Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 27, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 15 Warehouse Storage For Rent Asset Management Program Office and Lab Moving WE KNOW STORAGE!!!! thestoragecompany.com E N E R G Y & S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y F O C U S 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 $80 Gross merchandise value (in billions of dollars) '18 '19 '20 '22 '23 '21 '24 25 '26 '28 '27 U.S. secondhand apparel market growth and forecast Source: ThredUp; ThredUp cites GlobalData 2024 market sizing and growth estimates know, just one type of clothing, I'll take a little bit of everything in here. I'm more about knowing my customers and know- ing what's moving right now and what I can flip is more my mind frame." McGrath said there's room for both fast fashion and thriing in the clothing sector, noting solely buying vintage is a costly endeavor. People buying fast fash- ion are not in the dark about the effects of the industry on the planet and people, she said, but it's more complicated. "It's hard because you always want to do the right thing, but it's also like, we're all scraping by, you know? We're all sur- viving on our budgets and our lifestyles," she said. ough neither Pappas nor McGrath see the rise in fast fashion affecting their businesses at the moment, Pappas fore- sees major players in the fashion industry incorporating second-hand clothing into their business strategies. In fact, the likes of Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus have already made efforts at utilizing the thriing trend by partnering with resellers to provide sec- ond-hand options for their mainstream customers. "ey're going to find really good stuff, and then they're going to jack the prices up and say, 'is a vintage piece'," Pappas said. "ey're going to be taking a portion of the business away from the consignment stores." A sustainable practice Comfortability is a crucial catalyst for shoppers purchasing fast fashion, said Daughtry. "A lot of people still don't quite under- stand this (second-hand) market yet. So you're going to shop where you're com- fortable," he said. "You're going there to shop and understand what is presented to you, and fast fashion does that better than anybody else." Daughtry can't always take everything people bring him to sell. But to make sure those clothes don't end up in the trash, he incentivizes customers to do- nate the clothes locally by matching the store credit or discount those organiza- tions gives them in return at Concrete Collection. McGrath encourages sellers to recycle their own wardrobes, by offering sellers 30% of her resale price in cash or 45% in store credit – making her own pieces more accessible to customers. A large part of accessibility is afford- ability, and affordability is a pillar of Daughtry's business model. "When it came to affordability, it's understanding margins. It's like, people don't want to walk into the store and leave empty handed because they couldn't afford it," said Daughtry. "e bigger we get, I want to go lower with our price margins because I tell people all the time, 'I can sell a thousand $5 t-shirts and make money; I don't have to sell 100 $100 t-shirts." Daughtry could sell affordable clothing, buying deadstock from the Walmarts and Targets of the fashion space and marking the prices down, but he's not just in this for the money. "I'm not gonna give up everything that I know morally and business-wise to compete financially as a business. at's not right," he said. Old industry, newcomers Not everyone who comes into Modern Muse is looking to shop sus- tainably, but Pappas has noticed both older customers and college students have been educated on the effects of fast fashion, naming specifically those from Worcester Polytechnic Institute as the most intentionally eco-con- scious shoppers. McGrath has noticed an uptick in young buyers as well, some so young their parents are still footing the bill. "Right now, it's super cool to thri, and it's super cool to find something at Savers, or find something here, and post it on Instagram," McGrath continued. For Daughtry, who himself start- ed thriing as a teen with money he earned as a dishwasher, educating his customer base on the importance of sustainability is paramount. It was easier to make people care and understand during the coronavi- rus pandemic when, as he put it, the monster that is the consistent shopper was slowed. As shops opened back up and people weren't scared anymore, convincing people about the importance of sustain- ability grew harder. Daughtry has taken on the role of not only owner, but educator, giving customers the lowdown on where the garments they're buying come from, how he's tie-dyed or bleached them to revive them, and the good the cus- tomer is doing in not contributing to wasteful impacts. Even with all his efforts to support sustainability and educate himself and others, the decision to support the work he and others are doing in the second-hand industry is up to the customers, Daughtry said. "I'm going to wash this, curate this, steam this, and press this for you. We're going to put it in one location. You have to decide whether you're going to be a part of the problem or you're going to be a solution," he said. Daughtry grew up going to the Midtown Mall, which now houses his Concrete Collection. W PHOTO | EDD COTE

• Cover