Gottcha!

Catherine over at The Vegan Good Life passed over a piece from ABC’s "Good Morning America", How Clean Are Your New Clothes?. I knew this phenomenon was true from my experiences, once described in the post What’s the bait and where’s the switch. But I didn’t have scientific evidence. This bit of news offers up the possibility of that new blouse, sitting in that shopping bag with fluffed tissue paper and tags still dangling might not be the clean item you think you paid for.

Readers know I’ve been steadily poking holes in the conventional retail notion, “If it’s not new, it’s eww!” This GMA article is but another piece debunking this conventional retail-based (not fact-based) notion that ill-informed consumers are literally buying into.

If this GMA post doesn’t gross you out. I defer to another post, Perhaps new is eww. Human teeth found in “new” products? This stuff sounds more like an archeological dig than a conventional retail store. Or, maybe a TV crime scene.

I’ve been noticing more written articles delicately addressing thrift store aversions. To think some people would consider it a mark of shame to bump into an acquaintance in a thrift store. Good grief! Do we really need to be delicate and soothing about this matter? Are Americans that snobby? All I can offer is my personal experience followed up with a loud “Get over yourself!” I run into my friends at the local thrift like it’s the neighborhood coffee shop. Then again, most of us don’t have cable TV and we do things together like camping. Our children’s clothes are lovingly passed on to friends with younger siblings who proudly wear them. Some of these garments are on their third generation. I guess some Americans would call my daughters deprived considering what I’ve just written combined with the fact that we don’t have a “Wii” to go for a run or hike “we” actually get out side and do it.

As usual, I apologize for being so snarky and, uh, painfully direct. Like I always say, in the words of my family’s matriarch, “Someone’s gotta!”

If you are a new visitor to this blog, be certain to scroll back up and pull up the Thrift Catalog slide show featuring over 240 items. This could give you an idea of what could be waiting for you. Also check to the Table of Blog Contents to read on how to incorporate thrift into your life in Thrift Store Conventions.