Whittier Free Store

Whittier Free Store: A Sharing Economy Initiative
The Whittier Free Store — like a consignment shop, but the items are free — accepts donations of unused items in good condition and offer those items to the general public.
A free store looks like a thrift store, but the community-​building nature of a free store leverages access to inventory and volunteers that are untapped by conventional thrift stores.
By sharing instead of shopping, we can increase our community connections and reduce our carbon footprint.
We invite neighbors to enroll as members, for free, to gain access to free goods in a retail location, and to share their unused goods with other neighbors, instead of throwing goods away or paying for storage.
The project’s adjoining Artisan Work Lab (2016) will provide a co-​work studio space, tool library, and business incubator for artisans to disassemble, upcycle, refurbish, reupholster, and repair diverted free store waste materials under the mentorship of professional artists and local retail shop owners.
Instead of relating to people through money, feeling limited by budget, or feeling too overwhelmed to forge connections at random, the sharing economy opens the door to connection and to the experience of abundance.
There is enough for everyone.