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10 places to find back-to-school clothes on the cheap

Getting ready for school can add up. Check out these tips for getting your kids back to class without spending so much money.

By Chris BaskindWed, Jul 28 2010 at 12:25 PM EST
 7

BEYOND PENCILS AND BOOKS: When getting your children ready to go back to school, the biggest line item is clothing. (Photo: Anthony Dahl Wheeler/Flickr)
How would you like to cut this year’s back-to-school budget in half?
 
Backpacks, pens and pencils, notebooks — it all adds up. But in terms of both cost and environmental impact, the biggest line item is clothing. So that’s the most productive place to make getting your kids back to class a leaner and greener experience.
 
Want to save? Buy used
Yes: used. With new clothes, no matter how organic the fabric or local the production (and most school clothing is neither), nothing beats the eco-efficiency of secondhand. Every time you repurpose a piece of clothing, you’re saving hundreds of gallons of water; all the pesticide that would have been used to produce its natural fibers or the petroleum from which synthetics are made; and the energy and resources to bring the finished garment to market.
 
Used clothing is actually a huge industry in most of the developed world. But almost all secondhand clothes end up overseas. In many peoples’ minds, there’s a stigma to used cloth. Maybe that’s because at one time, the places you’d be most likely to find used clothing were run by charitable organizations.
 
Perhaps our resistance to used clothing goes deeper — to the consumerist notion that if we’re not buying the newest and most expensive things for our children, we’re failing as parents.
 
In either case, there are plenty of great ways to find deals on great-looking, perfectly serviceable secondhand clothing. Let’s go shopping!
 
10 sources for used kids’ clothing
Family and friends: The old standby. Who do you know who with kids a little older than yours? A quick note on a church or office bulletin board can get the ball rolling on a group exchange. Don’t be shy about making a few calls: People are usually happy to empty their closets of unneeded items.
 
Consignment stores: Commissioned resellers always seem to have the freshest fashion and most immaculate goods. You’ll pay a bit more for the convenience, but consignment stores — with their marked and sorted goods — can be real time savers. Most offer some sort of return policy, too.
 
Church and multifamily rummage sales: The advantage of these larger events is convenience. More stuff in one place means you’ll be doing less driving around. Some of the church sales can be large scale, semi-annual events. It pays to connect with groups staging these. Volunteers sometimes get first pick or a discount, so what you get out of the deal can be in direct proportion to what you put in. Once you’ve located a quality event, ask if they have a mailing list so you can be informed of future sales.
 
Craigslist: The 24/7 online rummage sale. You’re probably in luck if your area has a local Craigslist, and it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. Preparing this article, we did random searches for “clothing” in two or three smaller cities. Our first hit was a 105-piece boy’s assortment in what appeared to be excellent shape for $100. There was easily a thousand dollars worth of clothing in the set. Read through Craigslist’s online guide to buyer safety and use common sense before arranging any in-person transactions.
 
eBay: Online auctions are great places to pick up specific items you might need to fill in your child’s wardrobe. You’ll be hard pressed to think of something not covered by eBay’s listings. Merchandise is generally of high quality — much of it is new — and you’re protected, to an extent, by eBay’s built-in reputation and dispute resolution systems.
 
Flea markets: You never really know from week to week what will be on the tables at your local flea market, and that’s part of the fun. You’re as likely to find new clothing as used, along with things like book bags, bikes and serviceable lunch boxes. Prices are usually higher than rummage sales and secondhand stores, but you can cover a lot of ground in an hour. Tell the sellers what you’re looking for — chances are, they have a hook-up.
 
Freecycle: A genuine online community, Freecycle can deliver the best deals in town because everything is free. The downside is that most people on the list are making space at home, and you may have to agree to take more than you really need. Fair enough. Visit the main site to locate a Freecycle group near you. As with Craigslist, use caution when arranging pickups with strangers. Freecycle etiquette dictates that if you agree to pick up an item, you should do so promptly. And be sure to give back when it’s your turn to lighten your load.
 
Salvage stores: Like flea markets, you never know from week to week what you’ll find at a salvage store. These outlets purchase salable merchandise from insurance companies at pennies on the dollar. You’ll have to be on the lookout for damaged goods (most salvage stock comes from businesses destroyed by flood or fire), but a good cleaning is a small price to pay for otherwise new, name-brand merchandise. Increasingly, salvage stores or coming into possession of bankruptcy liquidations — so there are lots of unexpected deals to be found.
 
Saturday morning rummage sales: For a lot of people, weekend rummaging is a hobby and a way of life. It’s possible you’ll find the very best deals on someone’s driveway on a Saturday morning — but you’ll need to make a plan if you expect to compete with the the rummage sale veterans. Start here and pick up some tips from the pros.
 
Secondhand and thrift stores: You already know the names: places like Goodwill and the Salvation Army. You probably have at least one locally run, independent secondhand store in your community, as well. Nonprofits and charities have used thrift stores to finance their operations for decades, so buying from one is a way of supporting their work. You can find good deals in these large-scale secondhand stores — but come prepared to dig through a lot of junk, too.
 
Copyright Lighter Footstep 2009
 
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Related Topics: Green Kids, Lighter Footstep, MNN lists, Save Money

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anonymous
tburo 08/19/2011 10:54 AM

Plato's Closet is a great chain store for used juniors clothing. They always carry the latest fashions that are gently used and screened by the store so there are never rips stains or pilling on any of the clothes. Best thing is they buy clothes too so you can sell your old clothes while you shop around and look for new ones!

anonymous
ecomainegirl 06/25/2011 15:15 PM

Great tips!

anonymous
gholmom 08/19/2011 10:49 AM

I'd add in Uniform Exchanges. Catholic / private schools here in St. Louis have them at least once a semester. My Kindergartener got almost her entire school wardrobe there. I added just a couple of "new" pieces, and she's in heaven.

anonymous
Annie 07/30/2010 14:13 PM

We love the Just Between Friends Sales. They are in alomost every state now and most sales run twice a year. We can always pick up brand name used clothing at a fraction of the cost. I find that if I buy the brand names, they hold up and at the next sale I can bring them back to consign.

anonymous
derek 07/30/2010 14:15 PM

We always hit the thrift stores first, especially for kids clothes. They grow out of them before they trash them, so we find great stuff on the cheap that way.

anonymous
JANE 07/30/2010 14:12 PM

I did not see you mention the already organized clothing swaps that happen. The university where I work hosts one at the end of the academic year; it's great fun with great finds. You can use any search engine and look for swaps in your area.

Also, there are some great online swaps:
http://www.dignswap.com
.... More

anonymous
hilary 07/30/2010 14:12 PM

I make it a point to buy used kids clothes. It has saved me tons of money and I can get some great items for a fraction of the cost. Just make sure you clean them well before use. One good tip is to use oxiclean on clothes with stains. It usually does a good job at taking them out and then let the garment hang dry; keeps stains from setting in and saves energy :-)

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