Innovation

Plato’s Closet is a franchise that was initially founded in the United States targeting teenagers and young adults by selling gently used clothing at a reasonable price. Lynn Blum, the creator of Plato's Closet, found a passion for buying gently used baby clothing for her son and was inspired to create Once Upon a Child. From this, she went on to build the franchises Play It Again Sports, Music Go Round, and Plato's Closet. The innovation of Plato's Closet that attracts sales and attention is selling quality used clothing to help encourage the idea of reusing rather than creating waste. It has become very popular among today’s youth to shop for vintage clothing at low prices, and as Joy noted in the interview, “…thrift is such a normal thing today and everyone is doing it.” Many people have started to follow the trend of “thrifting,” which can include shopping at Value Village and The Salvation Army for worn and unique products. Plato's Closet has built an image that moves away from the negative stigma of thrift shopping but instead has quality comparable with retail stores. Plato’s takes this innovation further by selling used clothing and paying people for what they bring in to encourage future consumers to sell their used clothing back to the store. This also makes customers a little more comfortable, knowing that what they are purchasing has been hand selected and approved for the standards of the company.

This innovation clearly relates to the mission of being environmentally responsible. By reusing quality clothing, you are eliminating the need to produce, ship, and deliver the clothing, cutting environmental costs immensely as well as economic costs. There is a very clear ambition of those who work at Plato’s to make a difference in the environment as well as the community, and their innovation not only helps promote a sustainable lifestyle, but also funds the company well enough to open additional stores.

Inspiration

The original idea behind Plato’s Closet was inspired by the positive impacts that a thrift store can have on society and the environment. Susan, the owner of the local franchise, noticed how much positive feedback was being received from a sister company called Once Upon A Child, a thrift store that focuses on selling clothes to toddlers and children. She discovered that certain demographics were not being addressed adequately in Guelph, such as students, other low-income individuals, and anyone on a budget. Plato’s Closet differs from other thrift stores because the people who choose to donate clothing get financial compensation for it. This allows individuals to participate in our society’s “fast fashion” culture in a sustainable manner.

The motivation and purpose for implementing this business model is mainly to reduce the environmental impacts that the fashion industry imposes on us, in addition to making cheaper clothing more accessible. As the saying goes, one person's trash is another’s treasure. Joy Watson, an Assistant Manager, explained that a person who gives used clothing to Plato’s may have grown out of that style, but “someone else will find love in it.” Another way Plato’s Closet is promoting sustainable consumption is with their “bring your own bag” program. The idea behind this program is that customers are rewarded with loyalty points that will reduce the cost of their next purchase.

Overall impact

The innovation has been affecting the business in such a positive way that they are already expanding and working on opening additional locations. They are consistently gaining new customers and more people wanting to sell their used items. Assistant Manager Joy mentioned that one reason they sell at such a large volume is that people who come in to sell their used clothing want to get a few new pieces; it "encourages [customers] to buy a lot too because they are getting [money] for their old clothing." Overall the impact of the innovation on this business has really brought thrifting to life and made it more of a popular way for people to shop for clothes while saving money.

This innovation has a positive societal impact due to the fact that Plato's allows individuals to sell their unwanted clothes for a small profit rather than giving them away without compensation. It also allows the store's customers to buy high-quality clothing at a cheaper price, rather than buying expensive new clothing at a similar quality. This give-and-take relationship creates an incentive for customers to choose Plato's Closet and benefits all stakeholders. However, thrift stores such as Value Village may face a decrease in their clothing supply, as they rely on unpaid donations of clothing; this could be viewed as a negative impact of the rise of Plato's Closet.

Every manufactured article of clothing requires a significant amount of natural resources to produce. For each lightly used item that Plato's Closet sells, they are reducing the amount of new clothing items being purchased. Cotton is the crop that is most heavily sprayed with pesticides--usually more than needed. This causes runoff and pollutes groundwater. By recycling clothes, the amount of cotton production required globally is reduced and the amount of groundwater that is being contaminated is minimized. During the interview, Assistant Manager Joy discussed the environmental impacts and explained that "...for one t-shirt, just to make it takes something like 400 gallons of water. This is clean water that we could be giving to people who don’t have access to [drinking] water." Additionally, by selling and buying clothes from Plato's Closet, the amount of waste is reduced, which is a significant environmental benefit. As Joy stated, "it's great, so we are reusing stuff and it's not ending up in the landfill."

The short-term effects of this innovation include consumers truly grasping the amount of unnecessary clothing they acquire when cleaning out their closets. This understanding encourages responsible consumption as people realize how much they have but do not need. Joy describes it as "being able to work on a budget and rethink how much money you are actually spending on clothing." This teaches a specific demographic of teens and young adults early in life about responsible consumption, and without realization may prove to be a valuable lesson to these youth. They will become accustomed to the idea of saving money by recycling clothing, which can be of use in many other aspects of their lives in terms of sustainability.

The long-term effects are very beneficial for the environment, as the popularity of thrift stores will increase and consequently the amount of clothing being manufactured will decrease. Therefore the large amount of water previously used to grow cotton and manufacture clothes can now be used as clean drinking water in areas in need of it. Furthermore, landfills will acquire less clothing, as it will be recycled and reused by new owners. As Joy put it, "we are saving the environment, and sometimes people don’t realize how much."

Business benefit

The innovation of reusing and reselling lightly used clothing and other items has allowed Plato's Closet and similar stores to flourish. This proves to be very beneficial to business due to the fact that the supply of clothing is provided, and no additional manufacturing is required. People have an excess of clothing, and when there is an opportunity to sell it rather than giving it away for free, they will be more inclined to do so. Consumers will also now have a chance to get brand-name clothing at a much lower price, thus attracting many bargain hunters to this business.

Social and environmental benefit

The benefit of this innovation on the environment is to reduce the amount of cotton needing to be produced, which in turn will also create less polluted groundwater runoff. This innovation is reducing the amount of clothes going into the landfill. As for society, it is encouraging smarter consumption practices as well as increasing economic growth.

Interview

Joy Watson, Assistant Manager