Saving the world, one bag at a time.
Buffalo Exchange, a second hand clothing store in Williamsburg, opened its first store in 1974 in Tuscan, Arizona. They now have over 25 locations in the US. Secondhand clothing is great, because the E.P.A. estimates that textiles make up about 4% of U.S. municipal solid waste, so trading used clothing has a positive environmental impact. I personally have been trying to buy Only used clothing (it's so hard to stick to, especially for shoes), and Buffalo Exchange is great because their clothes are really cool and really affordable. Plus I can sell all my old clothes to them and get pretty decent store credit. Not only that, when a customer accepts a token instead of a bag for her purchases, they will donate the amount the bag would cost to a charity of your choice. Through the Tokens for Bags program, Buffalo Exchange has generated $218,000 in donations to hundreds of nonprofit groups since 1994.
I always put my token in the Modest Needs box. I think it's a really great charity that helps out families who live paycheck to paycheck, but earn just enough to not qualify for conventional assistance. Modest Needs helps these persons to afford small, emergency expenses like those we've all encountered before: the unexpected car repair, the unanticipated visit to the doctor, the unusually large winter heating bill. There are two other charities to choose from, I think they're the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition (BARC) and maybe a shelter for battered women?
In keeping with the spirit, I've decided that for every day that goes by that I don't have to see one of Madonna's H&M ads that I can't seem to avoid and which make me feel furious, I will donate $.05 to a charity of my choice.
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