Two Greater Boston Stores Explore How to Balance Style, Sustainability

In Greater Boston, two secondhand stores are exploring ways to balance offering stylish merchandise with sustainable fashion practices by curating a mix of secondhand and vintage accessories.

Covet and Found Boston focus on selecting popular vintage and classic styles from consignors.

“Trends and style [have] changed so much over the years, where uniqueness is a lot more important, and the best way of finding unique and interesting pieces is through resale,” said Hanadi Hamzeh in a statement shared with Boston.com. Hamzeh founded Covet in 2013 after a year of reselling on eBay.

Covet, a consignment shop with four Boston locations, maintains a 45-day inventory cycle before the consignor can reclaim the item or have the store donate it. She offers a $5 bin sale for one day each month, with proceeds from the sales supporting local charities.

Found Boston, which operates two side-by-side vintage clothing stores in Cambridge's Central Square, focuses on classic styles that retain contemporary relevance. Co-founder Rob Singh opened the store in 2023 after recognizing a gap in the market for a “dedicated vintage” seller when he began hosting the weekly Fenway Flea markets in 2022.

In January, Found began hosting a make-your-own necklace and bracelet charm bar to “add the DIY aspect” to its stores. “A lot of the necklace charms are new,” Singh said in a statement to Boston.com, “but we also carry a good line of vintage charms as well as vintage jewelry.”

Covet also sells jewelry, accessories, and giftable items to attract a broader, trend-conscious customer base.

The popularity of secondhand stores like Covet and Found Boston continues to rise. According to a One Planet Capital report, these stores are set to grow three times faster than the fashion industry can keep up with and are “predicted to outstrip the fast fashion segment by 2030.”

The online thrift store thredUP reported that, in the United States, the secondhand market is set to reach $56 billion this year and $74 billion by 2029. That's an average annual increase of 9%.

For Hamzeh, secondhand shopping's popularity plays on the emotions and the “fun” of the hunt. 

“If you want to shop in person, it's a little bit more of an activity than just going to a regular store [where] you can find the exact stuff online,” she said.