The History of Thrift Stores舊物商店發展史

盧睿　賀鶯/譯

The thrift shop1， which in the United Kingdom people call the “charity shop” and， in other places around the world， the “opportunity shop，” is a sales location for used goods of all kinds， including apparel， furniture， music， electronic equipment， and general merchandise.

thrift shop（舊物商店，直譯：節儉商店），在英國稱為charity shop（直譯：慈善商店），在世界其他地區也有opportunity shop（直譯：機會商店）的叫法，是銷售服裝、家具、唱片、電子設備、日用百貨等各類二手商品的場所。

These stores are often run by non-profit agencies that accept donations of serviceable items and then sell them to the public at inexpensive prices.

此類店鋪多由非營利性機構經營，接受捐贈的可用物品，再以低價轉售給公眾。

Where did the idea come from？

點子從何而來？

An easy mistake to make is to assume that thrift stores were a purely benevolent outreach2 of Christian mission groups in the late 19th century. After all， the Salvation Army3 started collecting donations for its original stores in 1897 with its “salvage brigade，” which allowed that group to provide food and housing for the homeless men who pushed carts through the street soliciting cast-off goods.

人們容易將舊物商店誤認為是19世紀晚期基督教傳教團體的一種純粹慈善服務。畢竟，救世軍在1897年就開始通過 “救物隊”為其最早的慈善商店募集捐贈——無家可歸者推著小車走街串巷收集廢棄舊物，以此換取食宿。

Methodist outreach workers started what is now Goodwill4 in Boston in 1902， not only collecting second-hand goods but providing unemployed workers for area residents who needed cheap labor.

1902年，循道宗教派的社區工作者在波士頓創辦了現在的善意實業國際，不但收集二手物品，而且為需要廉價勞動力的當地居民提供失業工人。

As benevolent as these missions may have seemed， they were actually a response to another phenomenon that Christian leaders observed.

這些看起來像是做慈善的活動其實是基督教領袖們對所觀察到的另一種現象的回應。

New immigrants to America， especially European Jews， had trouble finding employment. To earn money， they pushed carts through major cities streets， collecting and selling second-hand goods. Though they were scorned for this behavior， these new citizens also made good money.

新到美國的移民，特別是來自歐洲的猶太移民，很難找到工作。為了賺錢，他們推著小車在各大城市走街串巷收售舊物。雖說這些新公民為此遭人白眼，但也確實賺了不少錢。

Thus， when Christian leaders began to emulate this behavior， they did so to make money. These funds were raised to underwrite5 their mission work. Still， assuming that thrift stores were an outreach effort to the poor is backward. In America， these stores began as an effort to raise money—that could then be used to assist those living in poverty.

所以說，基督教領袖們開始效仿這種行為時是為了賺錢，以此籌措資金來支撐其傳教活動。即便如此，認為舊物商店是向窮人提供援助的看法倒果為因。在美國，開辦這些商店的初衷是籌錢，然后再用這些錢來幫助窮人。

Its interesting to note that the social conditions which prompted the rise of thrift stores around the beginning of the 20th century parallel many of the social conditions that exist today.

值得注意的是，促使舊物商店在20世紀初興起的社會條件與當今的社會條件有不少相似之處。

Then， as now， new technology had transformed economies around the world; transportation advances made it possible for people to move around the globe faster than ever before; international hostilities and changing borders resulted in waves of immigrants coming to America—and not always receiving the warmest welcome. Then， as now， the thrift store is an adaptable， viable， environmentally sustainable response to many human needs.

當時和現在一樣，新技術徹底改變了世界各地的經濟狀況；交通運輸的發展使人們能夠以前所未有的速度在全球范圍內活動；國際敵對行動和邊界變化致使一撥又一撥的移民來到美國，但他們并不總是受到最熱烈的歡迎。當時和現在一樣，舊物商店回應了眾多的人類需求，其適應性強，可行性高，還具有環境可持續性。

What was the first？

早期舊物商店

Second-hand clothing bazaars6 were common as far back as Elizabethan England7. The first organization one might genuinely consider a “charity shop” was the Wolverhampton Society for the Blind in Staffordshire， England. Citizens donated used goods for sale， with the proceeds going to provide for the visually impaired.

早在伊麗莎白時代的英國，二手服裝義賣就已經司空見慣。第一個真正被視作 “舊物商店”的機構是英國斯塔福德郡的伍爾弗漢普頓盲人協會。市民捐贈舊物出售，所得善款用于資助視障人士。

As noted， the Salvation Army began its thrift shop work in 1897. So effective were these shops that by 1929， half of the organizations income came from its thrift shop sales. Goodwill， which started its thrift shops seven years later， had a fleet of 1000 trucks by the 1920s. The organization gladly came to the homes of donors to pick up second-hand goods.

如前所述，救世軍于1897年開始經營舊物商店。這些店鋪生意紅火，到1929年，該組織一半的收入都來自其舊物店銷售額。七年后，善意實業國際也開始經營舊物店生意，到20世紀20年代就已有了一支千輛規模的卡車車隊。該組織愿意上門接收捐贈的舊物。

Oxfam8， a prominent charity supported by its charity store network， began its work in 1947 in Oxford， England. The organization， particularly known for its specialty bookstores， now has more than 700 outlets in England alone.

樂施會是由旗下舊物商店網絡支持的著名慈善組織，于1947年在英國牛津郡開辦第一家店。該組織尤以圖書專營店聞名，目前僅在英國就有700多家分店。

Consignment shops began to take hold in the 1950s as new synthetic fabrics created a demand for new fabrics and， simultaneously， created mountains of unwanted， used clothing. These stores gave consumers the ability to afford the latest fashion trends as second-hand goods at substantially reduced prices.

20世紀50年代，新型合成織物的出現催生了對新面料的需求，同時也造成廢舊衣物堆積如山，寄賣店由此興盛起來。寄賣店的二手衣物折扣很低，也有不少時尚款式，讓消費者得以追得起最新潮流。

When did thrifting become popular？

二手購物盛行始于何時？

In a sense， this is a trick question. Thrift shops were an idea whose time had come in the 1890s following the mass production of clothing made possible by the industrial revolution. Following the thrift stores birth， any number of historical developments only furthered the popularity of this type of shopping.

從某種意義上來說，這是個很難回答的問題。19世紀90年代，工業革命使得服裝批量生產成為可能，舊物商店的點子應運而生。這種購物方式誕生后，歷史上的諸多發展都令其越來越受歡迎。

The extreme economic hardships of the stock market crash during the Great Depression （and then the Great Recession 80 years later）， the lack of raw materials during World Wars I and II， the abundance of new technology and rapidly changing merchandise beginning in the 1950s with the expansion of department stores have all played a role in expanding the need for and the reach of thrift shops.

“大蕭條”（以及80年后的“大衰退”）時期，股市崩盤導致嚴重經濟困難；兩次世界大戰期間，原材料匱乏；20世紀50年代起，新興技術風起云涌，商品快速迭代，百貨公司隨之發展起來——凡此種種，均促使對舊物商店的需求增加，擴大了舊物商店的影響。

Later， the fast fashion industry began to produce goods cheaper and with a higher environmental and ethical cost. Thrift stores countered this trend， creating a real alternative to fast fashions ills. Thrifting， both online and in brick-and-mortar9 shops， has become a major global economic force.

后來，快時尚行業開始生產更低廉的商品，同時也抬高了環境和道德成本。舊物商店反其道而行之，針對快速時尚的弊病，創造了一種真正的替代性解決方案。無論是上網店還是去實體店，淘舊物已成為全球一股重要的經濟力量。

Many consumers might know that eBay and Craigslist10 both debuted online in 1995. Most would not recognize， however， that these were worldwide thrift shops. In the 25 years since online sales of used goods took hold， the movement had exploded. In 2020， the online resale market value accounted for 56.1 billion U.S. dollars. The online market value of resale products in the United States is expected to surpass the offline channel by 2026.

不少消費者或許了解易趣和克雷格分類廣告網站都是在1995年首次亮相互聯網。不過大多數人可能沒注意到它們其實是跨國舊物商店。舊物在線銷售自確立市場地位之后的25年內，其規模已經急劇擴大。2020年，在線轉售商品市值達561億美元。預計到2026年，美國線上轉售商品市值將超過線下。

（譯者單位：寧波大學）

1 thrift shop通過出售捐贈的衣物等募集慈善資金的商店。? 2 outreach外展服務（在服務機構以外的場所提供的社區服務等）。? 3 國際性的教會及慈善組織，參照軍事建制命名其行政架構，以街頭布道和慈善活動、社會服務著稱。

4美國著名慈善機構，英文全稱為Goodwill Industries International。? 5 underwrite承擔經濟責任（包括支付特別費用或損失）。

6 bazaar（英、美等國的）義賣。7指英國伊麗莎白一世女王統治（1558—1603）期間的英國，歷史學家常將這一時期描繪為英國歷史的黃金時代。

8一個國際扶貧發展機構，旨在推動民眾力量，消除貧窮。1942年成立，原名Oxford Committee for Famine Relief，自1965年起，改成以電報地址OXFAM作為名稱。

9 brick-and-mortar（商店等）實體的。brick-and-mortar 與 online 或 virtual 相對，后者指網店。? 10一個網上大型免費分類廣告網站。