#end classism

Hi! You've probably seen some posts floating around about ethical thrifting, but they're usually focused on one aspect of it. Thrifting is more complicated than you think! When you thrift because you want to and not because you have to, be conscious of every decision you make at the store! These are spaces & merchandise there to help low income communities, and you are a guest in that space. Be respectful. As your resident Person Who Only Had A Childhood Bc Of Thrift Stores, here are some things to keep in mind :)

• Choose your store wisely! Stay out of low income areas where thrifted clothes might be more needed or in higher demand. When people unnecessarily thrift in low income areas, it limits options and raises prices. And see where your money is going! Look to shop at non-profits like Goodwill that look to support & create change in their communities. Avoid Salvation Army. They're abusive, homophobic, and transphobic.

• Stay in your size range. There is a massive shortage of plus sized clothes and kid's t shirts. Plus sized clothes are typically more expensive, which means fewer people who need them can afford them at retail price. If you want a crop top, buy one. Don't get a kid's t shirt from a thrift store, where you're taking it from someone who needs it. If you want an oversized t shirt or jeans, get them somewhere else. Plus sizes and kid's sizes should be reserved for the people who fit in them. If for some reason you absolutely NEED them in those size ranges, try a regular store (wild fable brand at target has good crop tops!), someone's depop (as long as it's not a re-sold thrift store fine), or a higher priced, for-profit thrift store that's targeted towards higher income customers.

• Some things are just off limits. Stay away from socks, sneakers, winter boots, rain + snow gear, and cleaning supplies. These are things people NEED, and if you can afford to buy it elsewhere but don't, you're taking life saving resources away. If you want to buy anything listed above (except the cleaning supplies) used for ethical reasons, try Play It Again sports! They've got no shortage of products, they're slightly cheaper than retail, and buying second hand is good for the environment! If you have winter gear in good condition that you don't want anymore, you could bring it to a ski swap and trade it out for new things!

• Don't buy just to re-sell on Depop. Buying in bulk just to raise prices on Depop/Poshmark/Mercari is not okay. Lots of people doing this raises prices at the stores themselves, the clothes are less saline than what you're settling them for (which is unfair to the customers) and you're making good clothes inaccessible to the people who need one. It's totally fine to sell old clothes online, but they should be your clothes or your friends'/family's clothes. If you're going to sell clothes you thrifted at a higher price, they should be enhanced or transformed somehow. Adding a button or one ribbon isn't enough. Do something creative. Embroider a jacket, rip some holes in those jeans, rip that t shirt up and patch it with safety pins.

• Give back. When you shop at thrift stores unnecessarily, remember that you're using a service meant for somebody else. In order to keep the system running and not hurt it by thrifting, you need to replace what you take. That doesn't always mean donating to thrift stores (although that's always a good plan!). It could mean donating money to an organization that gets low income students in your community access to new clothes and school supplies. You could volunteer at a local school to help pack meals for low income families over the weekend. You could take time to sew new clothes and donate those if that's something you enjoy. (Bonus points for donating clothes to thrift stores: you're throwing out fewer clothes & reducing your carbon footprint!)

• Avoid the toys, the caps and gowns, the kid's books, the prom dresses, and the wedding dresses. Obviously some of this is seasonal! If it's Halloween and you need a dress or a cap & gown or something for a costume, if you can't get it cheap anywhere else, go for it! I'm not about to tell you to go buy a several hundred dollar dress for your zombie prom queen outfit. But when you hit the second half of the school year, leave that shit alone. It's not cheap, so if you can afford it elsewhere, do it. Low income kids deserve a prom dress and a cap and gown just like you do, and the thrifted supply is really limited already. As far as toys and kid's books, those are important developmentally! All my books as a kid were from Goodwill. It was most of what we could afford, and they weren't being bought up too quickly so I loved reading. Most of our games were from Goodwill, too, which is how my parents kept my sister and I occupied so they could work, and how we spent a lot of time together. Little kids deserve those things no matter how much money their parents make. If you want older books, go to a secondhand bookstore (more expensive than Goodwill & generally more books). For games, try eBay!

Today is my 23rd birthday, and I spent my morning at the Women’s March on Memphis.  I can’t think of a better way to have spent my morning, it was 100% me.  I cried during the march because of the sheer beauty of what was happening.  An estimated 9,000+ people in my city came together to march to show support for each other’s rights.  It was a humbling and beautiful experience.  

So people have asked, “Why do you march? What difference do you think you will make?”  I marched with thousands of people in my city and thousands of people across this nation and world to send a message: We will not sit there silently as our rights (the women, the POC, the LGBTQIA community, the immigrants, the disabled, the elderly, the poor, the children, the Muslim people, the Native American people, and more) are systematically stripped away.  Yes, I know that this has to go past the march.  I, and the other marchers, must get involved and become engaged in my community.  I have to contact my political representatives.  I have to encourage every single person I can find to register to vote and to vote as if their lives depended on it because it does.  If you have the privilege of your life not depending on American people’s votes, you are lucky, but please consider whose life could be at stake.  Do your research and be informed on issues before you make decisions that affect others.  

I am a cis, hetero-normative, white, middle-class (as of recent) woman, and I am terrified for my reproductive rights, my job (I teach public school), my students (I teach exclusively African American and Hispanic children), my POC coworkers, my LGBTQIA friends, my family members and students who live below the poverty line, my immigrant friends, my grandparents, Native Americans, Muslim Americans, disabled Americans...  My pledge is that I will fight as hard as I can for the rights of the aforementioned people.  I will love you all, and I will fight for you.