How many Rs are there in “second-hand shopping”? The answer is three.

Second-hand shopping is not only good for your wallet, it’s fantastic for the environment. If you thrift shop, you’re reducing your carbon footprint. We could all incorporate the three Rs into our lives a little bit more.

Reduce

Buying clothes, furniture and other items second-hand reduces the amount of pollution the environment endures. When you walk into a department store or mall to purchase clothing, it’s estimated that 98% of the clothing comes from outside of the U.S. Shipping clothing across the globe involves a lot of energy and pollution. Purchasing goods second-hand reduces your carbon footprint significantly.

When you buy second-hand, it often has a reduced amount of packaging. You end up with way less garbage for the landfill (and you probably won’t need scissors to break into the package!)

Reuse

Reusing goods is so easy and keeps items from ending up in landfills. It’s true, it does feel amazing to declutter and have a garbage bag full of stuff to throw out. But, if you can keep some of your waste out of landfills and re-home it to someone who needs it, wouldn’t it be much more environmentally friendly? Whether you sell, donate or fix it up to reuse yourself, it’s important to consider how unnecessarily re-buying items affects the environment. The answer isn’t always a big box store. Sure, reusing can take a little extra time, whether you’re purchasing an item second-hand or fixing it up, but it’s worth it in the long run.

Recycle

Recycling an item that’s been broken and deemed unusable is another great way to support eco-friendly consumerism. Just because something is broken, doesn’t mean the material is useless. There’s countless ways to recycle material to make new items, or fix items up to be usable. If everyone did this with their old items instead of placing them, imagine how much we could reduce our carbon footprint! Even better, if the material of an old item isn’t useful to you, try to sell it. Someone else may be the right person to re-purpose it.

Second-hand shopping is all about the three Rs of being environmentally friendly. If you’re not a thrifter yet, it’s time to start. Curbza is a platform that offers the most customizable buy and sell experience available. Download it for free on the App Store or Google Play, and see how simple it is to save the environment by shopping second-hand.

What do you do to reduce your carbon footprint? Do you shop second-hand? Tell us below in the comments.