How a Peel clothing store is changing the shopping experience & promoting sustainability

Growing up in a single-parent household, Lauren Rosso first turned to thrifting as a way to express herself creatively while avoiding the high cost of increasingly expensive new clothes. 

"I really enjoyed expressing myself through fashion," she shared with The Pointer, proudly referring to herself as a "professional thrifter."

Over time, Rosso also became more aware of the environmental benefits of keeping clothes available for others, after the original owners move onto the latest trend, or simply stop wearing a perfectly good article.

Today, she is a successful local entrepreneur, running Plato’s Closet stores in Brampton and Vaughan, and recently opening a new outlet in Mississauga on October 24, alongside her business partner and sister Leigh Anne Hayward.

(Anushka Yadav/The Pointer)

Rosso grew up in the Windsor-Detroit area, and would often do cross border shopping increasingly from an American franchise store called Plato’s Closet that buys and sells trendy, gently used clothing for teen and twenty-something guys and girls.

“When I discovered that the brand was coming to Canada, I was very excited, and it was just only a dream…I couldn't even imagine owning one for myself.” 

She opened the first store in Brampton on Kennedy Road in 2015, and initially, “a lot of people really didn't understand the concept of what we were trying to do.”

This was unsurprising, as thrifting, which has been popular in cycles over time, had not yet deeply embedded in the culture among recent generations of teens and twenty-somethings.

Simultaneously, for good or bad, many young people immersed and influenced by ubiquitous marketing and the proliferation of social media—constantly telling them how to fit in and what to wear, while reflecting back the ideal image of what is cool and popular 24/7—were kept out of this trendy culture. Even with fast fashion, many of the labels and particular pieces of clothing that cycle in and out of the coolest spots on the clothing hierarchy, are just simply too pricey for most young people and their family.    

Trendy items can be bought at Plato’s Closet for a fraction of the price.

(Top, Anushka Yadav/The Pointer; bottom, PlatosCloset.com)

Meanwhile, the cheaper fast-fashion options began to cause significant harm to the planet, as the chemicals used in lower cost clothing make their way into our water courses and eventually the ocean where they cause irreversible harm. 

Contaminants from clothing have contributed to a 76 percent decline in the freshwater fish population globally, according to Just One Ocean. 

The organization reports that the fashion industry causes more pollution than all global shipping and air travel combined. 

And the vast majority of clothing is wasted, with half-a-trillion dollars a year in value lost due to under-utilization of shirts, jeans, pants, coats, shoes and other articles that are constantly replaced, sometimes without ever being used or when they are forgotten after being worn only a handful of times.  

Shane Kalicharan, a Peel resident, turned to thrifting for reasons similar to Rosso's when his family moved to Canada from the Caribbean.

“Being new immigrants, money was definitely tight. And for us, like the first several years of our life in Canada, we depended on thrift shops to fully clothe ourselves” against the cold, harsh winters in the country, he recalled.

What started as a “necessity” soon turned into something Kalicharan “learned to love.” 

“It always felt like a bit of an adventure, like sorting through all the racks and everything like there was,” he said, adding that it helped him appreciate the value of a well-made garment over fast fashion.

Looking back, he mentions the stigma that once surrounded thrifting, especially because owning certain clothing from certain brands was and continues to be an “indicator of financial status.”

“I never felt comfortable telling fellow classmates that I got this sweater at a thrift shop. It didn’t really have the same kind of vintage fashion connotation that it has now.” 

A Plato’s Closet store in the U.S. where the concept was launched. The franchise is part of a company that initially began in the late ‘80s with stores that sold used sports equipment.

(SNKRS)

The fast fashion industry was at its peak, growing by 9.7 percent yearly on average between 2010 and 2015.

Driven by the rapid turnover of cheaply made garments designed to quickly mimic the latest trends, it was only fairly recently that fast fashion’s environmental impact came to light.

Each year, 100 billion garments are produced globally, and 92 million tonnes of them end up in landfills, according to Greenpeace. Canada contributes between 500,000 and 1 million tonnes of this waste annually.

Economically, the global fashion industry is valued at approximately $2.4 trillion and provides jobs for over 75 million people worldwide. However, a 2019 UNEP report highlighted that it loses an estimated $500 billion annually due to poor recycling practices and unsold clothing that ends up in landfills.

The fast-paced nature of the fashion industry and its supply chain led to its recognition as one of the world’s largest polluters by the World Economic Forum in 2021. 

The fashion industry accounts for approximately ten percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing the combined emissions of the aviation and shipping sectors, and playing a significant role in accelerating the climate crisis.

The Dundas East location in Mississauga (one of two in the city), near Toronto.

(Google)

Among its most damaging processes, dyeing and finishing fabrics alone account for three percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.

In addition to carbon emissions, clothing production contributes significantly to water pollution, with microplastics from synthetic fabrics like polyester, one of the most commonly used materials in fashion, entering wastewater and eventually flowing into rivers and oceans when garments are washed. In 2021, polyester accounted for about 75 percent of the microplastics found in the Arctic Ocean. Yarn preparation and fiber production are major contributors to resource depletion, driven by energy-intensive processes that rely heavily on fossil fuels.

If no action is taken to address fast fashion waste in the coming years, the industry’s global emissions are set to increase by more than 50 percent by 2030. The same year when Canada is supposed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40–45 percent below 2005 levels under the Paris Agreement.

Over the years, it has become one of the major faux pas of the modern world. 

However, slowly and gradually consumer habits are shifting to the new reality. 

“I've seen just in general, people being much more mindful over what they're purchasing,” Rosso said.

She explains that while Plato’s Closet primarily caters to a younger demographic, she observes “people of all ages and all demographics shopping and selling” with them. 

“I think sustainability plays a big part in that,” she added. “I'm just seeing more and more people really being attracted to shopping secondhand.”

(Anushka Yadav/The Pointer)

Kalicharan says he’s become “increasingly aware” of how consumerism affects the environment. And even though he can now afford high-end clothes, he still chooses to frequent thrift stores, staying true to his commitment to more sustainable shopping habits.

One of the key barriers to thrifting for many people is the concern about cleanliness and the sometimes musty smell that is commonly associated with thrift stores. 

However, when I first walked into Plato’s Closet’s Mississauga store to meet Lauren, I was pleased to find that the store was not only free of any unpleasant odours, but also meticulously organized for easy browsing with sections labelled with popular brand names like Aritzia, making the experience feel much more streamlined and accessible.

Rosso says that one of her “absolute goals” is to offer a pocket-friendly shopping experience while also exposing people to sustainable shopping practices, ultimately fostering a “stronger community.

“I really hope that shopping at Plato’s Closet broadens their mindset to think in what other ways in my life could I benefit from taking a sustainable approach to things? I think that this is a very small stepping stone.”

In a world dominated by fast fashion, Russo is part of a small but growing group of business owners advocating for a more mindful approach to clothing, encouraging consumers to take care of what they wear, to make them last longer—something close to her heart as both a thrifting enthusiast and a fashion lover.

“When I was younger, I chose thrift. Well, some of it was out of necessity, right? I could say I chose thrift, but thrift chose me.” 

 

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