THRIFTED hosted its first $25 and under flea market to make sustainable shopping accessible and affordable for all.
This is a new club at the University of Maryland, dedicated to bringing affordable and sustainable clothing to campus. The flea market was held in McKeldin Mall on Feb. 27 and was the club’s first event. The market featured around 30 vendors, students and local businesses.
“I know how it is to be a broke college student,” said Dante Adenuga, THRIFTED events coordinator. “The whole purpose of THRIFTED is to get people into fashion in an affordable way.”
As thrifting has become more popular and trending on social media, prices have risen due to the increased demand for high quality vintage items.
According to Adenuga, THRIFTED’s goal is to preserve the environmental benefits of buying second-hand clothing without the typical price gouging that would come with it.
“I just stumbled upon this market and it instantly made my day,” said sophomore psychology major McKenna Turner. “I loved this event, prices were great, music playing, it’s a nice day out and it’s perfect.”
The flea market primarily featured student vendors, giving them an opportunity to share their crafts or sell clothing that they may no longer want.
Among those sellers were Abigail Stallworth and Amina Abdul Kader, who hosted their booth at the flea market together. They agreed that spending only $5 to have a spot to sell at the flea market was a great opportunity for them to make a profit from selling their clothing.
“Its accessible for everyone, because we’re all college students and this is a great alternative to buying overpriced clothes online,” Stallworth said.
Paulina Calderon, club President and founder of THRIFTED, said she created the club to promote sustainable fashion and student businesses while also educating people about the environmental impacts of fast fashion.
Calderon’s goal is for the club to have at least one flea market a month, and they will continue to feature local businesses and student vendors.
“I hope that people learn that they don’t have to buy off Amazon or Shein,” Calderon said. “I hope that they come to these events and they realize that buying sustainably is fun, it’s affordable and they can also get involved very easily.”