Goodwill sucks!

When you go out of your way to do the right thing and donate your clothes to charitable organizations *cough* Goodwill *cough*, most of the time, they don't always go where you think they will. Honestly, about 84% of the clothing dropped off at big donation centers don't even get sold.

Instead, they get pulled and sent to a landfill to rot. Or worse, whatever doesn't end up in a dumpster often gets shipped overseas in bulk — flooding markets in other countries with more secondhand clothing than they can handle, destroying the local textile industries that once clothed those communities. Donating with good intentions (you sweet person, you!) doesn't always mean your clothes are actually helping (I'm sorry!)

That's part of why bulk resellers get a bad reputation, though. They buy up thrift racks by the pound only to flip pieces for an insane markup. But that's not what happens at Goth Kitten.

How GothKitten Differs From a Typical Reseller

Every goth, alt, punk, Y2K, or whatever badass piece that comes through my shop is either sourced from my own closet, donated to me, or gets one of three things: repaired, restored, or reworked.

So, ripped seams get stitches, scuffed leather gets buffed and polished, a Killstar or vintage pinup dress someone tossed because it had a broken zipper or busted seam lives to see another night, Demonia boots get rebuilt instead of thrown out — whatever it is, it gets fixed. And if something's too far gone, I just upcycle it: I cut it up to make something new and turn it into something cool, unique, and wearable again instead of just letting it become trash.

I also hand-craft some of the jewelry and accessories in the shop from scratch. Hence, the stock isn't mass-produced, and everything is priced fairly, not at a crazy markup — based on the actual time, materials, and work that went into a piece, not on what a bulk lot cost me. This is upcycled, sustainable alt fashion in the truest form: restored by hand, one piece at a time, and given a second life instead of ending up in a landfill.

♱

So! Before Going to Goodwill…

If you're local to Phoenix and have clothing you were about to toss anyway (torn, stained, doesn't fit, out of style, whatever…), just send it my way instead. ^_^ Relatively clean is all I ask… even better if it's black… But the point is, I'll take it off your hands, and in exchange, you'll get a code for 20% off anything in my shop, so maybe you can buy something you'll actually wear, instead of something that's just taking up too much space in your closet and then doomed to sit in a landfill or sent to another country to become their problem.

DM me on Instagram @gothkittenshop or reach out through the contact form in the menu to set up a drop-off, pick-up, or shipping label.

Not local, or maybe just don't want to hand your clothes to a complete stranger? Fair enough! Just please don't let them end up at Goodwill or Savers — send them somewhere where they'll go directly to someone who needs them.

Don't Want to Give Your Clothes to GothKitten? Here Are Some Organizations That Could Use Them Instead.

There are several places in the Valley and nationally that take clothing donations for women's shelters and people experiencing homelessness:

Phoenix / Valley

• Sojourner Center — domestic violence shelter; accepts up to two bags of women's clothing. Tue 9am–2pm, Thu & Fri 12–4pm. 2330 E Fillmore St, Phoenix. Email donationcenter@sojournercenter.org first to confirm your items are a fit.
• UMOM New Day Centers — stocks the Threads of Hope Clothing Closet for families experiencing homelessness. Mon–Fri 9am–3pm. 3333 E Van Buren St, Phoenix. donationcenter@umom.org / (602) 857-9222.
• Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) — accepts gently used clothing at the Vista Colina Family Shelter in Sunnyslope (1050 W Mountain View Rd). Email info@cassaz.org to arrange a drop-off.
• Dress for Success Arizona — takes current, work-appropriate attire for women rebuilding their careers. 3110 N Central Ave, D-200, Phoenix.

National

• Dress for Success — find your nearest affiliate at dressforsuccess.org; accepts professional attire for women across the country.
• Family Promise — a national network supporting families experiencing homelessness; find a local affiliate at familypromise.org.
• The National Domestic Violence Hotline — 1-800-799-7233 or thehotline.org can connect you to a local shelter that accepts clothing donations, wherever you are.

I'll update this list from time to time to make sure these resources are still accurate and accepting donations. Whatever you do with your old stuff, make sure it goes to someone who could really use it — not in a landfill or to people profiting millions from your memories. 🖤