As college students, we have so many clothes in our closets that just sit there, collecting dust. Picture that piece of clothing that may not fit your style anymore, or the one that you always look at and think “hmmmm nope, why did I buy this?”
Now, what if you could not only make money off of that piece of clothing, but you could also shop for new clothes you would actually wear. To top it all off, you never have to leave your own campus, a whole thrift store basically in your backyard.
On Nov. 17, the Fall Wildcat Thrift was held at the Oreo. The Wildcat Thrift occurs every semester, set up by the Villanova Student Sustainability Committee, in order to emphasize the environmental benefits of reusing pre-loved or unused clothing and supporting a circular economy.
The Wildcat Thrift hosts multiple student sellers set up with tables, allowing students to come and go as they walk to and from class or wander around campus.
I had so much fun participating in this event and thought it was an extremely effective way to limit clothing waste and promote student involvement. Furthermore, the idea of a thrift will grab a lot of people’s attention because of how popular thrifting is as a trend.
In recent years, it has become a hobby for many who hope to find vintage, one-of-a-kind looks that often can’t be found in retail stores. People want to be a part of the latest trends and brands, but that can be expensive, so a student run thrift is a great opportunity to do so at minimal cost.
“I happen[ed] to run upon the Wildcat thrift on the way back from my Friday class,” senior and Wildcat-Thrift shopper Julianna Rigoglioso said. “I saw people I knew as vendors and the different racks caught my attention to walk over. I thought it was such a cool idea and all the clothes were so fashionable. I would have wished they advertised more, for I would love to get involved and have my own booth next time.”
This year, the Wildcat Thrift gained a lot of traction from people who were passing through the busiest part of campus. However, I still felt that more could have been done to promote the event to students.
As I told people about the event, everyone thought it was a great idea and immediately wanted to get involved, but not a lot of people knew that it was happening.
In the future, the Sustainability Committee should consider reaching out to sororities or other clubs to spread the Wildcat Thrift message and attract even more sellers.
These would be the perfect events to sell old dresses, costumes or to fundraise for individual philanthropies like Chi Omega did for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The more sellers there are, the more students will come, and the more fashionable pieces will be recycled and sold.
