Aggie Reuse Store has seen significant change over the past two years. The zero-expense, open-to-all thrift store, which opened in 2012, relocated from the Silo area to the first floor of the Memorial Union in 2023. Although there is less space, the increased visibility has allowed the store to expand its student outreach and collaborative projects.
鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely getting more foot traffic now,鈥 said Aradhya Chakraborti, second-year point director at the Aggie Reuse Store. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a great way for us to reach more people and run more events, especially with collaborations.鈥
Among the notable partnerships are a collaboration with Yesterday, a thrift store in downtown Davis, and Hope Davis, a student organization helping individuals experiencing homelessness. The Aggie Reuse team is currently working with the Career Center, holding a professional clothing drive that will last until next week.
The Aggie Reuse Store is a completely student-run initiative, with volunteers running the store and organized into sales, marketing, social media, and data analysis teams. Each volunteer team is led by paid members of leadership, who are part of a subsection of ASUCD.
鈥淚 love it here. The community is fantastic, and it鈥檚 amazing to see how much we鈥檙e able to do with the donations we get,鈥 said Chakraborti, who started as a sales volunteer last year. 鈥淚t feels like we鈥檙e making a real impact, and it's great to see how everyone鈥檚 ideas come together to improve the store.鈥
The store is a free resource for students, and items cycle through quickly. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always something for everyone here,鈥 Chakraborti explained. 鈥淏ut things like cute sweaters or trendy pieces get snapped up really quickly. It鈥檚 always interesting to see how quickly some items go, and others stick around a bit longer.鈥
The store is stocked by a variety of donations from the Davis community. A wide variety of clothing and items are accepted, barring some on ripped items, hazardous waste, and undergarments. They even received 240 lightbulbs last year.
To raise awareness, the Aggie Reuse Store plans to host more events outside on the Quad. Future events will include activities like screen printing at Picnic Day. 鈥淲e want everyone to know they can come by and find something cool. And we鈥檇 love for them to donate too!鈥 Chakraborti said.
The Aggie Reuse Store is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is located in room 154 of the Memorial Union.