Florida State University students Karma Buchanan and Preston Berry have taken note of what they say is one of Gen Z’s biggest problems: overconsumption.
But their newly created thrifting business Reviva is helping to tackle that issue in the fashion world – one garment at a time.
While recent national reports have shown that younger generations are leading the charge when it comes to thrifting − where 83% of Gen Z consumers either bought or were interested in secondhand apparel last year − the student duo has become the latest of Tallahassee’s entryway into the market place as Reviva specifically caters to young individuals to make the thrifting experience easier for their target audience.
“We’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset,” Berry, a 21-year-old Tampa native, told the Tallahassee Democrat as the team of two sat in a room in their not-far-from-campus apartment, which is where they store Reviva inventory. “It’s nice to do something where we’re not only making money on our own but also helping the environment while people get to enjoy clothes at a good price.”
As a couple, the team of two – with both students being marketing majors – established Reviva a few months ago. While Gen Z consumers are prone to purchasing more clothes to keep up with new and reemerging fashion trends, Reviva is a thrifting brand dubbed as “environmentally friendly” since it promotes reusing clothes instead of buying newly created items that add to waste.
Even before Buchanan and Berry met each other, they sold clothes on their own through an app called Depop, which is an online marketplace where users can buy and sell both secondhand and new clothing items.
“Our freshmen year, we both did Depop, then we just started Reviva as we went on,” Buchanan, a 20-year-old New Jersey native, told the Democrat. She and Berry came up with the brand name to symbolize how they’re “reviving” clothes and giving them a second chance to be sold.
With about $100, the students purchased a rack full of apparel from Goodwill bins to get started, and they make a profit by selling some items at a higher cost compared to the well-known thrift store of donated clothes. Buchanan believes it’s important for more individuals to buy thrifted items to help promote sustainability and fight overconsumption, related to the excessive production and purchase of new clothes.
“A lot of big brands like Zara and Shein are really bad for the environment and don’t promote any type of thrifting or reusing, so I would say that’s the biggest difference between Reviva and them,” Berry said. Zara and Shein − globally recognized fast-fashion retailers that are among some of the most popular online stores for Gen Z college students − operate online and offer a wide variety of trendy clothing, accessories, home goods and more.
The prices of Reviva’s items, which are mostly made up of women’s apparel and include both statement and basic pieces such as tops, jackets, bottoms, dresses, bags, belts and footwear, typically range from $5 to $25 while more superior items – like leather jackets – can cost as high as $80.
Since starting, Reviva has had over 1,000 orders, which includes sales made in person as well as through online platforms such as DePop and Shopify. Individuals who shop Reviva usually purchase pieces like crewnecks, bags, jeans, sweatpants and nice jackets, the couple said.
While Reviva purchases can be made online, the couple offered a physical display for the first time Jan. 14, during the university’s Market Wednesday, which is designed to showcase local vendors and student organizations on campus.
Despite the hassle of having to tag items, hang them up, load them into a car and set them up on campus for the appearance, Berry and Buchanan said it was all worth it.
“We were definitely one of the busiest tents, for sure,” Berry said referring to their turnout at Market Wednesday. “We ran a lot of ads, and they did pretty good because a lot of people came up to us saying they saw Reviva all over Instagram and TikTok. We’ll definitely keep doing that.”
Although the students said other thrifting businesses were not present at the Market Wednesday event, some of Tallahassee’s local thrift stores include The Other Side Vintage and Savvy Salvage Thrift at Railroad Square Art District as well as City Walk Urban Mission and Living Harvest.
But although they’re also considered environmentally friendly retailers, Reviva’s clothing selection is curated in a way where the student owners choose pieces that appeal to their age group so that their customers won’t have to look through bins of clothes for long periods of time.
Another marketing strategy Berry and Buchanan have implemented to promote their thrifting brand is a “Reviva Hunt,” which is where they post a clothing item on their social media page, saying that they’ve hidden it somewhere on FSU’s campus. The first person who finds the item is able to keep it free of charge.
“It’s fun for me, and I enjoy it,” Buchanan said. “I would do this for fun on my free time, so it’s nice to do it as a job.”
Berry and Buchanan are hoping to participate in pop-up events at Tallahassee’s Downtown Market as well as Florida A&M University’s Set Friday, and they also hope to grow their social media pages to reach even more individuals. But ultimately, the students said their main goal with Reviva is not just to sell clothes and make money − it’s to spread awareness about how much overconsumption effects the environment.
For more information
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU students help environment with Reviva thrift clothing brand
Reporting by Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
