The University of Kentucky now has its own student-run thrift shop.
Not every student can boast that one of her projects became a brick-and-mortar destination on campus, but UK senior Olivia Smith can say exactly that about The Thrifty Cat.
“I’ve lived in the dorms here and I’ve seen the amount of waste that can be thrown out by students, especially during move out,” she says. “I wanted to offer a permanent solution to that.”
That solution is a volunteer-run thrift shop sandwiched between Blazer Dining and Holmes Hall. And day one is not disappointing. Students are queued up from the entrance, through a hallway, out the door, and down a walkway outside.
Daniel Jones is in that long line, waiting to see what’s offer. He says before coming to UK, thrifting was a big thing in his hometown. And he’s glad to see it come to campus in a concrete way.
“It’s something that connects us as a community,” he explains. “It’s not a big corporation that we go to buy and get stuff. It’s stuff that we give to help others out.”
Ryan Lark is a zero waste specialist senior. He says Jones isn’t alone among his Gen-Z cohorts, according to a UK survey.
“That study showed us generational differences in what individuals favor, whether that’s reduction, reuse, recycling, or composting. And the younger generation really embraces thrifting and reusing much more than other generations,” he says.
The Thrifty Cat is a one-room student-only resource accepting donations and giving them to students for free. Items on hand right now include a microwave, school supplies, and kitchenware. But most of space is dedicated to clothing.
