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By CATHERINE MUCCIGROSSO
The Charlotte Observer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- It's been nearly a decade since rapper Macklemore and Ryan Lewis topped the U.S. music charts with "Thrift Shop" about poppin' tags and "One man's trash, that's another man's come-up."
Clearly, they were on to something. In the past decade, the resale apparel has been growing fast, a whopping 215% within an industry that's overall grown by 24%, according to the latest report by ThredUp, an online thrift store.
And if The Charlotte Observer's recent 2022 Reader's Choice best thrift store contest is any indication, our region has a lot of secondhand shopping fans. During the 12-day contest, more than 644,230 votes were cast. People were allowed to vote multiple times.
The winner from the field of 16 stores chosen by readers was The WearHouse, a thrift store that helps fund the bilingual and multicultural nonprofit Camino offering holistic care to the underinsured and uninsured.
"Especially now due to inflation, we're seeing an increase in thrifting," Camino spokeswoman Paola Garcia said.
The Charlotte region also has a variety of thrift stores.
The Queen City ranks fifth out 50 cities for having the most number of thrift stores per 100,000 people, according to data from Joybird, a California company that sells new, high-quality furniture.
Earlier this year, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont said it plans to open 25 retail stores and donation centers over the next five years. The nonprofit serves 18 counties in the Charlotte region in North and South Carolina, providing free job training and employment support programs.
"I think there's an interest in having a shopping experience that is fun," said Jose Luis, chief operating officer for the regional Goodwill Industries. "We're seeing that there are more consumers that are interested in shopping secondhand, especially over the last five years."