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At Goodfair (disclosure: I run Product & Eng), we are based out of the used clothing capital of America -- Port of Houston, TX. It's our mission to rescue thes

At Goodfair (disclosure: I run Product & Eng), we are based out of the used clothing capital of America -- Port of Houston, TX. It's our mission to rescue these clothes from being sold to international distributors / before they leave our shores, and sell them in thrift/vintage bundles. Our model is a bit unique. We purchase the same 100lb and 500lb bales the international distributors do. We have a team that processes the bales, categorizes the clothes, and then merch/list them in a marketable and fun way on the site. Textile waste is the 2nd largest polluter behind oil & gas. If we can help create a culture of buying second-hand first, we think there's a massive opportunity to put a dent in climate change. We just got some of our first press yesterday. :) https://www.houstonchronicle.com/techburger/amp/Houston-dressed-for-success-as-used-clothing-15770845.php https://www.houstonchronicle.com/techburger/amp/Houston-dres... tl;dr WE WILL TAKE ALL YOUR CLOTHES. :)

elindbe2 6y ago
Curious what percentage of the clothes you buy actually sell? Anyways, nice website, I might try it out next time I'm looking for clothes.
- Scoundreller 6y ago
  > Curious what percentage of the clothes you buy actually sell I mean, I guess if it doesn’t sell, they just bale it up again and off it goes to its original destination. Their only cost is the initial sifting and warehousing. And even then, they might be able to sell their pre-sifted inventory at higher prices baled-up for export. Books aren’t too different: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/23/business/23shortcuts.html https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/23/business/23shortcuts.html
  - elindbe2 6y ago
    That doesn't answer the question though, which was what percentage of clothes actually sell. I wasn't asking what happens if the clothes don't sell.
marktangotango 6y ago
How much do these bales cost usually? How would an individual buy them? I've visited one of the "ropa" stores in south Texas, the ones where they have massive piles of clothes you literally climb over to dig through, it was a real surprise those exist!
- gumby 6y ago
  > it was a real surprise those exist! There used to be a store like that in Cambridge next to MIT where real estate was essentially free. We used to go to one where you just filed a plastic bag; the bag was weighed and you paid $1/lb. Great for parties and amazing finds.
  - sbrother 6y ago
    Oh, I remember doing this - the Garment District? Looks like they are still around.
    - gumby 6y ago
      Oh yeah, that was their real name! I couldn’t remember as we always called it “dollar a pound”
      - Arete314159 6y ago
        The Garment District is the part upstairs that has cute vintage / upcycled ... Dollar a Pound is below.
    - blackearl 6y ago
      No clue how they're handling post-covid but before they were still doing clothes by the pound as usual
  - Arete314159 6y ago
    It was literally called Dollar a Pound and it's where I got all my clothes as a teenager.
DeepYogurt 6y ago
> tl;dr WE WILL TAKE ALL YOUR CLOTHES. :) Tell me more. Can I mail you a box?
- singhkays 6y ago
  +1. I've been dropping my used clothes in donation boxes but would love to know more and how I can contribute to sustainable causes.
  - ComputerGuru 6y ago
    They're not even a non-profit. I'm sure there are much deserving places to give your clothes to.
  - fibbery 6y ago
    Buy nothing group in your area!
- ryanmerket 6y ago
  We're rolling out donations >> Goodfair soon. That's a large logistical step, but we're well on our way!
ineedasername 6y ago
When they are sold to international distributors instead, do they still make it to end users? Or do they land in some sort of recycling process for feed stock back into raw materials for new clothing? I ask because, as much as I think US consumers can benefit from them, my greater concern is that they simply don't go to waste. Either way, it's the first I've heard of your service, and it sounds fantastic. How do I get you my old clothes? Or is it aggregated and sold on to you through the network of goodwill stores and other thrift shops? This is the sort of problem I love to hear being solved by tech & advanced logistics, rather than the latest startup that hopes to catch a piece of the advertising pie.
- seanalexander 6y ago
  The clothes end up in third world countries where they are sold, hurting local industries.
  - humaniania 6y ago
    Developing countries, not third world, that term is offensive. Those clothes allow people to open their own small business fashion boutiques which creates jobs. They lower prices and give consumers more choice. They do take away business from giant clothing brand companies that exploit labor in developing countries. What local industries does it hurt?
    - EL_Loco 6y ago
      > that term is offensive. Sorry, but 'third world' is really only offensive to people from first world countries who find the term 'third world' offensive. Oh, and it might also be offensive to people in developing countries who can afford developed countries' lifestyles. I may not agree with the usage either, but that's what I see all around the third world countries that I've been to, and the one where I have lived since I was born. No one really cares, and no one is offended (except see previous paragraph).
      - wayoutthere 6y ago
nickthemagicman 6y ago
This is a great idea! When I walk into goodwill it's a tsunami of clothing that I have to go through to look for a diamond. If there was an already curated site I would use that.
jimkri 6y ago
Thanks for posting, really interesting to read that process. Just went on the site and ordered some clothes!
ExcilSploft 6y ago
Very interested in this company fyi in the "more to explore" section in https://goodfair.com/pages/about-us https://goodfair.com/pages/about-us the three images are deceptively not linking to anything like the middle one says "our amazing blog" and is not a link. Not trying to nitpick but just something I noticed.
hamolton 6y ago
Do you have plans to address the criticisms you've had on Youtube and Reddit comments? It sounds like a lot of people have been unhappy with quality of service given the prices (esp. if you get low quantities), citing the dirtiness/wrinkles of clothes received (you don't wash them on purpose I guess), how there seems to be a lot of clothes that are beat up or faded compared to what you'd get at a thrift store, how you don't have controls over the brightness and vibrancy colors you get, and there seems to be little adherence to the requests customers put in text box.
- Animats 6y ago
  I'm amazed the business model works. The shipping and handling may cost more than the contents.
- chance_state 6y ago
  > Do you have plans to address the criticisms you've had on Youtube and Reddit comments? Isn't this just an advertising platform? Why would we address criticisms here?
  - phaus 6y ago
    When people notice an influential employee that works at a company is active in a community, that presents them with an opportunity to talk to a living breathing person that might actually respond to questions that they feel have been ignored by official channels. People ask questions like this all the time. Unfortunately, sometimes its the only way to get someone at a company to actually help you.
- bzb6 6y ago
  Using used clothes sounds icky enough, I don’t want to imagine if they were sweaty when you bought them I can imagine the kind of people who buy used clothes
  - imustbeevil 6y ago
    It's hard to find the right words for this, but I would sincerely reevaluate your perspective. A surprising number of people thrift / buy used clothes. Between thrift stores and consignment shops, more people shop there than Department stores (30% vs 21%). https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/thrift-store-day.html https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/thrift-store-day.htm... It's currently popular among younger people as a push against "fast fashion". People want clothes that are unique and affordable, and their only options are thrift stores or color blocks from Uniqlo. This is the "kind of person" who buys used clothes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nihjDIczdCA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nihjDIczdCA

elindbe2 6y ago

Curious what percentage of the clothes you buy actually sell? Anyways, nice website, I might try it out next time I'm looking for clothes.

Scoundreller 6y ago
> Curious what percentage of the clothes you buy actually sell I mean, I guess if it doesn’t sell, they just bale it up again and off it goes to its original destination. Their only cost is the initial sifting and warehousing. And even then, they might be able to sell their pre-sifted inventory at higher prices baled-up for export. Books aren’t too different: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/23/business/23shortcuts.html https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/23/business/23shortcuts.html
- elindbe2 6y ago
  That doesn't answer the question though, which was what percentage of clothes actually sell. I wasn't asking what happens if the clothes don't sell.

marktangotango 6y ago

How much do these bales cost usually? How would an individual buy them? I've visited one of the "ropa" stores in south Texas, the ones where they have massive piles of clothes you literally climb over to dig through, it was a real surprise those exist!

gumby 6y ago
> it was a real surprise those exist! There used to be a store like that in Cambridge next to MIT where real estate was essentially free. We used to go to one where you just filed a plastic bag; the bag was weighed and you paid $1/lb. Great for parties and amazing finds.
- sbrother 6y ago
  Oh, I remember doing this - the Garment District? Looks like they are still around.
  - gumby 6y ago
    Oh yeah, that was their real name! I couldn’t remember as we always called it “dollar a pound”
    - Arete314159 6y ago
      The Garment District is the part upstairs that has cute vintage / upcycled ... Dollar a Pound is below.
  - blackearl 6y ago
    No clue how they're handling post-covid but before they were still doing clothes by the pound as usual
- Arete314159 6y ago
  It was literally called Dollar a Pound and it's where I got all my clothes as a teenager.

DeepYogurt 6y ago

> tl;dr WE WILL TAKE ALL YOUR CLOTHES. :) Tell me more. Can I mail you a box?

singhkays 6y ago
+1. I've been dropping my used clothes in donation boxes but would love to know more and how I can contribute to sustainable causes.
- ComputerGuru 6y ago
  They're not even a non-profit. I'm sure there are much deserving places to give your clothes to.
- fibbery 6y ago
  Buy nothing group in your area!
ryanmerket 6y ago
We're rolling out donations >> Goodfair soon. That's a large logistical step, but we're well on our way!

ineedasername 6y ago

When they are sold to international distributors instead, do they still make it to end users? Or do they land in some sort of recycling process for feed stock back into raw materials for new clothing? I ask because, as much as I think US consumers can benefit from them, my greater concern is that they simply don't go to waste. Either way, it's the first I've heard of your service, and it sounds fantastic. How do I get you my old clothes? Or is it aggregated and sold on to you through the network of goodwill stores and other thrift shops? This is the sort of problem I love to hear being solved by tech & advanced logistics, rather than the latest startup that hopes to catch a piece of the advertising pie.

seanalexander 6y ago
The clothes end up in third world countries where they are sold, hurting local industries.
- humaniania 6y ago
  Developing countries, not third world, that term is offensive. Those clothes allow people to open their own small business fashion boutiques which creates jobs. They lower prices and give consumers more choice. They do take away business from giant clothing brand companies that exploit labor in developing countries. What local industries does it hurt?
  - EL_Loco 6y ago
    > that term is offensive. Sorry, but 'third world' is really only offensive to people from first world countries who find the term 'third world' offensive. Oh, and it might also be offensive to people in developing countries who can afford developed countries' lifestyles. I may not agree with the usage either, but that's what I see all around the third world countries that I've been to, and the one where I have lived since I was born. No one really cares, and no one is offended (except see previous paragraph).
    - wayoutthere 6y ago

nickthemagicman 6y ago

This is a great idea! When I walk into goodwill it's a tsunami of clothing that I have to go through to look for a diamond. If there was an already curated site I would use that.

jimkri 6y ago

Thanks for posting, really interesting to read that process. Just went on the site and ordered some clothes!

ExcilSploft 6y ago

Very interested in this company fyi in the "more to explore" section in https://goodfair.com/pages/about-us https://goodfair.com/pages/about-us the three images are deceptively not linking to anything like the middle one says "our amazing blog" and is not a link. Not trying to nitpick but just something I noticed.

hamolton 6y ago

Do you have plans to address the criticisms you've had on Youtube and Reddit comments? It sounds like a lot of people have been unhappy with quality of service given the prices (esp. if you get low quantities), citing the dirtiness/wrinkles of clothes received (you don't wash them on purpose I guess), how there seems to be a lot of clothes that are beat up or faded compared to what you'd get at a thrift store, how you don't have controls over the brightness and vibrancy colors you get, and there seems to be little adherence to the requests customers put in text box.

Animats 6y ago
I'm amazed the business model works. The shipping and handling may cost more than the contents.
chance_state 6y ago
> Do you have plans to address the criticisms you've had on Youtube and Reddit comments? Isn't this just an advertising platform? Why would we address criticisms here?
- phaus 6y ago
  When people notice an influential employee that works at a company is active in a community, that presents them with an opportunity to talk to a living breathing person that might actually respond to questions that they feel have been ignored by official channels. People ask questions like this all the time. Unfortunately, sometimes its the only way to get someone at a company to actually help you.
bzb6 6y ago
Using used clothes sounds icky enough, I don’t want to imagine if they were sweaty when you bought them I can imagine the kind of people who buy used clothes
- imustbeevil 6y ago
  It's hard to find the right words for this, but I would sincerely reevaluate your perspective. A surprising number of people thrift / buy used clothes. Between thrift stores and consignment shops, more people shop there than Department stores (30% vs 21%). https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/thrift-store-day.html https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/thrift-store-day.htm... It's currently popular among younger people as a push against "fast fashion". People want clothes that are unique and affordable, and their only options are thrift stores or color blocks from Uniqlo. This is the "kind of person" who buys used clothes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nihjDIczdCA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nihjDIczdCA