Offering a curated selection of moderately used or pre-loved clothing, mission-driven retailers are popping up nationwide in an attempt to change the consumer landscape and offer style-driven secondhand clothing options for parents looking to shop sustainably, purchase items more affordably and inspire their children to practice better buying habits.
When approaching the subject of second-hand children’s clothing, an essential question quickly presents itself: How do these specialty businesses differ from traditional thrift or consignment stores? The answer, while unique to the individual retailer, generally manifests with the specificity of children’s clothing, the curation of high-quality garments and a mission-oriented approach to retail.
Because of the nature of children’s clothing, which often requires rapid replacement as children grow, the secondhand retail market lends itself to a parental consumer demographic. In an interview with Angela Tafoya, co-founder of San Francisco-based secondhand children’s retailer Noomoon, the small business owner elaborated on this primarily uncharted space in the market, saying, “I opened the store about a year and a half ago and the idea was really born out of the notion that with kids clothing, they’re outgrowing it so quickly and cycling through it—you buy something and then five months later it doesn’t fit—and I saw this gap there and thought the amount of waste that children’s clothing is producing… I wanted to try to find a solution for that.”
Additionally, many of these children-specific secondhand retailers offer a unique selection of hand-curated items that appeal to a wide range of parental consumers and their varying needs, from vintage finds to practical purchases. Carly Boonparn, co-founder of Parachute Brooklyn, a buy-sell-trade children’s clothing store based in New York City, shared her experience curating garments for the store’s ranging clientele in an interview, saying, “I think we lean into like the more fun, creative brands, or our personal favorites, but I’d say we have a broad customer base, so we buy according to what people need. I think many customers enjoy the thrill of the hunt and are looking for unique vintage pieces or their favorite brands for example. Others stop by just out of necessity for when their children have a growth spurt, or if they need a seasonally appropriate item, like a warmer coat.”
Another way many of these specialty clothing retailers differentiate themselves from the rest of the secondhand market is with their mission-oriented business models. Kimberly Lau, founder of Project ReWear, a preloved children’s clothing boutique based in Thousand Oaks, CA, runs her small business on the platform of textile waste reduction.
In an interview, Lau revealed how she hopes her small business will work to shift consumer culture and “make secondhand second nature” with the retailer’s landfill project, saying, “When I heard that it takes 1800 gallons of water to make one pair of jeans, because of the amount of cotton it takes to grow, or 712, gallons to make a cotton t-shirt like the jeans—it’s equivalent to a little less than, I think, nine years drinking water for one person—I knew I had to do something, and so we did the landfill project. So every time someone purchases something in the store, we weigh it. Then if we do something called ‘snap and share’ where we have a board and it’s a picture of a garbage truck, and we put the weight in the garbage truck of what they saved. If they take a photo of that poster board, they save 10% that day. Right now, I think we’re about 850, pounds in four months that we’ve saved from the landfill in store.”
In addition to the qualities that make these retailers unique, the success of specialty stores like those mentioned previously has largely to do with the current shift in consumer buying behaviors, as shoppers favor secondhand clothing over new items in staggering numbers. According to a 2025 resale report from online consignment and thrift store ThredUp, “The U.S. [resale] market saw its strongest annual growth since 2021 and is expected to reach $74 billion by 2029.”
A predictable byproduct of this wave in secondhand shopping, specifically within the children’s retail sector, is the impact on the future buying habits of younger generations. As parents shop sustainably and share the eco-conscious benefits of doing so with their families, children are more likely to adhere to these same buying habits once they become old enough to shop for themselves.
In the same interview, Kau argued this point, saying, “Parents, I mean, you’ve got online role models like influencers, and then we are their offline role models.”
Additional data from ThredUp’s report supports this claim with statistics showing that younger shoppers, specifically those whose age categorizes them as Generation Alpha, are already becoming interested in secondhand shopping. The report states that “55% of young consumers say that if they can find an item secondhand, they won’t buy it new.”
Boonparn also shared her perspective on the movement, revealing the long list of positive long-term effects, saying, “It normalizes secondhand shopping. For example, when I was growing up, there was a lot of stigma around used clothes. So I think if kids are seeing their parents buying secondhand clothing, they’re more likely to view it as normal and acceptable and do it themselves. It encourages sustainability awareness in children, instills the values of responsible consumerism and the impact of overconsumption and fast fashion and the repercussions of that on the planet, especially since they’re the ones that are inheriting it.”
Boonparn continued, saying, “I think also it shapes their perceptions of value and quality. When they grow up around secondhand shopping, it teaches children that that quality and function matter more than having the latest trends or brand-new items, which I think can lead to thoughtful, less impulsive shopping habits later in life. And then lastly, another thing I noted about that is that it can promote creativity and individuality. Their shopping often involves finding brands or vintage items. So I think children raised in this environment can develop an appreciation for personal style and creative reuse rather than following mainstream consumer trends.”
When wrapping up our conversation, Tafoya revealed her excitement for the next generation of sustainable shoppers, saying, “It’s actually been very amazing to see parents that come in with older kids—like maybe seven or eight–and how into secondhand shopping they are. I have one customer in particular, she has two daughters, and they only shop secondhand. And so it’s very interesting to see them coming in and navigating shopping this way, and also seeing that it’s a value from their parent’s perspective. And so, by the time they’re older, that will be where they turn to, what they turn to first.