It’s once again the start of a new year, and as cliché as it sounds, it’s the time for fresh new beginnings! New Year’s resolutions can look like a lot of different things, such as personal health, experiences, financial freedom, etc. But if any one of your goals for 2026 involves anything related to becoming more sustainable, to thrift more, to be more intentional with your purchases, to support more meaningful causes and organizations, then we can help!
The fashion industry leaves billions of pounds of textiles in landfills each year, filling our planet with waste and polluting our environment greatly. If you’re trying to develop positive mindful habits regarding the ways in which you shop and consume in any way, thrifting at Goodwill of Central Iowa can be your perfect gateway to the world of sustainable fashion. Thrifting your wardrobe is a very accessible way to adopt a more sustainable circular-fashion approach to clothing consumption. The concept of circular fashion is one that emphasizes the responsible consumption of clothing via methods that emphasize the longevity and recycling factor of clothing pieces, such as thrifting secondhand pieces instead of buying brand new ones!
Before attempting to start from scratch, do some closet-introspection. See what pieces you already have, what pieces you would like to have, what goes with your existing favorite outfits, etc. If you wear specific pieces often, assess what you like about them the most, what you wear them with often, and how they impact your mood and intention. It’s also helpful to categorize your existing clothing and see what you utilize most of your outfits for! Maybe you need more work appropriate pieces, maybe you have a surplus of oversized t-shirts that are spilling out of your drawer, or maybe you anticipate an upcoming occasion that you don’t have any outfit ideas for.
It’s often easy to enter a thrift store, feel really overwhelmed, and immediately leave without successfully finding a single good piece of clothing. Before going to the thrift store, ask yourself what is your style? what kind of pieces are you looking for? what kind of fabrics and textures do you like? which do you hate? are you looking or specific colors? lengths? cuts? It greatly helps when you have a mental list of items or concepts to specifically look for to ease your search and allow you to focus on the exact type of pieces that you want to include in your wardrobe. Sometimes you might even have to resort to Pinterest or social media for outfit inspiration and that is ok! Succeeding at this one task, like everything in life, will maybe require some pre-planning!
The beauty of thrift stores is that they’re often incredibly unique, versatile and abundant. Thrifting can be an incredibly thrilling weekend activity if you allow it to be! Yes you might visit one singular thrift store and find a few items that peak your interest, but why stop there when you can visit one or two or three more thrift stores if you can spare the time and energy! Thrift store items vary greatly and depend on characteristics like geographical locations. Styles and patterns you may find in one location can be completely different that the next location you visit. Luckily, Goodwill of Central Iowa has 15 convenient store locations all over Des Moines metro area that is sure to satisfy all your wardrobe rebranding needs. For a full list of our locations, please visit our website here: https://www.dmgoodwill.org/store-locations/
In 2026, we should all feel encouraged and empowered to participate in more sustainable practices that will benefit us, our communities, and the planet in the long run. At Goodwill of Central Iowa, we’re proud to serve you here in your own local community by providing the tools and resources that allow you to make better choices that will in turn help us with our mission of Making Purposeful Employment possible for all! If you’re curious about how your support for Goodwill of Central Iowa allows us to help the community, please visit the “Our Programs” tab at the top menu of this page!
