A Reddit user recently spotted a troubling trend at their local secondhand store and shared a photo of it to the community at r/ThriftGrift.
"Do you wanna buy your kid a little stuffed animal for a few bucks, tough s***. Buy a whole bundle of garbage, minimum $20," the original poster wrote. "My local Goodwill, the most overpriced near me, has started bundling all their toys and these $20 and up bags."
This is particularly unfortunate because secondhand stores are often great places to find toys for kids. For example, parents have been able to find premium toy kitchen sets and crayon makers for dirt-cheap prices while thrifting.
Saving a few bucks is a thrill, but it's not the only great thing that comes out of shopping secondhand — it also stops items from going to landfill. As items decompose in landfills, they release methane, which traps heat in the atmosphere and exacerbates a range of destructive weather patterns. These can include floods, droughts, heat waves, and storms, which incur steep ecological, housing, and agricultural costs.
The other problem with items going in the trash is microplastics. Plastic items — especially those made with synthetic fiber, such as stuffed toys — shed particles over time. These microplastics enter human food systems. Once ingested, microplastics can contribute to digestive, endocrine, immune, neurological, renal, circulatory, and reproductive health risks.
By shopping secondhand, you're helping curb all of those negative consequences.
Reddit commenters were equally dismayed at seeing Goodwill pricing those in need out of their stores.
"When I was a kid many of my toys and stuffed animals came from Goodwill. Any visit I could get one or two things, which were only a couple dollars at most. $20 was my birthday budget," one community member wrote. "It makes me sad this system would have priced us out."
"Man, I could see bundling some things in the hopes of clearing inventory, but everything being bundled and a minimum of $20?" another user added. "That's a good way to never sell a stuffed animal/toy again."
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