The History of Thrift Stores旧物商店发展史

The thrift shop1， which in the United Kingdom people call the “charity shop” and， in other places around the world， the “opportunity shop，” is a sales location for used goods of all kinds， including apparel， furniture， music， electronic equipment， and general merchandise.

thrift shop（旧物商店，直译：节俭商店），在英国称为charity shop（直译：慈善商店），在世界其他地区也有opportunity shop（直译：机会商店）的叫法，是销售服装、家具、唱片、电子设备、日用百货等各类二手商品的场所。

These stores are often run by non-profit agencies that accept donations of serviceable items and then sell them to the public at inexpensive prices.

此类店铺多由非营利性机构经营，接受捐赠的可用物品，再以低价转售给公众。

Where did the idea come from？

点子从何而来？

An easy mistake to make is to assume that thrift stores were a purely benevolent outreach2 of Christian mission groups in the late 19th century. After all， the Salvation Army3 started collecting donations for its original stores in 1897 with its “salvage brigade，” which allowed that group to provide food and housing for the homeless men who pushed carts through the street soliciting cast-off goods.

人们容易将旧物商店误认为是19世纪晚期基督教传教团体的一种纯粹慈善服务。毕竟，救世军在1897年就开始通过 “救物队”为其最早的慈善商店募集捐赠——无家可归者推着小车走街串巷收集废弃旧物，以此换取食宿。

Methodist outreach workers started what is now Goodwill4 in Boston in 1902， not only collecting second-hand goods but providing unemployed workers for area residents who needed cheap labor.

1902年，循道宗教派的社区工作者在波士顿创办了现在的善意实业国际，不但收集二手物品，而且为需要廉价劳动力的当地居民提供失业工人。

As benevolent as these missions may have seemed， they were actually a response to another phenomenon that Christian leaders observed.

这些看起来像是做慈善的活动其实是基督教领袖们对所观察到的另一种现象的回应。

New immigrants to America， especially European Jews， had trouble finding employment. To earn money， they pushed carts through major cities’ streets， collecting and selling second-hand goods. Though they were scorned for this behavior， these new citizens also made good money.

新到美国的移民，特别是来自欧洲的犹太移民，很难找到工作。为了赚钱，他们推着小车在各大城市走街串巷收售旧物。虽说这些新公民为此遭人白眼，但也确实赚了不少钱。

Thus， when Christian leaders began to emulate this behavior， they did so to make money. These funds were raised to underwrite5 their mission work. Still， assuming that thrift stores were an outreach effort to the poor is backward. In America， these stores began as an effort to raise money—that could then be used to assist those living in poverty.

所以说，基督教领袖们开始效仿这种行为时是为了赚钱，以此筹措资金来支撑其传教活动。即便如此，认为旧物商店是向穷人提供援助的看法倒果为因。在美国，开办这些商店的初衷是筹钱，然后再用这些钱来帮助穷人。

It’s interesting to note that the social conditions which prompted the rise of thrift stores around the beginning of the 20th century parallel many of the social conditions that exist today.

值得注意的是，促使旧物商店在20世纪初兴起的社会条件与当今的社会条件有不少相似之处。

Then， as now， new technology had transformed economies around the world; transportation advances made it possible for people to move around the globe faster than ever before; international hostilities and changing borders resulted in waves of immigrants coming to America—and not always receiving the warmest welcome. Then， as now， the thrift store is an adaptable， viable， environmentally sustainable response to many human needs.

当时和现在一样，新技术彻底改变了世界各地的经济状况；交通运输的发展使人们能够以前所未有的速度在全球范围内活动；国际敌对行动和边界变化致使一拨又一拨的移民来到美国，但他们并不总是受到最热烈的欢迎。当时和现在一样，旧物商店回应了众多的人类需求，其适应性强，可行性高，还具有环境可持续性。

What was the first？

早期旧物商店

Second-hand clothing bazaars6 were common as far back as Elizabethan England7. The first organization one might genuinely consider a “charity shop” was the Wolverhampton Society for the Blind in Staffordshire， England. Citizens donated used goods for sale， with the proceeds going to provide for the visually impaired.

早在伊丽莎白时代的英国，二手服装义卖就已经司空见惯。第一个真正被视作 “旧物商店”的机构是英国斯塔福德郡的伍尔弗汉普顿盲人协会。市民捐赠旧物出售，所得善款用于资助视障人士。

As noted， the Salvation Army began its thrift shop work in 1897. So effective were these shops that by 1929， half of the organization’s income came from its thrift shop sales. Goodwill， which started its thrift shops seven years later， had a fleet of 1000 trucks by the 1920s. The organization gladly came to the homes of donors to pick up second-hand goods.

如前所述，救世军于1897年开始经营旧物商店。这些店铺生意红火，到1929年，该组织一半的收入都来自其旧物店销售额。七年后，善意实业国际也开始经营旧物店生意，到20世纪20年代就已有了一支千辆规模的卡车车队。该组织愿意上门接收捐赠的旧物。

Oxfam8， a prominent charity supported by its charity store network， began its work in 1947 in Oxford， England. The organization， particularly known for its specialty bookstores， now has more than 700 outlets in England alone.

乐施会是由旗下旧物商店网络支持的著名慈善组织，于1947年在英国牛津郡开办第一家店。该组织尤以图书专营店闻名，目前仅在英国就有700多家分店。

Consignment shops began to take hold in the 1950s as new synthetic fabrics created a demand for new fabrics and， simultaneously， created mountains of unwanted， used clothing. These stores gave consumers the ability to afford the latest fashion trends as second-hand goods at substantially reduced prices.

20世纪50年代，新型合成织物的出现催生了对新面料的需求，同时也造成废旧衣物堆积如山，寄卖店由此兴盛起来。寄卖店的二手衣物折扣很低，也有不少时尚款式，让消费者得以追得起最新潮流。

When did thrifting become popular？

二手购物盛行始于何时？

In a sense， this is a trick question. Thrift shops were an idea whose time had come in the 1890s following the mass production of clothing made possible by the industrial revolution. Following the thrift store’s birth， any number of historical developments only furthered the popularity of this type of shopping.