ARE YOUR THRIFT STORE DONATIONS BEING THROWN AWAY?
ending up in a landfill, consider the following before you donate.
secondhand clothes, have stopped buying during the economic shutdown.
Under the circumstances, this situation is understandable. Thanks to nationwide stay- at-home orders, many took advantage of their newfound spare time to spring-clean and subsequently donate unwanted items to charity. However, with the confusion about how long the COVID-19 virus can live on clothing, secondhand shoppers have been staying home, worried about the health risks of buying used goods. Famously, thrift stores still keep unsold goods out of landfills. Up to 75% of Goodwill’s merchandise, for example, isn’t sold in their stores. Instead, it’s sent to discount outlets and then into global markets. However, Mexican traders, who account for 30% of business at thrift stores close to the U.S. southern border, and Kenya, the world’s largest buyer of unsold
Meanwhile, some good-intentioned Americans are leaving their goods outside thrift stores’ front doors, not realizing that without enough space to house the excess donations, many of these thrift stores will have to pay disposal fees, costing the business potential revenue and sending your items into local landfills. However, Goodwill still wants your donations! You just might have to hold on to your items for a little bit. Check to see if your local thrift stores are open for donations. Many recommend waiting until the influx slows down, but others have expanded their inventory storage and are ready to keep up. Just make sure to follow their guidelines on acceptable items because any broken or worn items only add to their costs. Happy donating!
Are you thinking about donating your kids’ old clothes or that slow cooker you haven’t used in months? Though donating your unwanted items is a great thing to do, amid the pandemic, many people have not considered the future of secondhand shopping and charity-based thrift stores like Goodwill. In 2018, Goodwill funded nearly $5.3 billion in charitable services, like educational assistance, job training, and work placements. But now, Goodwill and similar organizations are facing a unique problem: They’re receiving too many donations. To prevent your items from
Right on the Nose
How This Fragrance Company Stands Out From Its Competitors
Creating and nurturing a successful business takes more than just prior experience as an entrepreneur and a knack for turning data into a viable marketing strategy. Luckily for Skylar founder Cat Chen, she had both of those qualities and more. Skylar is a natural fragrance company that seeks to empower women through its superior products and charitable giving. Chen was first inspired to start the company when she realized her infant daughter was allergic to all of the perfumes and fragrances she wore. After searching and searching for a fragrance that would be safe for her to wear around her daughter, and finding nothing, Chen sensed that a niche for hypoallergenic fragrances in the perfume industry had not yet been filled. Thus, the idea for Skylar was born. Chen began working with a renowned perfumer to create scents they believed women would love. They used hypoallergenic, nontoxic ingredients not only for the perfume but also for the packaging. Like so many successful businesses, Skylar started in a garage, where Chen fulfilled orders for Skylar fragrances and lotions herself, making daily trips to the post office. From their humble beginnings to now, however, Skylar has seen a 2,000% growth increase year over year and secured $8 million in funding in February of 2019.
Before starting Skylar, Chen was the vice president for Jessica Alba’s company, The Honest Company, so her success in her more recent endeavor isn’t surprising. She also holds an MBA from Wharton and a bachelor’s degree from MIT, where she studied data and analytics. She uses her skills for analyzing data to identify customer trends and apply them to her marketing strategy.
However, it wasn’t Chen’s acumen in these areas that made Skylar successful — it was her consideration for her customers and community. She frequently turns to her loyal customers for feedback on new scents and products. Plus, Skylar donates a portion of their profits to Step Up, a nonprofit that mentors girls in underserved communities. In a market saturated with scents and fragrances, Skylar certainly has found a way to stand out from the crowd.
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