Did you ever consider all the benefits of shopping at thrift shops? There are several reasons why people shop at a thrift shop, but probably at the top of the list for many of us is because it saves money and it’s fun to find the unique items which you cannot find elsewhere.
These personal benefits are great reasons to shop at thrift shops. However, there are also other extremely powerful reasons why thrift shops, especially local non-profit thrift shops such as The Closet, are a terrific choice for shopping:
It Benefits the Local Community.
It Benefits the World!
Read on for more details!
Benefits to the Local Community
When you shop at a local non-profit thrift shop, you benefit the local community:
The proceeds stay local and support the local community. When you shop at The Closet, any proceeds (after expenses) go to local non-profit organizations as grants, and to local students as college scholarships.
Benefits to the World
When you shop at a thrift shop, you benefit the environment:
Reduces the Load on Landfills
Good serviceable clothing re-sold in a thrift shop, rather than going into the trash, reduces the load on our rapidly filling landfills. The EPA estimates that about 10 million tons of textile products get sent to landfills every year! We estimate that in one year over 800,000 items were saved from local landfills by being donated to The Closet.
Saves Natural Resources
When you buy items at a thrift shop, it saves the natural resources (energy, chemicals, and water) which would be required to manufacture a new item. As an example, the United Nations estimates that it takes over 2600 gallons of water to grow the cotton and manufacture a single pair of jeans. Compare this with the World Health Organization’s estimate of a minimum of 700-1400 gallons of water per year required for a person to survive with just basic hygiene and cooking needs met. When you buy that pair of gently used designer jeans at The Closet, you are saving enough water to support up to approximately 3.5 people for a year!
Think about all you can do to help yourself, help your local community, and help the environment by donating, shopping, and volunteering at The Closet.