Vintage Fashions Theme For Opening Runway Show At Vancouver Eco-Fashion Week

Opening this season’s Vancouver Eco Fashion Week  (April 10 – 12) will be a vintage runway show presented by the mega-thrift store Value Village. The store also carries modern designer name brands including Calvin Klein, Banana Republic, Reitmans, and Eddie Bauer.

Value Village’s show was considered the ideal opening event because the store epitomizes many of the core values of the week, which include bringing new life to what already exists, keeping clothing out of landfills as long as possible, as well as supporting local community and global business initiatives.

The thrift store chain purchases its merchandise though “working relationships with 140 nonprofit partners across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Over the past 10 years, we’ve paid more than $1 billion.” said Value Village.

The chain explains how they acquire their merchandise, saying, “Our nonprofit partners contact people in the community to ask for donations of reusable clothing and household items.

“We then pay our nonprofit partners based on the number of boxes and bags of merchandise they deliver to us. Additionally, we also pay them for donations delivered directly to our stores via our community donation centers. Our staff sorts through the donations to select the highest quality reusable items, then prices, and displays them.”

Besides clothes, Value Village sells merchandise includes: shoes, toys, books, kitchenware, sporting goods, infant products, suitcases, electronics, wicker items, furniture, and collectables.

“The majority of items that don’t sell are shipped to developing nations through both wholesale and philanthropic efforts. Individuals in developing countries can then create their own marketplaces that service citizens who rely on affordable, quality merchandise.

“As a result, other individuals in these countries have a resource where they can find used, affordable merchandise,” said Value Village.

As part of the company’s efforts to help communities around the world and the environment, Value Village said, “Last year, we paid our nonprofit partners and their programs more than $144 million to fund their programs and services. To date, we’ve paid more than $1 billion over the last 10 years.

“Also, we’re doing our part to save our planet from the 20-billion pounds of used clothing and textiles tossed into landfills each year. Our recycling program prevented 500 million pounds of unsold merchandise from ending up in landfills last year.”

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