Pop-Up Thrift Store Event The Xavierite
The Green Movement hosted their annual Pop-Up Thrift Store at the Wiseman Lounge on Nov. 15 to raise funds for the organization while providing students accessibility to low-cost clothing.
A clothing drive took place months prior to the Pop-Up Thrift Store.The drive acquired donation boxes throughout Saint Xavier University (SXU) for students, staff, and facility members to donate any unwanted clothes. Individual donations were also made.
Prices ranged from 50 cents to $3.
The funds received from the thrift store will be put towards future Green Movement events, such as their clean-up of Lake Marion, movie nights, and occasions when food is needed.
“We really pride ourselves on the thrift store being for students, by students,” said Emily Saldana, president of The Green Movement.
The main clothing items Saldana had noticed were donated were typically shirts. However, this year included a greater variety of dresses, jeans, and shoes.
A variety of clothes were presented on tables, including sweaters, blouses, jackets, belts, scarves, PJ sets, jeans, dress pants, hats, wallets, and dresses. Different styles of clothes were also available, including casual, professional, and everyday attire.
Shoes options included high heels, sneakers, high leather boots, and dressy flats.
Avani Neal, student, voiced the importance of thrifting, “Ethical clothing is important to me since I am a full time student so it’s kinda hard having access to money all the time and then comparing it to getting clothes at an overpriced store. But then you can find the same things while thrifting and just sustaining clothes and fabric and shoes, I think is a good route to take.”
Each table was organized with different size options and clothing types for more accessibility to students. Jean sizes, for example, varied from 2 to 34.
The event quickly gained attention from students, as the crowd increasingly began to fill the room. Members of The Green Movement had to bring in additional garbage bags and bins with clothing to keep tables filled.
“I think it’s a good turn out because of how fast people came in, we started at 12, and within 7 minutes we had 10 transactions. So that is a good start to the day,” said Mercedez Olmedo, secretary of The Green Movement.
Saldana said the total number of donations received may have gone over 100 items, and mentioned that she was worried there wouldn’t be enough clothes for the thrift store. However, as the event neared, the organization gained three boxes and seven garbage bags worth of donations, including an individual dropping off six more bags.
“I feel like we had a pretty good amount of donation this time around, but that’s because we were able to heavily promote it, which was the problem in previous years,” said Saldana.
Students like Angela Sifuetes came to the thrifting event in hopes of finding professional attire for work. “Honestly, I think it’s a really good idea, just because we have to come to school everyday and it’s more convenient,” she said.
Other attendees who aren’t familiar with thrifting, attended the event discovering the low prices of expensive clothing lines. Nadia Moreno, student, stated “I think it’s really nice, It’s a good way to just repurpose old clothing.”
“The prices aren’t really that expensive so I think it’s really affordable, especially for students who can’t afford higher end things. Just looking at these jeans from American Eagle, normally they cost $40, but here it’s just not as much. Everything is nice and affordable.”
“Thrifting is about having sustainable practice, so the number one thing is underconsumption. I think the first thing that comes to mind is fast fashion and how much stuff is being produced,” said Saldana. “You get clothes that are very cheaply made, so they don’t last very long, so people are going to be buying more to replace that because they are not very well made. It continuously builds and builds.”
Saldana had mentioned the event was a group effort, with the help of volunteer Sumayah Hazzem. “I really do think it helps bring the community together and definitely helps to reduce waste because I know a lot of clothes end up in landfills so this is a really great way to prevent that,” said Hazzem.
“People who do have clothes that are a little bit better made but they just don’t want it anymore, they can donate clothes and give people an opportunity to get clothes that do last longer.”
For more information on The Green Movement, contact the organization at greenmovement@mymail.sxu.edu.