Secondhand stores are in the style spotlight. Shopping for gently used fashion and furniture made national news in the Wall Street Journal article, "For Frugal Fashionistas," documenting the rise of this trend among sophisticated shoppers. According to the article, the popularity of consignment shops has surged. The National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops states that its membership has more than doubled in the past 10 years and that "consignment shops catering to high-end fashion shoppers are enjoying some of the fastest growth."
Easy on the wallet, high-style resale shopping is also easy on the environment — conserving resources by extending the useful life of a product.
"It's a win-win situation," says Bob Hanson, owner of Afterwards, a consignment shop in Menlo Park. "We get to operate an efficient business and create jobs. The consigner gets income, and the customer gets a great value. If we don't sell something, it's donated to a nonprofit. The product stays out of the landfill and remains useful."
For more shopping and donation opportunities at www.RecycleWorks.org, click on "Reuse Center."
