AMELIE SEDLACK / FEATURE EDITOR

As the weather warms, Toreros are on the lookout for nice spring clothes, and a sustainable option recently popped up on campus. On Wednesday, April 15, set up in front of Maher, a group of students opened the first Torero Thrift. USD senior Jane Scroggs started this social change project in one of her classes last semester. She, along with Nick Crozat, Bri Gonzalez Labastida and Madi Graham had a vision of sustainability that would include and benefit the USD community.

Toreros rummage through the bins of donated clothes to find their new summer outfits. Amelie Sedlack/The USD Vista

“This project started at the beginning of last semester in a sustainability sociological perspectives class,” Scroggs explained. “When I first came to USD, I noticed a big issue with consumerism and especially during move-out when the dumpsters would just be filled with things in great condition, very reusable and that really bothered me. Our original idea was to establish a permanent on-campus thrift store, at the beginning of last semester, and so we spent that semester in that class doing assignments and talking to stakeholders at the University.”

Torero Thrift allows students to recycle their old clothes. Amelie Sedlack/The USD Vista

This name might sound familiar from a previous sustainable option on campus, now called Eco Exit. Because they were both created with the help of the Changemaker HUB, the founding students collaborated and change the names to distinguish the events. Scroggs also explained the background of the logistics of this on-campus pop-up. Toreros noticed the project’s donation boxes across campus. Scroggs revealed that is how they were able to build up their stock. 

“We put up collection bins in four different housing areas on campus,” Scroggs said. “We put them up the Thursday before spring break and checked them the Tuesday after and they were all full, which was pretty remarkable seeing as a lot of people were gone during that time. That was an initial concern — was collecting enough stock but that has been so easy. Which really goes to show that students have a lot of clothing that they don’t wear anymore or don’t want and they just might not know what to do with it.”The Torero Thrift advertised everything to be under $5 — drawing students in with the low prices.
USD first-year Gizelle Maldonado expressed her love for shopping and that, if Torero Thrift found a permanent spot on campus, she would visit.
“I really like shopping,” Maldonado said. “I heard about it, but I forgot it was happening today and then I passed by and saw it was happening … I like the joy that [shopping] brings me, finding new clothes.”
USD first-year Mia Colmenares heard about the event through Instagram and decided to attend, hoping to find something new at this thrift.
“I go to thrift stores but I never really find anything,” Colmenares admitted. “It’s always like, ‘maybe this time I’ll find something.’”
USD sophomore Charlotte Keady works with the Changemaker HUB and heard about the event through friends. Thrifting is something she enjoys.

“I love thrifting, it’s one of my hobbies,” Keady shared. “I used to do it a lot when I was younger, with my grandma. It’s always been something that I do and I like that it’s cheap and I can get cool clothes that other people might not have and it’s sustainable. It’s better than buying from a big company … I think it would be good to have it as a cycle and keep doing that because I definitely have stuff that I need to get rid of and it’s so easy to put it in a box somewhere. I know people might throw [clothes] out instead, so I feel like actually putting it to use is pretty smart.”Because the stock at the Torero Thrift was all donations from USD students, some students were not able to find what they were looking for.

USD sophomore Sean Quevedo shared his disappointment at not finding any men’s clothes.

“I heard thrifting and I was kind of excited, but when I got here, there just wasn’t any clothes for men, which is kind of sad to see,” Quevedo explained. “I think men are less willing to donate clothes … I wish there was more options on campus for thrifting and I think USD can make that possible.”

Scroggs shared her plans for the future of Torero Thrift at USD.

“We are aiming to do at least two total this semester,” Scroggs said. “Our initial idea was to have a permanent space on campus and obviously space on campus has been an issue. We thought about doing pods outside, like a portable situation, and then ultimately landed this idea as the first stage of the pilot program.”

Since then, Scroggs confirmed that another Torero Thrift is set for May 5 during Torero hours.

Scroggs continued, expressing concern as she and other group members will be graduating, however, she wished the project would continue.

“A challenge is that three of our group members are graduating this semester,” Scroggs said. “I know Dr. Cantzler’s class is set up in a way that students can continue previous projects and so we’re hoping someone can take that on. It has really been so easy once we do the work to execute this.”

Scroggs spoke about the hope this project has given her.

Two USD seniors started Torero Thrift and set it up on April 15 for customers. Amelie Sedlack/The USD Vista