Advertisement
Trending

‘MAKE IT MAKE SENSE’: Shopper finds Salvation Army selling ‘damaged’ Zara. Then she looks at the tags

‘It’s crazy.’

Photo of Ljeonida Mulabazi

Ljeonida Mulabazi

Woman shares what she found at Salvation Army(l) Racks of Clothing(c) The Salvation Army Thrift Store(r)

Thrifting has long been the go-to for shoppers looking for affordable, one-of-a-kind finds while giving pre-loved items a second life. It’s win-win: Shoppers save money, and clothing avoids ending up in landfills.

Featured Video

Lately, however, rising prices and questionable quality at thrift stores have left regulars wondering if secondhand shopping is still as affordable—or worth it—as it used to be.

TikTok creator and fashion reseller Paige Hendrix (@thethriftpaige) captured this sentiment perfectly in a recent video that’s gained more than 207,100 views. 

What distressed the thrifter while shopping?

“You guys wanna see something super, super ridiculous? Like, you’re gonna hate it,” Hendrix begins, before panning over six large rows of clothing items at a Salvation Army store. 

Advertisement

“All of this is new with tags from Zara, but guess what?” Hendrix reveals in her video. “Every single one of these is damaged, and they still want $23, $25, $24, $25,” she says, showing different dresses and their price tags in the clip.

Hendrix explains that these clothes were all damaged, likely rejected by Zara due to rips, stains, or other flaws, yet the thrift store priced them just shy of retail. “Somebody make this make sense,” she concludes in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

How could new Zara clothes have ended up at the Salvation Army?

It’s hard to say exactly how these Zara items ended up at a thrift store, but there’s a good chance they were either rejected during quality control or returned by customers due to defects and then sold through liquidation channels.

Advertisement

We’ve contacted Zara and Salvation Army for more information. 

And honestly, that’s not the worst thing that could’ve happened. According to Texintel, up to 80% of returned clothing winds up in landfills since it’s often cheaper for companies to throw items away than to manage the returns. In 2020 alone, Earth.org reported that 2.6 million tons of returned clothes were dumped into U.S. landfills.

While some items do get repaired or recycled, unfortunately, it’s nowhere near as common as them ending up in landfills. 

Has thrifting gotten worse?

The quality of clothing at traditional thrift stores has taken an unmistakable dip, retail experts told Business Insider.

Advertisement

Racks are now packed with fast fashion—pieces that aren’t built to last. At the same time, higher-quality items often end up on curated resale platforms like Depop or ThredUp, where sellers can make money instead of donating. 

These changes, according to the publication, have made the thrifting experience, especially for those on tight budgets, more difficult and frustrating than ever before. 

Commenters share similar stories

In the comments, users said finding fast fashion items at thrift stores is now extremely common. Others came up with theories on how so many Zara items ended up at a Salvation Army store. 

Advertisement

“My Salvation Army has racks like this and it’s crazy,” wrote one user. “I skip these.”

“Companies get write offs if they donate,” theorized another. 

However, other commenters came to Salvation Army’s defense, highlighting the philanthropic work they do.

“They raise money for the rehab center directly next door,” one such commenter wrote. “and they have half of tags every week or day.”

The Daily Dot has reached out to Hendrix for comment.

Advertisement
@the_thrift_paige MAKE IT MAKE SENSE #THRIFT #thrifting #thrifted #thriftstore #thriftstorefinds #wtf #fyp #overconsumptionculture #reducereuserecycle ♬ original sound – 𝖊𝖑𝖎

Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.

 
The Daily Dot