If you’ve ever been thrift shopping, you’ve likely hit up Goodwill. There are some great pieces to be found at Goodwill stores, including vintage finds and clothing for your entire family. Shoppers always said that you could get a good deal there but the truth is, the prices at Goodwill have been skyrocketing over the years. Now, you can expect to pay as much as some major retailers just for a single outfit. This is something that an Ohio fashion influencer recently noticed. However, when she commented on the raised prices at Goodwill stores, she never expected the outcome she received.
Mychal Danae (@mychaldanae), an influencer, shared a video on TikTok after she was denied a collaboration with Goodwill. She starts her video by saying, “I got blacklisted by Goodwill for being authentic.” She goes on to say that she has posted finds from Goodwill stores all over her social media. Her support extended to her videos over the years. However, she did have one video where she zoomed in on tags of expensive clothing she found for sale at Goodwill. One was a green dress that they had heavily priced at $30.00, which is quite shocking. She made this video in response to a woman who was crying because she couldn’t afford clothing for her children at a local Goodwill.
Mychal goes on to say that she was shocked by the price of the dress because it was “old, used, and donated for free.” This is especially true because Goodwill is supposed to be making clothing affordable for their community, right? As Mychal went on to say, Goodwill is supposed to use pricing that is beneficial to those in need. They have a mission to help people “afford clothing and goods” and “promote sustainability” so clothing is kept out of landfills. If they’re not doing this, then what’s the point?
It turns out, Mychal was supposed to have an upcoming collaboration with Goodwill. When they saw her video speaking up about their expensive prices, they didn’t like it. They reached out to Mychal and told her that they “became aware” of her TikTok video. They went on to say, “After careful consideration, we’ve decided not to move forward with the collaboration.” Mychal says that she was blacklisted by them because she was being authentic and showing the truth on social media. She also said, “It’s normal to not like every single thing that a brand does.” She went on to say that you can still love a brand and still point out their wrongdoings.
Unfortunately, Goodwill’s track record isn’t great when it comes to looking out for the community like they claim they do. In fact, they have fallen under controversy for not paying workers properly but giving high salaries to executives. One commenter on Mychal’s video pointed out, “Goodwill is corrupt. The CEO is a billionaire who exploits disabled employees.” Another stated, “The average salary for a Goodwill CEO ranges between $700,000-$900,000 a year. That’s their ‘mission.’ They exploit disability laws and pay their employees pennies while they get ALL of their inventory for free.”
Mychal pointed out that Goodwill could have been open and honest after they saw her video. She said that they could have used it as a learning tool to work on prices or be upfront about their pricing and why it is that way. However, they decided to respond the way they did and make it more likely that others won’t shop there. Mychal also stated that she’s interested in less consumerism and more sustainability when it comes to her channel. It’s clear that Goodwill may not stand for the mission that they say they do. They apparently have nothing to say about the fact that people can’t afford to clothe their children when they shop at Goodwill. That says a lot about them, and none of it is positive.
