The Clark Community Thrift Store has done its part to increase Clark’s sustainability dollars. Since opening in late August 2010, the store has made approximately $13,400 in sales after only about seven months of operation (the store was closed in January).”

Although the store did not keep track of inventory value or donation volume, managers Alexa Lightner ’11 and Rachel Gerber ’11 “guesstimate” that they have received  approx. 450 bags of donated items and about 20 pieces of furniture and appliances. Estimating the inventory value is not possible due to the variety of goods received, according to Clark Sustainability Coordinator Jenny isler.

“However, for the purposes of sustainability, we look at volume diverted from the waste stream ― in other words, what did NOT end up in a landfill because of the Clark Community Thrift Store,” Isler said. “We can estimate 30 pounds per bag, because that’s about what one person can carry and about what a bag will hold. So, we can confidently say that we have taken 13,500 pounds — or nearly 7 tons — out of the direct waste stream!”

Isler added that this figure does not include the “multiplier effect,” or what volume of waste did not happen because all those items did not have to be produced from scratch. “Multiplier effects are usually two to three times higher due to all the steps in the production supply chain: packaging, transportation, distribution, handling, retail operations,” she explained.

Isler also suggested that in the future, the store managers may be able to keep ongoing records of volume received and retail value versus sales, which would show how much money customers, including the members of the surrounding community, have saved to put toward the purchase of other things, like food and shelter.

Lightner and Gerber hatched the idea for the thrift store as the capstone project of an entrepreneurship class they shared. They earned $3,000 in seed money by submitting the winning proposal in the U-Reka Big Idea Contest sponsored by Clark’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship program, and their business plan got the blessing from the administration. The University owns the building, and is allowing the students to use it rent-free.

The store’s profits are donated to the Clark University Sustainability Initiative.

The Clark Community Thrift Store is open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.