Cascade Alliance

Five Headline Friday (4/6/18)

It’s Friday and time for some headlines we hope you’ll find useful and inspiring.  This week we’re featuring articles on:

The resale apparel market is set to soar

Thrift clothing has been replacing other apparel in shoppers’ wardrobes, and the trend is expected to continue.  ThredUP, a resale retailer, reports an expectation of 15% annual growth between 2017 and 2022, which significantly outpaces the 2% annual growth it projects for total retail in that same period.

Amazon impact on economy visible in March jobs report

While resale apparel is in growth mode, Market Watch reports that traditional retail is taking hits from Amazon, with jobs hemorrhaging from department stores, warehouse clubs and clothing stores.

Business of Social: Bringing the Entrepreneurial Mindset into Nonprofits

Dallas Startup Week hosted a panel discussion about running nonprofits using for-profit or entrepreneurial business models.

Nurturing the Entrepreneurs Our Inner Cities Need

This article from Governing highlights the importance of investing in local resources and talent, and building inclusive entrepreneurial communities. Ventures that are supported by the culture and local features are more likely to succeed.  The article describes Innovation Village, an innovation business district in Baltimore.

Urban Mining of E-Waste is Becoming More Cost-Effective Than Virgin Mining

We’ve been hearing more about the concept of recycling as the “7th resource”.  This study from Environmental Science and Technology is getting a lot of attention as it reports that “urban mining” of electronic waste is now potentially profitable compared to traditional mining due to technological capability.  (Only the abstract is available outside the paywall.  For more detail on the study, check out this Popular Science summary of it.)