As cultures shift, so do generations. Unlike previous ones, millennials and Gen-Z seem flattered by the idea of thrifting.

In the past, people used to shop at charity shops because they could not afford otherwise; the current young cohort seems to be making it a personal choice, as a fashion statement.

From vintage pieces to quirky finds, charity shops are gaining popularity as other mainstream clothing shops.

On the matter, The Malta Independent on Sunday sat down with Inspire retail operations executive Christabel Tonna and Inspire chief Financial officer Giovanna Mirabelli who together explained the benefits when one decides to shop in one of their stores.

Since the beginning of this year, Inspire’s Charity Shops have been going through a rebranding “because it helps remove the stigma”.

Now officially called Give and Take, Christabel explained how the shops have been better reorganised, to better cater for the needs of those who decide to opt to buy clothes from a charity shop.

She said that despite efforts to keep the stores in order, some clients still complained that they missed being able to rummage through boxes of clothes in the hope of finding “a good deal”.

For this reason, the store is nowadays divided into several parts such as recycled Moses baskets filled with piles of clothes together with several shelves neatly packed, where different clients can have their go at finding their winning pieces.

Given that these clothes are donated for free, all income is profit (after expenses are cut).

Delving into the financial gains from these charity shops, Mirabelli said that in total for July alone, profits reached €18,000 where after paying expenses, a third will be reinvested into the Foundation to give back to society.

“A total of 80 black bags full of clothes are left out of our Marsascala charity shop on a daily basis,” she said.

In total, Inspire has four shops, after having to close down three others as they became unsustainable because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

These shops are located in Marsascala, Hamrun, Hal Qormi and Victoria, Gozo.

Mirabelli explained that in total these charity shops generate part of the 30% of the total funds the organisation needs to keep providing the free services it already does.

She explained that the other 70% is provided by government.

On average, a total of 400 service users go every month to Inspire to receive treatment, after being referred to by doctors.

Mirabelli explained that if it weren’t for these donations and together with governmental aid, Inspire would not be alive today as it would not be sustainable.

Asked about the types of people who shop at the charity shops, Tonna said that the shop has regulars from all walks of life.

She added that some of them are fashion design students who come to shop for cheap and unique prints, which they can later upcycle for school projects, while others are happy to contribute to Inspire financially. Apart from that others shop secondhand to help the environment by decreasing the number of clothing pieces which land in Maltese landfills.

Although having a very rich background in retail, Tonna said that she has learnt how many clothes the nation throws away.

“We have some clothes which are still with tags,” she said while showing a branded shirt.

Tonna said that it is not the first time that she was sorting out a bag which was left outside of a store and found items which should not have been there such as rotten food or mouse traps. In response to this, she said that people should be more careful when donating to charity shops, as at the end of the day people are still going to come and buy them.

The Malta Independent also interviewed Semira Axiak who is one of the few full-time social media influencers promoting thrifting.

“I have always gone for thrifting because I am in favour of decreasing my carbon footprint,” she said.

She said that around two to three years ago she started to become aware of how much she was causing harm to the environment because of the fashion industry.

“Here in Malta we have this mentality that if we buy fast fashion, it is the only way to look presentable,” she said.

Axiaq said that being an influencer comes with pressures to always have fresh new looks and always be on top of trends. She added that what helped the most when she resorted to charity shopping was the fact that her parents never pushed the mentality that charity shopping “wasn’t for everyone”.

“From a very young age, my mother used to take us to bazaars, especially during holidays such as Christmas,” she said.

She added that some people view thrifting as something reserved for the “dirty” or the “disorganised”.

Axiaq said that this current generation’s mentality has shifted when it comes to thrifting as they have come to accept it “but speaking to previous generations I find it to be very different than mine”.

One great thing that she pointed out was the fact that in Malta all funds collected in the majority of charity shops are invested back into society as all profit goes for a greater cause such as animal shelters or helping those less fortunate.

She concluded by saying that when it comes to thrifting the Maltese should consider themselves lucky, as compared to when she went thrifting abroad prices are pretty reasonable for the great quality of vintage items and collectables, apart from good quality clothing one can find.