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Redo, Renew, Repurpose event shares products and techniques
By Wendy Chappell-Dick
Manager of Bluffton Ten Thousand Villages
“What a nice dress you have on today.”
“Thank you! I got it at the Et Cetera Shop.”
This declaration is heard often in Bluffton, where purchases at our beloved thrift store are a thing of which to be proud, not embarrassed. This kind of cultural shift is essential as we make changes to protect our environment. Most changes aren’t easy. The triumph of the Et Cetera Shop is that shoppers come, not out of duty, but out of need, curiosity, and just plain fun. Bluffton, a little village in Northwest Ohio, has many people intent on reducing waste, recycling and, more importantly, by re-using what would have been trash. This wide-spread mindset is the result of a fifty-year community effort involving three stores and over one hundred volunteers.
The Et Cetera Shop has been re-selling gently used books, household items, electronics, bedding and clothing ever since it was founded in a small storefront on Main Street. It has expanded to become three separate stores: a thrift shop, a used bookstore called Book Reviews, and a Fair Trade gift boutique called Ten Thousand Villages, which sells many recycled items from around the world. This expansion has been possible only with the enthusiastic support of churches and willing helpers along the way.
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