National Thrift Store Day is celebrated in the United States on August 17, with the goal of raising public awareness of the work of the charities that fund these establishments. Because the theoretical goal is to help the most vulnerable communities and redistribute products that would otherwise end up in a container or in one of the vast landfills around the world that digest the waste of the richest countries. They do it too, and in industrial quantities, but American consumers have, shall we say, the first purchase option.
The volume of this market is not only supportive, but has also become a business in itself: although there is a certain charity, there is also a purely commercial nature. Motivated by price, to give the environment a break or to overcome guilt about working conditions in Asian factories, customers are consolidating: the global used market is expected to double in the next three years and reach $350 billion in 2027. Dollars, according to a 2023 report from online resale website ThredUp.
Although there are no overall numbers on what the second-hand market represents in the US, Future Market Insights suggests potential growth of 15% over the next decade in apparel alone, with business reaching 283 million by 2032. As Home to As the largest textile market in the world, the USA is also the main exporter of used clothing.
But second-hand shops don't just sell rags. The range of products is as vast as the imagination: furniture, household and office furniture, tableware, toys, books and records… even a collection of vintage wedding dresses like those kept in a strange store in Jersey City, twin states of New York. According to the official business register for 2021, there were 18,640 second-hand shops in the country with a total of 189,892 employees.
fine print
Other companies are more informal. Real estate agencies, for example, notify their new clients about the liquidation of furniture for others who are in the process of moving (without warning about the fine print of shipping costs, which have increased by 20% since the pandemic and can triple the price). paid for an old but well-preserved sofa).
True to its spirit of solidarity, Housing Works, one of New York's largest chains, dedicates most of its profits to supporting homeless HIV-positive people. Depending on the district, the offerings in the shop windows range from cheap and inexpensive to super bargains. Standing out in the eatery on the very middle-class Upper East Side this week were several pairs of Chanel shoes, two Hermès bags and luxurious mahogany furniture, as well as a lacquered Japanese sideboard, all in perfect condition. “There’s a lot of money in New York. And people who have it quickly become bored with what they buy because they have everything and don't value it. “That’s why we receive luxury brand clothing and shoes, paintings and furniture every day that would cost several thousand dollars in other stores, such as the Japanese sideboard,” explains manager Jeremy. Individuals getting rid of things can receive a small compensation, which is always negotiable, or simply donate it.
Far from appearing poor, regular customers of Goodwill, an NGO funded by its chain of thrift stores, brag about their purchases on social media. The bargain behavior doesn't let up, although it doesn't even compare to that of an even cheaper phenomenon: so-called stooping, which means bending more than 45° to pick something up from the ground, and that in New York describes the discovery of a marvel left on the sidewalk by its previous owners: sofas, beds, tables, chairs, sideboards, used small appliances, even an occasional piano – which is then carried by hand across the street or subway – that are offered for Pedestrians free of charge. The phenomenon is so popular that there are several accounts on social networks that specifically draw attention to the results.
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