Once a semester, the University of Rhode Island’s Powerful Independent Notoriously Knowledgeable Women’s club hosts Nifty Thrifty, a thrift pop up in front of the Memorial Union.
PINK week took place from Oct. 6 to Friday and the club hosted a different event every day, Nifty Thrifty being their Tuesday event. Other events PINK hosted included Stuff a Pumpkin, Pop the Balloon, Stuff a Ram and their White Lies party.
The Nifty Thrifty event is more than just a way for members of the club – or friends of the members – to get rid of their clothes, according to PINK Community Service Chair and second-year student Sophia D’Orsaneo. It is a way to raise money for organizations.
This year, the leftover clothing and proceeds for the event went to the Sigourney House, a women’s shelter that aims to help survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking, D’Orsaneo said. The shelter also spreads awareness of these issues.
The event had a great turnout this year and for good reason according to D’Orsaneo. Thrifting events like this one help students at URI shop in environmentally friendly ways, shifting focus off of popular brands and onto second hand shopping.
“I really think thrifting is a good thing for not only the environment but money management,” D’Orsaneo said.
Fast fashion and overconsumption have become a large contribution to lasting damage to the environment, according to an Earth.org article. Fast fashion uses large amounts of non-renewable resources and the fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of industry water.
The fashion industry also uses microplastics through materials such as polyester, nylon and acrylic, according to Earth.org. These materials take many generations to biodegrade.
Events like these help students like Melanie Barros, a first-year student at URI, turn away from fast fashion.
Brands including SHEIN, Forever 21, Charlotte Russe and Fashion Nova are among her favorites, according to Barros. Fast fashion brands are mainstream and cheap which Barros said makes them convenient to shop at. However, these events have piqued her interest in thrifting.
“I want to go thrifting but I haven’t gotten the chance to go, but [thrift pop-ups] being on campus here, having everyone here to help you and they have different types of clothing, I think it’s really good,” Barros said.
The cheap prices of fast fashion brands can also contribute to mass overconsumption, a problem that many young people today face, according to a Fashion Revolution article. The low prices of synthetic clothes promote quantity shopping over quality shopping. Clothing made by large fast fashion companies have few materials that can be recycled and have been found to have low rates of use, reuse and repair.
PINK will host another Nifty Thrifty event next semester according to D’Orsaneo. The second PINK week of the year will include other events throughout the week.
Until the next Nifty Thrifty event, students are encouraged to check out pop ups in front of the Memorial Union, according to D’Orsaneo.
