Retail Dude

After reading the article and surfing the sites as mentioned in article “Thrift Stores” , I came across the term “Give-away Shops“. Give-away Shops also known as freeshops, or free stores are second-hand stores where all goods are free. They are similar to charity shops, only everything is available at no cost. Whether it is a book, a piece of furniture, a garment or a household item, it is all freely given away. They reflect a switch over from scarcity to abundance brought about by increased material wealth due to technological advances. The idea of free goods still carries some stigma, so many people who use these shops are those who are led to them either by need (financially poor, such as students, single parents and the elderly) or by conviction (anti-capitalists). A free store is a temporary market where people exchange goods and services outside of a money-based economy.

I am able to find one pic of the free store —

Inside a free shop in Freiburg, Germany

From the picture you can depict that it is not that bad if you are getting a merchandise absolutely Free

The roots of the “free store” lie in the anarchist movement. Today the idea is kept alive by the new generations of environmentalists who view the idea as an intriguing way to raise awareness about consumer culture and to promote the reuse of commodities.Now the donors are often not motivated by financial need or strictly anti-capitalist conviction, but by a desire to get rid of what would otherwise be garbage without adding it to landfills.

Thus these give-away stores are not only helping society but also result in reuse of commodity which otherwise end up into waste or pollution for environment.

- Prateek Katiyar

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