Pop-up consignment superstore in Woodbury helps families save money and reduce waste

It’s a consignment superstore — with a mission.

“This is the eco-smart choice to come out here and shop,” declares event coordinator Sue Endle.

Part of the M Health Fairview Sports Center in Woodbury, has been transformed into a secondhand wonderland.

“There’s so much life left in this stuff and I think a lot of people might donate too,” says Danielle Rother, from Vermillion. “But it’s nice as a parent when you’re spending so much on clothes, to get a little bit back from it.”

The four day pop-up is called “Just Between Friends.”

About 100,000 items such as kids clothes, toys and furniture, bought and sold.

“We had three kids, and they were little, and they all wore the same thing,” says Terri Arganbright, of St. Paul Park. “We recycle the clothing, we recycle with nieces and nephews.”

She isn’t alone.

The consignment website “Thread UP” says last year alone, secondhand buying displaced $1-billion in new clothing purchases nationwide.

Their survey says 62% of Gen Z and Millennials look for an item secondhand before buying new — and that includes parents.

“If you think about it, kids grow so fast,” Endle notes. “Especially in these young ages, they’ll go through three sizes in their first year of life.”

But Endle — from Shoreview, says this is about more than saving money amid inflation concerns.

It’s about the environment, too, she says.

  “It is like the almost number one thing that ends up in a landfill,” Endle declares.

The most recent numbers from the Environmental Protection Agency — from 2018 — show more than 11-million tons of discarded clothing ended up in landfills.

The agency says more than 3-million tons were disposed of in incinerators.

“The 500 families that have come out here to sell their items with us are making the great choice,” Endle says. “Instead of really polluting, they bring it here so another family can be blessed and have it as their use.”

She says synthetics, growing ever more popular, degrade slower than organic fabrics like cotton.

And shoppers are taking note.

“There’s wonderful things here,” Rother says. “It would be terrible if they were in a landfill, obviously.”

The event runs Saturday — its final day — from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Endle says foster parents will be able to shop for free.

She adds, all unsold items will be donated to local nonprofits and to about 25 foster parents.

“We love the service that foster families do for our communities,” Endle says. “It’s such an act of service to take in these children and take care of them.”

Helping the planet — one piece of clothing at a time.

Now some shoppers — say they plan to make this an annual purchasing pilgrimage.

“Other families are selling their items and they’re getting money for their families, so instead of it being wasted,” Rother says. “We’re all helping each other, so there’s a kind of community feel to it too, which I really like that.”