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Savvy young people find high-fashion bargains among rickety racks

Charities across the state are expecting stores full of bargain hunters when National Op Shop Week begins on Sunday.

Laura Morley, 22, is an avid op shopper and said most of her wardrobe was made up of second-hand clothing.

"Whenever I find something in the shops, I think to myself I can probably find the same thing but cheaper at the op shop," she said.

"I can't quit the habit."

Ms Morley said her best find was a $6 jacket which was a perfect winter trench coat.

"I often look for brands in the church op shops," she said, adding she had spotted a number of exclusive labels in the stores.

Salvation Army's Brisbane area manager Stuart Estreich said buying second-hand clothes made sense on price and helped protect the environment.

"I think the youth are more aware of the environment and are more aware of reusing and recycling clothes and the benefits in doing such," he said.

"In a lot of our larger stores we are now running street boutiques, [where] boutiques have the more fashionable clothes."

Op shop purchases help protect environment

According to the National Association of Charitable Recycling Organisations, Australian charity op shops divert more than 300,000 tonnes of clothing and home wares from landfill each year.

Ms Morley said dressing head to toe for a handful of dollars was not the only attraction of op shop purchases.

"I love to support a sustainable fashion industry," she said.

"It's a cycle, I buy clothes and donate clothes of my own that I don't wear anymore, there's no waste, everyone wins.

"It's nice to know you're supporting a charity and that the money is going directly to a cause."

National Op-Shop week runs from August 21 to August 27.

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