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The Pop-Up Not for Profit Thrift Shop
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The Problem:
The problem is the fashion industry. It is responsible for causing large-scale harm to the environment and humankind. The fashion industry is the second largest industrial polluter, with the oil industry being the first. This industry, in the wake of fast fashion, is trying to create as much new clothing as possible in order to keep up with new trends and evergrowing demand from consumers. Because consumers need more and more clothing, they are willing to pay less and less for it. The industry's response is to make cheaper clothing and use sweatshop labor to drive prices down. Sweatshops often pay laborers below minimum wage and are rarely up to safety codes. They mostly employ women and are rife with abuse.
These factors combine to create a fashion industry that takes advantage of developing nations' lax labor laws and is actively killing the environment. The result? People are dying to create that new trendy top that will only be worn thrice before ending up in a landfill. People are dying, and so is the environment. You can do something to help. Will you?
What We Are Doing to Help:
Our goal is twofold: to inform people about the harm the fashion industry causes and to offer an opportunity to help. That's where our Pop-Up Thrift Shop comes in. What is a Pop-Up Thrift Shop? It's a shop with no physical location that pops up monthly in the Northern Virginia area. At our shop, we sell donated clothing and give the proceeds to charities that advocate for garment workers' rights around the globe. Our shop makes it easy to buy secondhand, which is the most environmentally friendly way to purchase clothing, and the money spent isn't going to support companies that use sweatshop labor. See our About Us page to find out more.
We are trying to save lives and the environment. Clearly, that is a big task to tackle, so we can use all the help we can get. Find out how you can donate clothing or volunteer!
How You Can Help:
The ways you consume clothing can have negative humanitarian and environmental effects. To limit your impact follow these three steps: Buy Less, Buy Ethical, and Get Rid of Your Clothing Properly. Oftentimes, we buy too much clothing and it just ends up taking up space in our closets. To avoid this, buy only what you need. The best way to get new clothing if you need it is to buy secondhand. Lastly, when it is time to say goodbye to your clothing don't throw it away! Try to find it a new home or repurpose it. If you can't, go ahead and donate it. Click here to find out how to donate to us and click here to find out why. If you want to learn more, go to our How YOU Can Help page.
Of course, it isn't always possible to be perfect and make sure all of your clothing is ethical and eco-friendly, and that's okay. Sometimes there are financial limitations or physical limitations, which is why we are trying our best to make these options available to you. Even if you can't be the poster person for advocacy, do inform others about how they can be better, too. Every step forward is progress. Let's take this first step together.
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