Pitt’s student-run, on-campus thrift store is the University of Thriftsburgh. Thriftsburgh has regular store hours, online sales, and holds an annual Fall Reuse Rummage Sale for clothing, household goods, and furniture as students return to campus.
Open since 2015, Thriftsburgh is a working model of sustainability and encourages students to think about how to reuse and recycle in a whole new light. Buying secondhand clothing reduces textile waste, cuts carbon, and promotes a culture of re-use.
History
Before there was a thrift store on campus, Pitt student organization Free the Planet hosted an annual clothing exchange event called “Swap-a-palooza”. This event happened for several semesters and allowed students to drop off unwanted clothing and leave with something new.
In 2013 and 2014, student projects in the GEOL1333: Sustainability course sought to expand the annual Swap-a-palooza event by establishing a permanent location on campus for students to bring unwanted clothing. An initial 2013 event collected more than 600 items (which were donated to local fire victims) and the store was approved in concept by the Resident Student Association. Again in 2014, the concept was advanced again, with students collecting more than 1,500 student signatures in support of establishing an on-campus thrift store.
During the following semesters, two students from the original group (Anna Greenberg and Paul Heffernan) worked closely with PittServes, student organization Enactus, and the Student Office of Sustainability to plan the store. Greenberg and Heffernan wrote the store mission, budget, logistics plan, student employee positions, and promotional materials. In Fall 2014, Dr. Kathy Humphrey (then Dean of Students) approved Room 111 in the O’Hara Student Center for the “University of Thriftsburgh” on-campus thrift store.
