One of my new objectives for Bonanza is to profile the lifecycle and impact of clothing. In my own small way, I’d like to do what people like Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser have done for food. I’d like to strip the clothing industry naked by looking at how and where clothing is made, how it gets to us, and what happens to it after we discard it.
I’m going to start with thrift stores. When you donate something you no longer want, what happens to it? I find thrift stores fascinating from an operational standpoint: they have vast quantities of merchandise coming in, and unlike retail stores, no two items are the same. So everything has to be assessed: Is it safe? Is it in good enough condition to sell? If so, will someone buy it? How will it be priced? Besides that each item has to be physically processed: it’s a never ending task, usually done on a small budget!
My first behind the scenes tour is a short video about Thrift Town, one of my favorite local thrift stores. I went behind the scenes with Debra Miller and Ashley Tapley of Thrift town, to see how the clothing comes in and how it gets processed and organized out on the floor.
In the next installment of the Thrift Town video tour I will share more about how massive amounts of donated goods that can’t be sold in the thrift store are resold/recycled, and provide statistics on approximately how much “waste” is diverted from landfill.
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments!
Sounds cool! thrift shops = AMAZING, as im just finding out…