I’m lucky to have a wonderful mother-in-law, who lives in India and is very supportive of my secondhand passion! She recently sent me an article, India’s online thrift stores and their love for luxury brands, from the newspaper, The Hindu.

This article discusses the growing popularity of secondhand and online thrifting in India. It also shares a few Indian secondhand sellers’ journeys to reselling and whose pages I’ve linked at the bottom of this post. Later this year I’ll also be sharing some photos and research I did personally about secondhand in Ahmedabad, India.

Also below are a few quotes I found interesting from this article but you can skip reading these if you read the full article:

In this fleet of thrift stores that have blossomed in the country over the past two years, there is a recent surge in those that specialise in authentic products from high-end brands. 

In 2019, when Chennai-based graphic designer Sruti Ashok set up a pop-up store selling second-hand clothes in the backyard of a cafe, she thought it was a one-time thing. But the overwhelming response she received and the money raised for an NGO through the sales, made her want to turn it into a yearly-affair.

Due to the increasing online base, I have been approached by several sellers from across India who either want to make money by selling their products or give to charity,” says Sruti whose customer base is largely women in their mid-20s and 30s.

Thrifting culture is quite popular in the Northeast. Physical thrift stores have been around since I was a child. So we know the process well and are aware which items to pick and which to ignore,” says Jungshi, a 21-year-old college student. Every evening, he visits these stores to source luxury products.

Riya says that her venture is doing well, thanks to growing awareness about the harms of fast fashion.

See the bullets below for the Indian secondhand sellers mentioned in this article and how to connect with them/see their shops. Also, see the map at the very bottom to understand where in India all these sellers are from!

• Sruti Ashok from Chennai, India and founder of Relove Closet (Instagram shop @therelovecloset that has over 6k followers)
• Jungshi Imti, based out of Kohima, India and founder of Instagram thrift shop @Chichi_n_Co that has over 10k followers
• Riya Rokade based out of Mumbai, India and founder of Vintage Laundry (Instagram shop @vintage.laundryy, has over 13k followers)