Gift For Thrift
Teen makes an impact with secondhand clothes
By Jessica Laskey
Photography By Linda Smolek
June 2025
Next time you get an urge to shop, try thrifting instead of buying new. Linnea Bohan knows why.
Inspired by her love of thrifting, Bohan, a junior at Rio Americano High School, received a Climate Leaders Fellowship. The program engages young leaders to find climate solutions—one of which is thrifting, rather than buying new clothes.
For the fellowship, high school students around the world identify local climate impact opportunities and complete a 12-week capstone project with help from advisers and peers. Stanford and student travel company Rustic Pathways sponsor the fellowships.
Here’s where thrifting comes in. When Bohan heard about the program, she realized she could expand on a favorite activity and make an impact.
“One of my hobbies is going with friends to go thrifting,” she says. “Us as teens, we don’t have that much money, so we like going to places that are cheaper. People use fast fashion like Shein, but for the same price, you can find a better-quality item at a thrift store. Plus, thrift stores are much better for the environment.”
Bohan notes new clothes have “a lot of hidden costs, or externalities, including pollution from harvesting raw materials, producing the goods and shipping them across the world.”
As part of her fellowship, Bohan designed and placed posters around Rio encouraging students to “Save Money and Thrift Green.”
She asked the school’s environmental club to get involved and encouraged her AP environmental science teacher to put up a poster. The teacher sent emails to recruit Rio families. Bohan contacted local media to spread the word.
During the fellowship, Bohan participated in weekly Zoom meetings with her cohort to discuss projects and make connections. At the end of 12 weeks, she documented the process and earned a certificate.
While working on her fellowship, Bohan learned a lot about thrifting. She favors local stores such as Goodwill, Upscale Thrift and St. Vincent de Paul. She knows how to find the best deals.
“Every week, stores have tags with different colors with different discounts,” she says. “If you’re looking for something cheap, that’s a good way to do it.”
While thrifting has challenges—it’s not always easy to find your size or brand—Bohan thinks the upsides are significant.
Best of all, she says, “You might find something you didn’t even know you were looking for.”
For more information, visit rusticpathways.com/young-climate-leaders-fellowship.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
