The GSU Backcourt was almost indistinguishable from the thrift markets seen at Garment District or the local Goodwill on Sunday as Boston University students came to collect clothing, accessories and shoes at BU’s Asian Student Union thrift pop-up event, “ASU’s Closet.”
The event was filled with about 500 items donated by the BU community to reduce clothing waste and raised money for the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center.
Angela Lee, a junior in the College of Arts and Science and the community service chair for ASU, said ASU noticed a trend of students disposing of clothes in good condition at the end of the semester.
“To help remedy this, two of our board members suggested hosting an up-cycling/thrift shop event,” Lee wrote in an email interview. “We started off by holding a 3-day collection period where we asked people to donate their gently used clothes and we plan to sell them and donate all proceeds.”
This is the first thrift shop event ASU has ever hosted and the idea for it came from Celene Machen, a junior in CAS and treasurer for ASU, and Linah Uchiyama, a sophomore in the College of Communication, Lee wrote.
“We’re really excited to be able to put together an event that allows BU students to have an impact on not only the Boston community as a whole, but on the local BU community itself too,” Lee wrote.
Geneva Thai, a sophomore in COM and social justice chair for ASU, said the group was inspired by other BU organizations like Her Campus.
“We’ve seen some other orgs do [thrift pop-ups] and so we were like, ‘Oh, this is something really cool,’ and we wanted to take our own spin on it,” Thai said.
ASU wanted to focus on donating to a group that is more Asian-focused, like Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Machen said.
“BCNC is a nonprofit organization for the greater Boston area specifically for new immigrants and Asian families,” Machen said. “They work to strengthen and support them in any way possible through ‘Workforce Initiatives,’ education systems and they really strengthen their younger communities.”
ASU will donate all the clothes which have not been bought, but they wanted as much participation as possible, Thai said.
“We’re trying really hard to make sure everything goes because we want people to be able to find something they like,” she said.
In terms of thrifting, Thai gave credit to Machen for being “more of an avid thrifter” who has explored more of what Boston has to offer.
“My [thrifting] philosophy is like you shouldn’t go into it looking for anything specific,” Machen said. “Just whatever pops up is a great find.”
Anne Joseph, a freshman in CAS, said she and her roommate heard about the event through friends in ASU and donated some clothes a few weeks ago.
“It’s fun how people are finding their friends’ clothes here,” Joseph said. “I think everyone has stuff in their closet that they think they’ll wear but they actually don’t end up wearing, so I feel like this is a really good assortment of just slightly worn clothes that can find a new home.”
Christian Mark, a junior in CAS, said he goes to a lot of ASU events but this was his first time ever thrifting.
“I feel like this is a great opportunity to learn about different styles,” Mark said.
Even though this will be the only thrift event for now, Machen said they hope to make the pop-up an annual ASU event.
“I really like thrifting,” Machen said. “Everyone goes because it’s cheap, but also I think it’s overlooked the fact that it’s really sustainable, you’re not purchasing clothing, you’re recycling them.”
