r/Anticonsumption • u/Healthy_Block3036 • 1d ago

Corporations Target struggles after end of DEI program and boycott, with foot traffic down 8 weeks in a row.

https://fortune.com/2025/04/01/target-dei-demise-boycott-foot-traffic-down-eighth-consecutive-week/?itm_source=parsely-api
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u/ElodieNYC 1d ago

THIS. When my daughter was a teen, she and her friends loved Target. So much “cute” stuff. Now…she’s shopping thrift stores (not Goodwill or Salvation Army, we have ARC) for cute things.

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u/Starringkb 1d ago

The younger generations are all about thrifting and it’s giving me so much hope for us all 🙌🏻🥹💕✨🫶🏻

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u/angeltay 1d ago

It’s because new clothes are made of such crappy material and are way too expensive. Thrift stores are starting to raise prices and get filled with fast fashion crap, but there’s still enough older, nice quality clothes for a decent price. Plus, they’re often way more unique. Where else am I gonna get a shirt that says, “graphic design used to be my passion but now it’s realizing that all the people around me have their own complex lives”

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u/[deleted] 23h ago

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u/No_Fig5982 23h ago

I only own 12 shirts

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u/Anticonsumption-ModTeam 20h ago

Recommending or soliciting recommendations for specific brands and products is not appropriate in this subreddit.

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u/Anticonsumption-ModTeam 20h ago

Recommending or soliciting recommendations for specific brands and products is not appropriate in this subreddit.

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u/Anticonsumption-ModTeam 20h ago

Recommending or soliciting recommendations for specific brands and products is not appropriate in this subreddit.

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u/pluckymarmot 21h ago

I bought corelle plates at a thrift shop and when I went to a big store later the corelle plates were the same price. At least I reduced waste but it’s unfair that thrift stores are getting pricey too. 😭

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u/No_Accountant3232 1d ago

It's where I found my Darth Vader DJing a rave shirt!

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u/Owl_Queen9 1d ago

I definitely need to see this

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u/pajamakitten 6h ago

And because fashion is cyclical. 80s and 90s fashion is back in again.

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u/angeltay 4h ago

There’s not a lot of 80s and 90s stuff at my local thrift stores

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u/AdvancedTower401 1d ago

We all just broke lol, but we also hate corporations for shit like that so silver linings

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u/Vanth_in_Furs 1d ago

And broke or not, a $25 run to Target is now $60-$80 and shit is just RIDICULOUS.

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u/maneki_neko89 1d ago

And an armful of clothes bought at a thrift store is now $100+ 😩

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u/Melodic_Type1704 1d ago

A few years back before thrifting took off (late 2019 or so), I bought a vintage Kate Spade bag for only $4, then a Columbia fleece for $0.99 that was hidden in the children’s section because someone mislabeled it. This was in a rich Atlanta suburb. Last time that I went a year ago, shirts at the same store started at $5!

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u/posananer 1d ago

They should lower their prices to have traffic go back up. but who will think of the shareholders?!?/s

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u/Molotov_Glocktail 1d ago

CEO Glasses! For when you want to see the single financial quarter ahead of you and nothing else!

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u/idoeno 1d ago

And it's all tissue paper thin material that dissolves after a couple of runs through the washing machine.

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u/scarletwitchmoon 1d ago

Wait, my Target runs used to always be $60+ 🫣

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u/ImBatman5500 1d ago

The true cyberpunk generation

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u/austeremunch 23h ago

We all just broke lol, but we also hate corporations for shit like that so silver linings

It's almost like the latter is the cause of the former.

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u/Anal_Recidivist 1d ago

They’ve always been about thrifting.

I’m 35. Where did we get cool retro stuff when I was a teen? Thrift stores. Anyone could go buy expensive new clothes, it was always more special to have things you couldn’t just buy.

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u/kazoogrrl 1d ago

I'm 50 and have been thrift shopping most of my life. I still wear things I got in high school. I don't do it as much now because I don't have the time to dig for stuff, and the good items are often grabbed up by resellers or their prices are too high.

Clothing swaps can be a good option too. I've been to small ones friends held but there are larger community ones in my city.

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u/Electronic_Stop_9493 1d ago

Pit stains though…

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u/Objective_Economy281 1d ago

do modern clothes last long enough for that to be worthwhile? Or is the point of thrifting to buy stuff from before everything was shit?

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u/Secure_Screen_2354 1d ago

Both. But also bigger thrift stores have caught on and have upped their prices, so it’s really that it’s popular and can be in better quality

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u/nigelfitz 22h ago

vintage has quality and "aura"

always have, always will

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u/Objective_Economy281 22h ago

My car is 20 years old, and my leather jacket is nearly 30. Both single-owner. Does that count as “aura”?

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u/jackparadise1 1d ago

My 21 year old won’t buy anything but socks and underwear new.

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u/TempleSquare 1d ago

Glad to see gen z and gen alpha embrace the true Macklemore spirit

"Only got $20 in my pocket!"

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u/Ready-Mountain-6427 1d ago

There is no hope.

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u/EnvironmentalHour613 1d ago

We all broke and fast fashion is horrible for quality and longevity.

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u/willingunicorn 1d ago

The younger generations are also red-pilled and like trump, so..

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u/yulscakes 1d ago

Millennials were also all about thrifting a decade and a half ago, and look at the hopeless hellfire we’re in today. :(

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u/Artemistical 1d ago

Awesome! I loved thrifting so much when I was that age. I've been getting back into it more, I forgot how fun it is to find an amazing piece of clothing that you know you're going to love for a long time for $5!

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u/your_dads_hot 1d ago

Yeah but they also voted for Trump! Don't give them too much of a pass.

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u/12stTales 1d ago

After tariffs there will be a lot more people at the thrift store

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u/MedalofHodor 1d ago

Every 15-26 year old has been into thrifting since you could smoke on an airplane.

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u/Cat_Peach_Pits 1d ago

Id be happy, but a lot of thrift stores are charging prices as high as buying it new, for trash fast fashion products.

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u/wbruce098 1d ago

Wait, does that mean thrift stores are cheap again? Or they gonna get expensive again soon?

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u/Reasonable-Wave8093 1d ago

🍀🍀🍀

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u/Coup_de_Tech 1d ago

Well, corporations are hollowing out thrifting as well.

Locusts gotta locust.

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u/comFive 1d ago

Yes, although vintage thrifting is really expensive these days.

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u/MadCybertist 1d ago

For now. Then they’re into target. Then Costco. Then Walmart. Then thrifting. This is nothing new haha. It’s just the cycle that happens.

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u/damagazelle 1d ago

Mine are getting into visible mending and other ways to make our belongings belong to us.

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u/runhomejack1399 1d ago

Every generation goes through their thrifting phase

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u/scarletwitchmoon 1d ago

I came here to ask: Where do all the cool kids ship now? Now I know.

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u/joebluebob 20h ago

They are conservative

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u/AnotherRTFan 18h ago

My mom and I were getting some new clothes for spring. Not overboard shopping, just a couple of things, and got my teen sister some new shorts as she requested. It's really nice to hear a parent say their kid has requested to not get the pricy stuff, just average cost and not much. (I love my sister and proud of her)

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u/TheChosenCasanova 15h ago

I can’t go to a thrift store to find anything remotely good looking without it costing just as much as retail. Just the other day I went with my girlfriend and I seen a nice carhart jacket that was worn out and had that washed look, it cost over $120. Thrift shopping has become the new hype thing to do so they up charge out the ass.

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u/crucifixgarden 12h ago

im being "that guy", but i started getting a little scared when thrifting started trending— not because i don't want people to thrift, but because i went from being able to find nice, affordable clothes to paying almost $50 every time i needed to get a filew things from the thrift store only to have it crumble into dust within a month because it ended up being fast fashion crud. ):

i recently (as in, around mid-february) bought what i thought was a nice generic print t-shirt that i was intending to wear to a party only for it to get shredded in the washer. im still finding bits of black microplastic fuzz here and there... 😭

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u/Immediate-Ad-8667 7h ago

I went thrifting this morning with my son my boyfriend and his son and we found so much cute stuff. There were 3 cool teens girls looking at clothes and they really gave me hope.

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u/Cynoid 1d ago

You mean that younger generation that all voted for Trump?

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u/Theslamstar 1d ago

Why? Thrifting is truthfully not much better than buying new because so much of what’s donated ends up being shipped off to be waste in third world countries.

I forget exactly how it works, but there’s a few fashion documentaries that explain how bad fashion in general is and go into how thrifting isn’t much better for whatever reason I don’t remember

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u/LJGuitarPractice 1d ago

Figure out what you’re trying to say before you say it

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u/Theslamstar 1d ago

I did lol, thrifting isn’t as good as people think.

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u/ThePoetofFall 1d ago

Some goodwill locations are fine, it depends on the region.

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u/Few0Nectarine 1d ago

The point is Goodwill sucks as a company

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u/ElodieNYC 1d ago

Yes. This is why.

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u/Adezar 1d ago

I remember when my GenZ daughter started going to thrift stores with her friends. And they learned the absolute best is to go to thrift stores in very high COL areas, end up with a ton of brand name products for pennies on the dollar.

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u/ilovemycat3000 1d ago

ARC ❤️😢

I used to live in Denver. Fuck the Rockies I miss arc lol

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u/ElodieNYC 1d ago

They’re great. Fair prices, 50% off on Saturdays, no BS online market. I’ll miss them too 😢

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u/Arthurs_librarycard9 1d ago

My grandpa held a grudge against Salvation Army from the 1960s until his death.... whenever I see the name, I always think of that. I have never supported them, but I am glad to see more people are not as well.

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u/Brett__Bretterson 1d ago

Uhhhh millennials did this during the Great Recession. I remember the complaints about millennials “ruining” thrift stores.

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u/MyFireElf 1d ago

I'm starting to think we got singled out for being the weird kid who didn't have a letter? For like two seconds we were Gen Y, and maybe we wouldn't have caught so much shit from both ends if that hadn't changed.

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u/Brett__Bretterson 1d ago

We got singled out because we are one of the most rational, reality-hardened generation. We are who the boomers etc wish they were. We actually experienced (and continue to experience hardship). My first computer was a used $2,000 box of metal dropped off in a cardboard box. We just had to figure shit out. There were no instruction manuals or let’s play videos. We know what life was like before 2001 and many of us had our innocence crushed watching thousands of people die on TV while sitting in a classroom. Boomers were given the world on a silver platter and are pissed the platter isn’t gold. They’re just damaged. Sorry, I’m high.

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u/xSTSxZerglingOne 1d ago

From like 8 to 15 years old, Target was the absolute fuckin' best. The TV-too-high N64, franchise food court, cheap and readily available art supplies you could just walk into the store and buy to chill and draw with your friends.

I hope they lose every customer.

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u/BeetleChe13 1d ago

ARC is the best thrift store ever!

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u/ElodieNYC 1d ago

Yes! I wish they were in more states. But lucky to have a lot here in CO.

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u/brokegaysonic 1d ago

Also to be fair, Target has way less cute stuff than they used to it feels like?

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u/ElodieNYC 1d ago

Yes. Last time that I was in there, a while ago, I bought Epsom salts and nothing else. I used to end up with unplanned purchases. Bath bombs, home decor, whatever.

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u/unlocked_axis02 1d ago

I honestly have a rather punky style so I’ve been mixing thrift stores with military surplus like I literally bought a pair of pants that fit me well made in the 90’s and aside from loose threads I’ve had to trim off it’s in damn near perfect condition plus I get compliments on them fairly often since it stands out it’s genuinely built to last which I never see on anything new

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u/ElodieNYC 1d ago

OMG. She’s a little Goth/emo sometimes. I totally forgot about Army surplus stores! There used to be one on Broadway in Denver. Idk if it’s still there, will check. She would love it, thank you!

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u/unlocked_axis02 1d ago

You are very welcome happy hunting

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u/Miami_Mice2087 22h ago

goodwill went evil too?

no honor amung thieves...

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u/Same-Development4408 1d ago

Salvation army is scum and a big trump supporter. Please relay that to her

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u/ElodieNYC 1d ago

She doesn’t shop there. She knows.

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u/Same-Development4408 1d ago

Oh I misread your comment, my b

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u/Additional_Cap72 1d ago

Hoping thrift-shorts and old marathon T’s are the Summer fashion trend this year …

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u/LoHudMom 1d ago

My daughter (18) has been trying to avoid purchasing new clothes since she started HS and learned about fast fashion and sweatshops. She loves thrift stores. I teach HS age kids who are into thrift shopping too.

And I've not missed Target-a few weeks ago I had some spare time before an appointment and decided to walk around. This location is almost always busy, but it was very quiet. (It's also in a town with a Tesla dealership in walking distance that had over 500 anti-Elon protesters last week, so maybe not surprising).

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u/Go_Pack_Go1 1d ago

What’s wrong with Salvation Army?

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u/ElodieNYC 1d ago

Anti-LGBTQIA+

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u/Subterranean-Phoenix 20h ago

If you're up for a read or a skim, here's twelve answers.

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u/PAXM73 1d ago

The way it used to be… The thrift store!

(Though they aren’t what I remember from my youth those many many years ago)

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u/longinthetaint 1d ago

Arc is okay but some of their politics are problematic

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u/ElodieNYC 4h ago

They’re the lesser evil of the bunch. They don’t have insane prices or sell stuff online, AFAIK.

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u/PinkyZeek4 1d ago

My daughter thrifted during high school at the Goodwill “boutique “ next to the wealthy neighborhood and was the best dressed girl in school

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u/momo098876 1d ago

Yeo it's been all about thrifting with my kids for a while now. Another fascinating thing to watch has been the shift in many thrift shoppers who no longer consider Goodwill to be a bargain because their prices went up significantly! It's all about local and/or church thrift stores now.

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u/Doug_E_Fresh69 23h ago

Plato's Closet

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u/Lumbergh7 23h ago

Arc?

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u/ElodieNYC 4h ago

Thrift store chain in CO. Not sure where else they are. Their sales benefit the developmentally disabled.

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u/Lots42 19h ago

Thrift stores just have what big name stores refuse to stock.