"Thrift Shop" is a song by Seattle-based American rapper Macklemore and his producer Ryan Lewis. It was released as the fifth and final single from their collaborative debut studio album The Heist (2012) on October 8, 2012 and features vocals from Wanz. Despite being released on Macklemore's independent label, with distribution by ADA, the single was met with unexpected commercial success, also a sleeper hit, peaking on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 1 while selling over 2 million copies in total, also reaching number 1 in Canada, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand. The song is the first independently-distributed title to top the Billboard Digital Songs since "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" in February 2010. As well, the song is the second independent song to achieve the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. A music video was released to accompany the song's release. The music video has currently been viewed more than 79 million times on YouTube.

Content[link]

Lyrically, the song portrays Macklemore's interest in purchasing cheap clothing from thrift shops, while disdaining designer labels and popular trends. He claims to enjoy donning "your grandad's clothes", in addition to buying something because "it was 99 cents", regardless of its poor condition at the instance of the purchase.

Track listing[link]

Digital single ^[1]

• Production — Ryan Lewis
• Vocals — Macklemore, Wanz, Brooklyn Grinnell
• Scratches — DV One

Charts and certifications[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Thrift Shop" music video on YouTubefr:Thrift Shop

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This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. Its factual accuracy is disputed. Tagged since July 2010. It is written like a personal reflection or essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Tagged since September 2009.

A charity shop in the UK.

A charity shop, thrift shop, thrift store, hospice shop (U.S., Canada), resale shop (when not meaning consignment shop U.S.) or op shop (Australia/N.Z.) (from "opportunity shop") is a retail establishment run by a charitable organization to raise money.

Charity shops are a type of social enterprise. They usually sell mainly used goods donated by members of the public, and are often staffed by volunteers. Because the items for sale were obtained for free, and business costs are low, the items can be sold at competitive prices. After costs are paid, all remaining income from the sales is used in accord with the organization's stated charitable purpose. Costs include purchase and/or depreciation of fixtures (clothing racks, bookshelves, counters, etc.), operating costs (maintenance, municipal service fees, electricity, telephone, limited advertising) and the building lease or mortgage.

Popularity of charity shops[link]

Charity shops are often popular with people who are frugal. In the United States, shopping at a charity store has become popular enough to earn a slang term: thrifting.

Environmentalists may prefer buying second-hand goods as this uses fewer natural resources and would appear do less damage to the environment than by buying new goods would, in part because the goods are usually collected locally. In addition, reusing second-hand items is a form of recycling, and thus reduces the amount of waste going to landfill sites.

People who oppose sweat shops often purchase second-hand clothing as an alternative to supporting clothing companies with dubious ethical practices.

Second-hand goods are considered to be quite safe. The South Australian Public Health Directorate says that the health risk of buying used clothing is very low. It explains that washing purchased items in hot water is just one of several ways to eliminate the risk of contracting infectious diseases.^[1]

New goods sold at charity shops[link]

Some charity shops, such as the British Heart Foundation, also sell a range of new goods which may be branded to the charity, or have some connection with the cause the charity supports. Oxfam stores, for example, sell fair trade food and crafts. Other stores may sell new Halloween supplies and decorations where old vintage clothes are popular for use as costumes. Some stores specialise in selling books, music, or bridalwear. Charity shops may receive overstock or obsolete goods from local for-profit businesses; the for-profit businesses benefit by taking a tax write-off and clearing unwanted goods from their store instead of throwing the goods out, which is costly.

United Kingdom[link]

Window display in a UK charity shop.

The first Oxfam charity shop in the United Kingdom was established in Broad Street, Oxford, and began trading in December 1947 (although the shop itself did not open until February 1948). Oxfam opened some of the first charity shops.

However, pre-dating this, one of the first Red Cross shops was opened at 17 Old Bond Street, London, as early as 1941. In total, over two hundred “permanent” (for the duration of the war) Red Cross gift shops and about 150 temporary Red Cross shops were opened during the war years. A condition of the shop licence issued by the Board of Trade was that all goods offered for sale were gifts. Purchase for re-sale was forbidden. The entire proceeds from sales had to be passed to the Duke of Gloucester’s Red Cross and St John Fund. Most premises were lent free of rent and in some cases owners also met the costs of heating and lighting.

There is also evidence that the Wolverhampton Society for the Blind (now called the Beacon Centre for the Blind) opened up a shop in Wolverhampton in 1899 to sell goods made by blind people to raise money for the Society.

During World War I, similar fund-raising activities occurred such as a bazaar in Shepherd Market, London, which made £50,000 for the Red Cross.

Oxfam has the largest number of charity shops in the UK with over 700 stores. Many Oxfam shops also sell books, and the organization now operates over 70 specialist Oxfam Bookshops, making them the largest retailer of second-hand books in Britain. Other Oxfam affiliates also have stores, such as Jersey, Germany, Ireland (45 shops in NI/ROI), the Netherlands and Hong Kong.

Other charities with a strong presence on high streets in the UK include YMCA, British Heart Foundation, Barnardos, Cancer Research UK, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Age UK (formerly Age Concern and Help the Aged), Oxfam, Save the Children, Scope and Sue Ryder Care. Many local hospices also operate charity shops to raise funds.

There are over 9,000 charity shops in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Their locations can be found on the Charity Retail Association (CRA) website,^[2] along with information on charity retail, what shops can and can't accept, etc. The CRA is a member organisation for charities which run shops.

British charity shops are mainly staffed by unpaid volunteers, with a paid shop manager. Goods for sale are predominantly from donations - 87% according to the official estimate.^[3] Donations should be taken directly to a charity shop during opening hours, as goods left on the street may be stolen or damaged by passers-by or inclement weather. In expensive areas, donations include a proportion of good quality designer clothing and charity shops in these areas are sought out for cut-price fashions^{[citation needed]}.

'Standard' charity shops sell a mix of clothing, books, music and bric-a-brac (like cutlery and ornaments). Some shops specialise in certain areas, like vintage clothing, furniture, electrical items, or records.

Almost all charity shops sell on their unsold textiles (i.e. unfashionable, stained or damaged fabric) to textile processors. Each charity shop saves an average or 40 tonnes of textiles every year, by selling them in the shop, or passing them on to these textile merchants for recycling or reuse. This grosses to around 363,000 tonnes across all charity shops in the UK; based on 2010 landfill tax value at £48 per tonne, the value of textiles reused or passed for recycling by charity shops in terms of savings in landfill tax is £17,424,000 p.a.^[4]

Gift Aid is a UK tax incentive for individual donors where, subject to a signed declaration being held by the charity, income tax paid on donations can be reclaimed by the charity. Although initially intended only for cash donations, the scheme now (since 2006) allows tax on the income earned by charity shops acting as agent for the donor to be reclaimed.^[5] Sue Ryder Care was the first to 'Gift Aid' its donations with a pioneering new system developed with Eproductive Ltd.

Charity shops in the UK get mandatory 80% relief on business rates on their premises, which is funded by central government (not by local ratepayers) and is one illustration of their support for the charity sector and the role of charity shops in raising funds for charities.^[6] Charities can apply for discretionary relief on the remaining 20%, which is an occasional source of criticism from retailers which have to pay in full.^[7]

Australia[link]

In Australia, major national opportunity shop chains include the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store (trading as Vinnies), the Salvation Army (trading as Salvos), the Red Cross, MS Australia, and the Brotherhood of St. Laurence. Many local charitable organisations, both religious and secular, run opportunity shops. Common among these are missions and animal shelters.

United States & Canada[link]

In the United States, major national thrift shop operators include Arc Thrift Stores, Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Stores, ReStore (see Habitat for Humanity International), Deseret Industries (in the western U.S.), and Value Village (see Savers). Regional operators include Deseret Industries in the western United States, and those run by the Bethesda Lutheran Home in the Upper Midwest. Many local charitable organizations, both religious and secular, operate thrift shops. Common among these are missions, children's homes, homeless shelters, and animal shelters. In addition, some charity shops are operated by churches, and are fundraising venues that support activities including, in some cases, missionary activities in other countries. Several U.S. stores are for-profit, with the charity that collected the goods making money from the wholesale of those items to the store.

In July 2009, a U.S. government report revealed that several lenders were judging their customers' financial status based on where they shopped, and were assuming that those who shopped at thrift stores and other low-cost retailers were struggling financially. In response, the lender were increasing interest rates, lowering their credit limit, or even damaging their overall credit score, which may have caused other credit issuers to further harm the shopper by taking similar actions (universal default), or denying credit applications altogether. Laws were passed by Congress in 2009 to stop issuers from these practices.^[8][9][10]

Thrift stores[link]

Thrift stores are generally owned by a charity but run as an independent business under contract: they are licensed by the charity, which provides the merchandise for sale, and benefits by the sale of these goods directly to the contractor who operates the shop. The shop may then make a profit from this arrangement. In some cases, e.g. 'Savers' and 'Value Village' they pay a small percentage of the profit to the charity. Charities in the US are supported by tax legislation (see 501(c)(3)) but this does not extend to the 'for profit' thrift shop. Unlike directly charity-run shops run by volunteers, thrift shops pay taxes, and must under their contract have employees with proper contracts of employment.^{[citation needed]}

In many countries around the world, not just exclusively in the Third World, second-hand clothing that is initially donated, are resold and is considered a commodity throughout the world. Some countries forbid it as it harms the local textile industry, as it is in the case in the Philippines. In other cases countries increase tariffs to reduce imports. Some countries ban the sale of second-hand clothing because unwashed used clothing is seen as a potential threat of spreading disease. The author of an article, Karen Transberg Hansen, suggested that in Zambia, however, salaula, or the selling of second-hand clothing actually helps the local economy in generating income.^[11] Hansen said the trade provided more jobs (handling, cleaning, repairing, and restyling). It has also provided governments with revenue from tariffs.

See also[link]

• Consignment
• Flea market
• Give-away shop
• Jumble sale
• Surplus store
• Sustainable clothing

References[link]

External links[link]

• Australian OpShop Listing
• Charity Retail Association
• Charity Shop Tourism blog

Ryan Lewis
Ryan Lewis (back) performing with Macklemore (front) at Sasquatch! Music Festival
Background information
Born	(1988-03-25) March 25, 1988 (age 24) Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Origin	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Producer, DJ
Years active	2006–present
Associated acts	Macklemore
Website	rlewis.com

Ryan Lewis (born March 25, 1988) is an American music producer, musician, music video director, photographer, graphic designer, rapper and DJ currently based in Seattle. He is best known for his collaboration with American rapper Macklemore (Ben Haggerty) producing Macklemore & Ryan Lewis — The VS. EP (2009), The Heist (2012) and a handful of other singles. Since the beginning of their collaboration in late 2008, Ryan has produced, recorded, engineered and mixed all of the music, directed music videos ("Same Love", "Thrift Shop", "And We Danced", "Otherside (Remix)"), designed visuals (album art, web design, posters) and DJed the live show.

In a recent mini-documentary, Lewis recalled meeting Macklemore for the first time. "When I met him, it was a really different time. It was less than a year after [2005's] Language of My World had come out. So he had buzz. For me being a young kid, it was very exciting to link with him. The bulk of our original relationship was photo shoots. I became kind of his photographer."^[1]

[edit] The Heist

On October 9, 2012, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis released The Heist. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums, selling 78,000 copies in the first week.^[2] The album also debuted at #1 on iTunes Digital Albums chart.^[3] The duo's album has received more than 1 million plays on SoundCloud, 70 million YouTube views and was accompanied by a sold-out 50-date U.S. and Canadian tour.^[4]

Discography[link]

(All credited to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis)

Studio albums[link]

EPs

Singles[link]

Notes[link]

• A ^ "Wing$" did not enter the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 7 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, which acts as an extension to the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[27]
• B ^ "Same Love" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 25 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which acts as an extension to the Hot 100.^[28]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

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