Pulling a little weed

The March 2^nd opinion piece for the Christian Science Monitor, “Green shopping: Don’t say ‘eww’ to thrift stores” was picked up by several news sources including Yahoo News, Business Exchange, Lucianne, The Daily Kos and many other sites and independent blogs. I’ve always read comments to my opinions on TV, radio and news blogs like MSN Money. I never jump in, just sit back to learn what others are thinking. Some comments make me chuckle. Some make me proud. Other make my scalp sore from head scratching. When I read a funky comment, I enjoy watching another swoop in to bust it. But I’d never felt bitten until the Monitor piece ran. A reader reported that thrift stores spray fungicide on their clothing. He cited no reference. Just wrote it without documented evidence and from what I know that is called a genuine rumor.

I had a bad reaction to this bite. It became an irritation. So I asked my friends at Denver Goodwill to clarify. Follows is their formal response:

"Goodwill Industries of Denver is redefining the thrift store experience. Stores are cleaner, brighter, more organized than ever and shoppers expect an experience similar to a traditional big box retail store. Our stores have never used any fungicidal spray or treatment on clothes. Our donations are carefully screened to bring the best quality goods to the floor for our customers and we ensure that each piece meets certain standards. This is not your grandmother’s thrift store!"
Meaghan Carabello
Public Relations and Communications Coordinator, Goodwill Industries of Denver

Another myth I asked my friends at Goodwill to dispel is the one where people claim that thrift stores only want “poor” people shopping their stores. I asked Goodwill Denver to comment and it ran in our January 21^st post. I’m always amused by this notion of only “poor” people allowed in thrift stores and visualize the security stanchions like the inventory control systems of retail stationed at the front doors of thrift, monitoring shoppers as they enter the store. Imagine walking into a thrift store and an alarm sounds and a fakey, loud, slow female voice barks out "PLEASE leave the store, you are NOT POOR!"

I guess that would assume that we've all been implanted with net-worth chips. Wait! Perhaps that’s how other people walk in restaurants and get seated before my family. Who knew? This must not be good because we don’t visit fancy joints.

Dispelling Thrift Store Myths

I can’t count the times I’ve heard, “Thrift stores only want poor people shopping their stores. When you’re not poor and shop thrift, you’re robbing poor people of items they need.” Those words never set right with me and sound so utterly snobbish.

Though charitable thrift stores serve many needs, it seems to me their primary purpose is to make money to fund valuable programs that support the organization's mission. How about this? The more people that donate and shop at thrift stores, the healthier the profits! And can shopping be any more poetic? Profits from the sale of re-purposed products re-purposing lives? I love that!

I touched base with Goodwill Denver and follows is their response:

“Goodwill welcomes all shoppers to its 18 stores across the metro Denver area,” said Tim Welker, Goodwill Industries of Denver president and CEO. “We see everyone from the thrifty, penny-wise shopper to the urban hipster looking for unique finds to the green-conscious individual trying to reuse and repurpose goods to keep them out of the landfill. Plus, when you shop and donate to Goodwill Industries of Denver you are changing lives through education and employment options for at-risk youth, and disabled and disadvantaged adults in our community.”

Amen! So, there it is, Goodwill Denver wants your business, no matter what your IRS classification may be. I’ll be checking in with other Denver charitable thrifts for their comments too. I doubt they’ll be any different.

Now in a former life, I worked as a marketer/event planner for The Lincoln Park Zoo in downtown Chicago. This Zoo is one of the last free zoos in the country. Chicago’s elite, the McCormick’s, Pritzker’s, Regenstein’s, Brach’s and Kovler’s visited that zoo as did Chicago’s homeless. Not certain if they still do, but in the winter, the homeless often hung out in the Great Ape house to watch over Dr. Lester Fisher’s famous Western Lowland Gorilla troops to take a break from the brutal wind and Lake Michigan’s near chronic lake-effect snow. I’d often stop by during lunch to check in with these experienced experts on gorilla behavior. They’d tell me things like, “Gino’s mad today because Brooke tried to assert dominance and they got in big fight and almost hurt the baby. Jo-Ray-K’s up high in the ropes with that little baby and has yet to come back down with it. She’s such a good mother.” I don’t think those guys missed a thing that went on with those gorillas and I often wished we had the budget to pay them for their dedicated observations.

So what does the Lincoln Park Zoo have in common with the thrift store? They are the great levelers of society because their doors are open to all. Go out in the parking lots and you’ll see pristine BMW’s parked next to ancient Opals being held together with spit, toothpaste, and duct tape.

America meets on common ground in the thrift store and as long as you’re willing to pay for your purchase, you’re welcome there. Hey, some stores even have coffee brewing for the shoppers!

So what are you waiting for? Get up and start your poetic shopping! Be assured, you are welcome in the thrift store.

Please write me with any questionable things you hear about thrift stores and I’ll check into it.

If you know of someone who buys into this myth, I urge you to email them this post.