, an hour from the factory. There's no running water before 7 AM.

7:30 AM: Arrives at factory. Already 30 workers lined up at the single bathroom. Being late means wage deductions, so she skips it.

7:45 AM: Daily quota announced: 400 dresses. That's one dress every 72 seconds for the next 12 hours.

8:00 AM – 8:00 PM: Temperature reaches 95°F with no air conditioning. One 15-minute break allowed. Must raise hand for bathroom permission. Paid $0.03 per dress. Mistakes result in wage deductions. No water breaks during quotas.

The Human Cost in Numbers

• Monthly salary: $85
• Living wage needed in her city: $350
• Hours worked monthly: 288
• Days off per month: 2–3
• Health issues developing: back pain, eye strain
• Healthcare provided: none

The Next Time You See a $5 Dress

Remember that production cost: $0.91. Worker's share: $0.03. Factory profit: $1.20. Brand's profit: $2.86. The price tag at checkout never tells the whole story.

Choosing secondhand isn't just an environmental decision — it's a human one. Every quality piece you consign or purchase at Used To Be Yours is a vote against this system.

— Used To Be Yours Boutique | Sustainable Fashion, Real Change

Design to Factory: 24–48 Hours

A trend is spotted on Instagram. AI copies the design instantly and sends a digital file to an overseas factory. No design team, no quality planning, no durability testing. A sample is approved in hours.

Production: 3–5 Days

Raw materials are pulled from factory stock. 500–1,000 pieces are cut at once. Workers rush to meet quotas, sewing each piece in 8–10 minutes. Basic quality checks are skipped. Each piece is immediately bagged in plastic and packed for shipping.

The Shipping Nightmare

Here's where the carbon cost explodes:

• Standard sea shipping: 0.16 kg CO₂ per item
• Express air shipping: 8 kg CO₂ per item — 50x more emissions for "fast delivery"
• Temu alone ships 600,000 packages daily — that's 4.8 million kg of CO₂ every single day, equal to driving 12 million miles or powering 480 homes for a year

Each package also arrives wrapped in individual plastic bags, cardboard boxes, plastic tape, shipping labels, and marketing inserts.

The Return Crisis

40% of fast fashion is returned. Most returns are destroyed because restocking costs more than the item's value, items arrive damaged, trends have already changed, and storage costs exceed the item's worth. Every return doubles the carbon footprint of that garment.

How Consignment Makes a Difference

At Used To Be Yours, clothes travel blocks — not continents. No overseas shipping, minimal packaging, no return destruction. Quality pieces find new local homes right here in Douglas, Wyoming, with a carbon footprint that's a tiny fraction of anything shipped from overseas.

— Shop Local, Think Global  |  Used To Be Yours Boutique

Day 1: Shanghai, China

9:00 AM — AI software spots a top trending on TikTok. By 10:00 AM the design is copied and sent to a factory. By 11:00 AM an order is placed for 50,000 pieces. The factory air is thick with polyester particles as workers begin their 12-hour shift.

Days 2–4: Production Rush

50,000 identical tops are cut at once. Each worker makes 300–400 pieces daily. Every top is individually bagged in plastic, packed in boxes of 200, with no time for quality checks.

Day 5: The Journey Begins

250 boxes are loaded onto trucks for a 3-hour drive to Shanghai Port. Each box contains 200 tops, 200 plastic bags, packaging materials, paper inserts, and additional plastic wrap.

Days 6–7: The Carbon Trail

By air (express): Shanghai → Los Angeles, 6,500 miles, 2,000 gallons of fuel, 8 kg of CO₂ per garment, 14 hours.

By sea: Same route, 14–21 days, 0.16 kg of CO₂ per garment. The difference is staggering — and most fast fashion chooses speed.

Days 8–15: Distribution & Delivery

Tops are sorted, repackaged with more plastic, labeled, and shipped individually across the country — an average of another 1,500 miles, more fuel, more CO₂, more packaging waste.

The Return Journey

40% will be returned. Another 6,500-mile journey. Most are never resold. Final destination: landfill. Total possible journey: 36,000 miles — for a top that may be worn once.

— Used To Be Yours Boutique | Sustainable Fashion, Real Change