A new sustainable thrift store, Good Planet Apparel, had its grand opening in Durham on Sept. 2. The shop on 13 Jenkins Way specializes in selling upcycled and pre-loved clothing pieces and even offers personal alteration orders.  

Owner Molly Flagg was inspired to begin upcycling after being gifted a paint set and denim jackets from her sister in 2020 during her time at the University of Rhode Island. Her friends liked what she was doing and would ask her to work on pieces for them. After graduating from URI, she bought her first sewing machine and was taught how to use it by her neighbor. A two-year tailoring apprenticeship motivated her to start her own business. 

After spending some time selling clothes on Etsy and at pop-up shops, like the Boston Women’s Market, and the Brighton Bazaar in Allston, Mass.  Flagg was given the opportunity to move her business into her current location on Jenkins Way by the previous owners of Topanga Canyon and Revolution Retro, two thrift stores that have now transitioned into doing pop-ups. She said she hadn’t planned on opening a store, but it felt like the stars aligned and everything fell into place. 

Flagg described her journey financing for her small business as being a huge learning curve. “I honestly feel like I have learned more in the last two m

onths than I have in my life,” Flagg said in regards to the numbers aspect of her business endeavors. 

The store values affordable and creative sustainability options that don’t damage the environment with over production and harmful chemicals. Flagg said in college she would purchase clothes from cheap fast fashion brands like Shein until she realized that the items that she was purchasing were directly impacting the environment with the toxic waste being dumped. She also warns against greenwashing, which refers to how some companies advertise their products as sustainable despite their materials being harmfully sourced. Her goal now is to offer a way to repair and upcycle pieces that would otherwise end up in a landfill so that they might instead stay in your closet. 

“We used to have two to four seasons in fashion, and now it’s 52 seasons, one every week,” said Flagg. “We’re constantly producing and putting pressure on the consumers to have the next new thing– it’s just going to be a vicious cycle of overproduction, mass production, and I strongly disagree with that,” she said. Her hope for Good Planet Apparel is to stray away from the idea of trends by creating classic style that doesn’t go out of fashion. 

She explained her creative process as being very impulsive; she’ll “just look at something and think what can [she] do to put something over the stains, put something over the ribs, make it so that it’s cool and funky and one of a kind”. An example of her upcycling skills can be seen in

one her favorite pieces, the “Swanket”. She was inspired after buying a few tapestry blankets to make them into a kind of sweater shape. “I just wanted to create some sort of item that would allow the fabric to be used again in a way that is going to be used over and over and over again. And these are super sturdy and long lasting” she said in regards to her Swankets.

“What I want people to understand is that my goal in life is to offer sustainable fashion to people that’s unique, affordable,” said Flagg, “and it’s going to prevent something from ending up in a landfill, whether that be a piece that I upcycled or a piece that I alter for someone, I want to keep it in your closet. If I can do that, I feel like I’m doing my job and reaching my goals, and I think that it’s important for college students to get involved in sustainability, because it’s a huge issue”. 

“I have been super lucky with a supportive family. My mom has been a huge supporter, and has been coming to pop ups with me since I started this, and has been encouraging me to keep going and going and going. And she was a huge help

in opening this. Or my brother has been a huge help. I really couldn’t have done it without them. He did my website, the security system. Now he’s doing my marketing” Flagg told us. Her advice to anyone hoping to start a business of their own is to make sure they have a support system of people in their life, whether it be friends or family, and to be open-minded when taking advice. Even though it is hard sometimes to accept help, “chances are it’s going to help you in the future, even if you just put it on the back burner” she said.

Good Planet Apparel and WUNH will be teaming up on Saturday Oct. 5 from 2-6 p.m. to put on a block party with support from Town Administrator Tom Selig and Administrative Assistant Karen Edwards. The party, which will take place on Jenkins Way, will feature live UNH bands as well as clothing racks from Good Planet Apparel, New Moon and more.