“I think the importance of thrift stores is to give people clothes for cheap prices and to reuse clothes that would be thrown away,” Jada Graham, manager of Thrifty Cat, and a Berkeley High School graduate, said. Recently, the owner and several employees of the famed Curiosity Shop took their unique approach on shopping to a new industry: thrifting. Thrifty Cat opened roughly two months ago across the street from Trader Joe’s in Berkeley, remarkably close to BHS. They began with one central mission: keep thrifting cheap.
“We’re really trying to just have a place where … If you’re just a mom or have a few dollars and you wanna buy a shirt, you can do that. I think we’re very much trying to prioritize the community,” Graham said.
According to Graham, since thrifting became a popular way of purchasing clothes, many stores have strayed away from the real reason thrift stores exist. She claimed that greed has become more and more prevalent in the thrifting industry as prices have skyrocketed.
“Most thrift stores around here are Goodwill or Out of the Closet which are bigger operations … I do think a lot of the thrift stores nowadays have been raising their prices, and Goodwill and Out of the Closet have started posting their better stuff online and you can just kind of see the greed,” Graham said.
Thrifty Cat, on the other hand, is doing the exact opposite. Olivia Ramos, co-manager of the thrift store with Graham, agreed that the importance of thrifting is to provide cheap clothing to those who need it most. She claimed that the curated nature of other thrift stores in Berkeley has led to more exclusive clothing that only a select few have the financial means to purchase. Thrifty Cat is a much less profit-seeking store, and is instead focused on providing affordable clothing.
Upon the store’s grand opening, BHS student thrifters recognized the remarkably cheap prices. According to BHS freshman Maeve Torrence, it’s unique due to its low priced, high quality clothing.
“It’s right near the school; it’s very accessible and cheap,” Torrence said.
Shopping at Thrifty Cat enables people to find vintage, discontinued, and rare items that are hard to find elsewhere. While low prices are enticing, what often draws customers in is the ability to alter one’s wardrobe with unique clothing.
“Let’s say you’re trying to find a particular jacket, but let’s say at any random store, they don’t have it … say you find that jacket. It’s expensive, like $500, but at a thrift store, it could be a fraction of the price,” Steven Perez, a sophomore at BHS, said.
Ramos explained that one of the reasons she is in the thrifting business is because of her love for rare clothing. She elaborated on how thrifting has allowed her to develop her own style.
“I love finding pieces that nobody else has … I love having unique pieces and pieces that make me excited,” Ramos said.
In addition to the consumer benefits of thrifting, purchasing second-hand clothing helps mitigate the environmental impacts of fast fashion. According to Ramos, most clothing that isn’t recycled goes to landfills or dumps. Thrifting is a way this can be avoided — a way to counteract the detrimental impacts of mainstream fashion.
Ramos concluded by explaining the true mission and motivation behind the Thrifty Cat. “We want to sell clothes, but also give (them for) as cheap as possible. I think we’re not as capitalistic as other companies,” Ramos said, “And we just love to have everyone come by and see the clothes, even if you don’t buy anything.”