Terry Gross' fascinating NPR podcast on the past lives of secondhand treasures prompted a shout out to a slew of awesome Brooklyn thrifting resources. Below, a list of incredible spots you can shop or donate to, some fave thrift shops near our properties you may not know about, and even some coat drives to comfort the less fortunate. All you recent movers or Mari Kondo closet cleaners — check 'em out:
• Always a solid choice, Beacon's Closet (Greenpoint location)
• Great vintage, even better name: Harold and Maude's Vintage (Bed Stuy) — peep their Yelp page. Solid.
• Worship (Bushwick) @ Willoughby Ave & Starr — Rad Insta!, totes follow-worthy.
• Dig furry four legged critters? Le Point boasts a shop kitty (Flatbush), a massive inventory, and several locations. Speak to Dave's 296 Linden Street tenants — there’s a location down the block at 397.
• Last but not least: Urban Jungle | East Williamsburg @ 118 Knickerbocker Ave | Brooklyn, NY 11237
Great Donation Hubs:
Goodwill (Boerum Hill, Downtown Brooklyn)
258 Livingston St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Housing Works Thrift Shop (Chelsea)
143 W 17th St
New York, NY 10011
Coat Drives:
AM New York has even more resources, info, and tips to easily your unwanted donate coats
And now, our featured podcast
Author Adam Minter estimates that the average U.S. thrift store is able to sell only about one-third of its inventory. In his new book, Secondhand, he finds out what happens to the other two-thirds.
Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Travels in the New Global Garage Sale
by Adam Minter
Author Adam Minter remembers two periods of grief after his mother died in 2015: the intense sadness of her death, followed by the challenge of sorting through what he calls "the material legacy of her life."
Over the course of a year, Minter and his sister worked through their mother's possessions until only her beloved china was left. Neither one of them wanted to take the china — but neither could bear to throw it out. Instead, they decided to donate it.
Waiting in the donation line at Goodwill, Minter began wondering what would happen to the dishes: "It occurred to me this is a very interesting subject," he says. "Nobody really knew what happened beyond the donation door at Goodwill."
Minter had spent nearly two decades reporting on the waste and recycling industries. Now he began looking into the market for secondhand goods, both domestically and in Africa and Asia.
"Your average thrift store in the United States only sells about one-third of the stuff that ends up on its shelves," he says. "The rest of the stuff ends up somewhere else."
Minter visited Goodwill donation centers in the U.S. and watched as employees engaged in a sophisticated sorting and pricing system. He noted that while designer clothes might be set aside as "boutique" items, other products — including heavy wooden furniture and outdated exercise equipment — were often destined for the dump.
"A 300-pound oak dining room table ... becomes a problem," he says. "You will see some of this very nice oak furniture, if it can't be sold, it will end up in the landfill."
Minter's new book, Secondhand, explores the afterlife of donated clothes and electronics. His previous book, Junkyard Planet, was about the recycling industry.