In recent years, vintage and streetwear styles have taken over the internet, with pieces of clothing from decades ago becoming trendy yet harder to source. The thrift store is the source for many of these items, but juniors Mia Martinez and Ella Reyes take a different approach to these stores. This shift from retail to hand-me-downs has encouraged them to take their own stance on supporting sustainable shopping.
When thrifting became their new hobby, the two students saw an opportunity to turn their love of secondhand shopping into something that could help others. Shortly after that idea formed, the pair created the nonprofit “Club Threaded” to help children who don’t have the ability to shop for their wardrobes. Reyes and Martinez plan to start this journey to help underprivileged students who don’t have access to unique clothing. They aim to assist children in this economy, with their passion for thrifting originating from a side hobby.
“[My cofounder and I] wanted to start something that was more directed towards art, because we don’t have a lot of clubs like that on our campus, while also giving back to our community. A lot of the clothes that [Mia and I] wear are thrifted, and that’s something that we love to do together and that we wanted to do with more people on campus,” Reyes said.
Club Threaded is using a combination of methods to ensure these clothes reach the people who need them. Although their club is still in its early stages, their goal to give back to their neighborhood is clear and resolute.
“We get clothes through clothing drives and donations, and we sort through it, and some of it we keep, and we’re going to have pop-ups where we sell it back to people, and other things we’re going to keep to donate to shelters and to people who need clothing,” Reyes said.
Reyes’s roots with thrifting go way back to her childhood, before thrifting gained widespread popularity. She hopes to use her personal experience to help more children with her club in the future.
“It started as just somewhere to go. I would go with my family to find cheaper options. As I got older and it started trending, this became more of a hobby and something I like to do to find more interesting clothing.”
The pair originally planned to form a club, but due to this year’s restrictions, that project had to be delayed. The nonprofit is currently separate from the school, but they are preparing to take action in the coming weeks once their busy schedules slow down, and to go more in-depth with shopping this summer.
“We’re going to be doing pop-ups and stuff at local flea markets like [the one in] Nogales, marketplaces and [other] places. A lot of it is our clothes and donated clothes from family members or just from people who we know want to donate, and we’re going to be selling that and promoting less fast fashion and reusing more secondhand clothing,” Martinez said.
Junior Cameron Argola is a friend of the two cofounders. He plans to join the organization and hopes to potentially become a cabinet member in the future after the club grows. He enjoys thrifting in his personal time to explore his clothing style.
“I know [that] Club Threaded gives back to the community by donating clothes. They attend events about clothes, and they do thrifting. I really like giving back to the community; it’s really important that we do that. Also, I do enjoy going thrifting, so that was something I was interested in,” Argola said.
One major reason the co-founders continue to advocate for their club is the influence they can have on the student body. They wanted to be unique yet helpful, and thrifting was the perfect solution. By fulfilling both of their interests, Club Threaded is a mix of a love of thrifting and helping others, inspired by the rising cost of clothing and how pre-loved fashion could return to their own neighborhoods.
“We think that there aren’t a lot of clubs that are like ours. Especially with everything going on in the world right now, [with] prices and just everything being a lot more expensive, we wanted to bring something that [we both enjoyed] to the school. We are really looking forward to seeing which new members want to join.” Ω
