Elsa Asiah, founder of @taketwowear dropping her newest collection: Girl Next Door Vol.4.

(Source: Instagram / @taketwowear)

Do you ever wonder where your old clothes end up in the end? Approximately a total of 2,000 tonnes just end up at your local landfill.

Textile waste decomposes and emits poisonous gas such as methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes a lot to global warming and we do not want to be a part of that. The clothes' dyes and color are also continuously contaminating the soil and river and can potentially harm our daily water use.

Elsa Asiah Fauzi, also known as @elsaasiah on Instagram is a 21-year-old student who has been curating an online thrift store called @taketwowear since 2018.

With a total of 12.9k followers on Instagram, Elsa realises that she has a big platform that she can use to spread awareness on many kinds of current issues and at the same time do what she loves – fashion.

Trendy, individualistic, and girlish are the best three words to describe @taketwowear as the collection is mostly inspired by the fashion trends in the 90s and 2000s. The collections curated are bold, fun, and vibrant and not to forget, one of a kind.

“It was hard to execute at first but now I cannot believe it has been 4 years since I started my business. It is nice to see a community on Instagram who believes and supports thrifting,” Elsa Asiah said while Berita DIMENSi interviewed her via Google Meet.

Thrifting has become a global phenomenon on social media especially on TikTok and boosted in popularity with Gen Z and Gen Y worldwide hopping on the trend. As people are more aware and environmentally conscious, thrifting has actually become a fashion trend itself.

Elsa Asiah models her own curated line in an at-home photoshoot.
(Source: Instagram / @taketwowear)

Elsa Asiah scours local thrift stores to find unique and one-of-a-kind pieces that match her store’s concept and aesthetics. She did all the shoots, the editing, and basically everything for her store with the help of her little brother and her boyfriend, as well as Elsa's best friend, Deanna Deanni famously known as @urfavramen on Instagram who have been part of the journey since day one.

Elsa, who is also an avid thrifter, believes that mass buying — even though it is from thrifting — would be counter-productive if it ends up unworn in your closet. We need to be responsible and mindful by buying essential items only. It is a bad and selfish act to just impulsively purchase stuff and simply discard it in the end.

As most clothing nowadays is made from polyester, it would take years to decompose in the ocean thus polluting the sea. Thrifting helps reduce textile waste and the fashion industry alone is one of the biggest water consumers. It takes approximately 650 gallons of water just to make one new cotton t-shirt. Imagine the number of garments produced worldwide, daily.

Thrifting is a small but impactful action for the sake of our dying planet. Fashion is a way we express our creativity and by displaying and supporting thrifting, this shows our awareness and understanding of the current political climate and at the same time influencing people to do something good that can make the world a better place.

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