Headline: Goodwill bins are a cheap alternative to shopping for the latest trend
Deck: Eco-Friendly, unique, and a fun experience for a cheap price
Byline: Ella Broms, Staff Artist
Clothes shopping is enjoyed by many, and is a great way to gain pieces that reflect who you are, but nowadays that typically comes alongside a hefty price tag. An alternative for this, the Goodwill Outlets, or “the bins.”
“When you shop at these Goodwill stores you will find some items that are brand new while others may be used,” said Goodwill in an article explaining their bins system. “The prices are all by pound, costing about $2.99/lb or less. The items are very affordable so you can get some great deals if you shop at these stores regularly.”
This cheap way of shopping is also a sustainable way to live, a hobby for many and a way to earn a little bit of side money if you find high-priced items to resell
While shopping at the bins, you never really know what you will find. It ranges from crazy costumes, to vintage luxury brands, to a pair of underwear. Not knowing what you will pick up next adds to the fun. But no matter the brand name on the clothes tag, everything is measured and priced at the same value.
Since all the clothes at the bins are second-hand, anything you buy you are saving from being dumped in a landfill. By extending these clothes’ life spans, you are doing your part in creating a more sustainable future. You are additionally stopping the unnecessary production of more clothing that will be donated or thrown out sooner or later. Fast fashion, for example, is cheap clothing sold to match current trends, but once the trend passes, so will the buyer’s interest to wear those clothes. This production uses mass amounts of resources which long term can have harmful effects on the environment.
“Making clothes takes a lot of water. One pair of jeans is estimated to use about 1,800 gallons of water in the manufacturing process and cotton growth.” said Lauren Mullen and Kate Huun in a sustainable guide to thrifting. “Thrifting keeps clothing in use for longer, which can help limit wasted resources through decreased demand for new products.”
Some people go to the bins to purchase clothes that they will fix up, and then sell for a higher price than what they paid. This is called reselling, and is a great way for small entrepreneurs to start up selling clothes. And due to the bins pay-by-the-pound system, a reseller may buy a shirt for less than a dollar, and sell it for fifteen, or even higher depending on the brand name.
“It’s a great way to make a little bit of money, and if you have an eye for fashion or are good at fixing up clothes, then reselling would make for a great hobby or job for you.” said resale editors in an article on tips for thrifting.
If you are in need of a cheap, but quality option for shopping, something sustainable and eco-friendly, or if you’re just looking for something to do, visiting the bins should be at the top of your list.
Headline: Goodwill bins may not be a good as they seem
Deck: Are “the bins” reseller heaven or TikTok hell?
Byline: Brystian Heine-Van Fossen, Managing Editor
Opening TikTok, one may be hit with the typical “Thrift Haul!” video, where someone will boast about how they went to “the bins” (run by Goodwill or Salvation Army, used to sell off headstock) and found Christian Dior tops and Dolce & Gabbana pants for the low price of paying by the pound! Seems too good to be true, right? In the wise words of Ronald Regan (and Dr. Anderson) “trust, but verify.”
The video that popped up on your “for you page” wasn’t just shown to you, don’t believe me? Go on TikTok and search ‘Thrift Haul” and the first search result has 140.8K likes. I do agree that “the bins” are a great place to find rare items at great price — but the internet has taken from that magic. Nowadays, reselling vintage clothing is as easy as ever, between Depop, eBay, Poshmark and Mercari it is made easily available to sell on one platform and cross-post your listings to another.
Resellers are often to blame on social media platforms, like Reddit, for the lack of finds and high prices at thrift stores. But resellers don’t control prices, in fact, if this was their job then wouldn’t they encourage the common stock-holder idea of “buy low, sell high?”
Goodwill markets itself online as a nonprofit. Which is technically true, they don’t have any stock or shareholders for their company, and no intact board of directors as it is branched off. Yet there is still a CEO, who as recorded has made $700,000 a year (pre-tax) since taking his job in 2008. With that salary and a 2016 report of $5.7 billion in revenue, it is a hard hitting realization that goodwill has 156 locations across the nation, yet 44 of those locations hold certificates allowing them to pay some of their employees less than minimum wage. With recent hype, it seems high demand has led prices to rise, with no plan to change ways of management.
Goodwill has even opened an online store front that is anything but affordable. New leaks state that many brands and new with tags clothing will now solely be sold online instead of on racks and in stores. Any chance there once was to find a good designer item is now gone.
But what does all of this mean for “the bins?” – “the bins” essentially work as a Goodwill Outlet, anything that doesn’t sell in store goes to the bins. The bins have no fresh stock and are just the rejects of what couldn’t be sold at a regular Goodwill store, meaning the average person that goes is just fighting resellers for what other retailers already combed through.
While the main opposition against “the bins” is due to safety concerns of gross clothing or sharp objects in the bins, the issue at hand is that corporate thrift stores pose the illusion of hidden grails, when in reality all you are getting is a company selling unwanted deadstock in the cheapest way possible.
The biggest takeaway is to be realistic – companies need to make profit, so don’t go in expecting to find a bunch of vintage designer for really cheap prices, just go to have fun, maybe find a cute summer outfit and spend time with friends.
