Clothing Could Get More Expensive, But Please Don’t Panic Buy

There are other options, though. Secondhand shopping within the U.S. won’t be subject to the same pricing hikes, and while some have speculated that demand will cause a rise in prices, there will still be options like peer-to-peer selling on apps like Depop, Thredup, or Vestiaire Collective. Considering that the average American buys nearly 53 items a year, there is plenty for us to recirculate. Plus, not every clothing acquisition needs to cost money, and clothing swaps are a great way to refresh your wardrobe without spending any money. It can be a way to tap into your community, keep things local, and spend time with friends and family. Now, there are entire social media groups dedicated to spending no money on clothing via exchanges.

There is also an opportunity to shop more locally and for brands to consider restructuring their supply chain closer to their operations. “Producing things locally is one of the most bipartisan topics,” unspun co-founder and CEO Kevin Martin tells Teen Vogue. The brand created a circular weaving system called Vega that reduces waste and hopes to be a game changer for domestic manufacturing. “It supports local businesses, creates jobs, and results in a drastic reduction in logistics costs and emissions.”

Tariffs, if they happen as Donald Trump says, will almost certainly have a major impact on how U.S. consumers shop. But in the response, perhaps we can rethink an already broken and overproduced system. Shopping locally, encouraging brands to make smaller, mending, and supporting our community can be an act of resistance to a structure that is hurting the planet and the people that work within it — higher tariffs or not.