Also, I buy second hand as much as I can, but the author is correct in that new clothes are now almost as cheap to buy as used clothing as places like Goodwill and St. Vincent's seem to be RAISING their prices these days.
I have no easy answer, but it makes me think about my 'consumer' habits, for sure.
In memory of jerry stiller who passed today and old clothing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVRfHWJGLyA
Goodwill here in L.A removed the fitting rooms which is stupid. It all came about bec. homeless idiots would steal clothes so to avoid this crap, they removed the fitting rooms. So why even bother scouting for pants when you cant even try them on?
They may come back because of people having lost jobs.
I’ve not donated clothing for at least a decade. I burn my old clothes. It keeps people employed.
I do. All the time. Some of my best stuff is from thrift and Goodwill stores in nice areas.
The coronavirus pandemic hoax only happened because Donald Trump is President.
80,000 Americans died of the flu in the winter of 2018 and nobody blinked because Chuck Todd fake news wasn’t celebrating every single death.
I’m the same way. I hate throwing things into the landfill, and I cycle everything through the nearest Goodwill. I have four sacks of clothes in my closet just waiting for this to be over so I can donate again.
Good thing I liquidated half my closet after Hurricane Harvey even though I didn’t want the tax deduction. Showing off the back of my SUV filled with bags of old shirts, t-shirts, pants and stuff won me a lot of “good citizen” points with the neighbors. The recipients were people who had been flooded out of their homes so they had no clothes but the ones on their backs.
I liquidated most of the rest and moved to Panama. Here, as in most of Latin America, the people wear t-shirts, blouses and caps with words in English even though they don’t speak English. It’s just the fashion here to wear something that says “Miami” or “New York” or “California” or “Vegas” like we might wear something that says “Paris” even though we’ve never been there. It’s pretty amusing.
John Edwards Daddy worked in a mill.
I’ve been seeing a TV ad in which a young black woman talks about how much money she’s making by selling her used clothes. That ad has led to some ribald humor on my part.
goodwill and the Starvation Army have been raising their prices but so far St Vincent de Paul has kept used stuff affordable.
so far, anyway.
and we always buy as much stuff as we can at any of these charity thrift stores. SOME older things were made better than some of the new junque. Also, it is, well, thrifty.. why pay $40 for something you can get for $6 or $7? Mostly, however, we like the idea that our donations (lots of them, thankfully!) and also our purchases help keep these places in operation.. as they do help a lot of people
Very interesting article for anyone with an interest in marketing. Thanks.
I didn’t know the term “Shoddy” was in reference to a real material. I always thought it was a term of judgement, as in
Shoddy = Cheap or something of poor construction.
I too have noticed that many Goodwills are selling items at market rates or near the same of retail outlets.
Less common is seeing true value or extreme markdowns,, unless the merchandise is rather unattractive.That is a change.
Same story with most shoes. I have shoes where I want the man-made soles replaced, but I want to keep the top leather since it is already stretched to conform to my feet.
That kind of a material replacement is usually far more expensive vs just buying a new pair of shoes, and dealing with the painful breaking in period as usual. I have very large and very wide feet. I’m a short guy with size 14 EEEE feet.
My fashion sense has never changed. I essentially wear the same clothes that I did 40 years ago, only thing that has changed has been the size (and over the last five years that has steadily been down). All of the typical clothing donation points are shuttered at the moment, but I had a boat load of clothes that no longer fit. I persisted and found a church that is still taking donations and they will distribute the clothes to poor folks in need.
I haven’t owned a new shirt or pants, outside of Christmas presents, in almost 20 years because it is easier and cheaper to buy them from a Church yard sale or garage sale. I guess being a guy makes that simpler since our natural state is looking like we are cheap.
Nobody wants used clothes? Wait until the effects of this asinine economic shutdown start to be felt.
In 1977 I was on a merchant ship in Mumbai (Bombay) India.
I saw pallets of donated clothing swung over the side into the garbage scows. The chief mate thought that it was about 2 or 3 tons of American donated clothing that was destroyed.
It’s bullsh!t
The older fabrics are more durable.
Decades of life.
And some things never go out of style.
Just some douchebag hipsters trying to sell you on newer (but not better) mousetraps
Yep. Depends on your clothes and your market. I’m in a town consistently in the top 10 for wealth in the country and they have a few charities with prospering Goodwill-type shops—but with high-quality clothing.
We have NO problem donating or buying from thrift shops. More of the Salvation Army or local church stores rather than goodwill though. Mrs rktman has found things that have original tags for pretty dang cheap. I’ve found some nice yard shirts. Plus she finds things to incorporate into her mosaics.