Garson & Shaw proudly welcomed over 200 guests to the 6th Annual Conference on Textile Reuse and Recycling in Atlanta, GA on May 8, 2015.
This year, our focus was on worldwide Secondhand Trade. We invited graders and retailers from all the “corners” of the world to be our guest speakers. We learned about the current situations in the market with currency issues, political conflicts and wars that have affected the business over the past year. Despite of these issues we still used the headline “Celebrating the World of Secondhand Clothes” because we wanted to illustrate how fantastic this business is and the benefits it brings to both people and the environment.
Kathryn Dirks, from Garson & Shaw in Atlanta presented about The Past, Present, and Future of the Secondhand Clothes Market.
Barry Brummer, joined us from Biltabar, a grading company in Australia, and gave us an introduction to the secondhand clothes business in Australia & Southeast Asia. Mr. Brummer described the industry ‘down-under’, through his experience as an Australian commercial grader.
From Victory Company in Chile, Luis Lifman, discussed the South American market for used clothing, including complex border issues on the continent, and the unique marketing efforts that their family has pioneered.
Scott Blomquist from Team Thrift in the USA shared insights from his thrift store business in North America- the largest
market for used clothing in the world.
We also set a time for exhibitions where our guests were able to explore the company missions of clothing collectors Planet Aid, Usagain, and One World Center. They also learned about the European market with Humana Spain. And, took a walk through the history of secondhand clothes.
