Source: "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo - Official Trailer - Netflix
The hit Netflix series, “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo,” has led to a surge in donations to thrift stores since its debut on New Year’s Day. Some speculate that the de-cluttering trend may pose a threat to fast-fashion and rash purchases in general.
On the show, the Japanese organization expert helps homeowners with overly-cluttered homes put their belongings in better order and in turn bring some peace to their lives. Using the KonMari method, she teaches people to divide their belonging by category, conscientiously dispose of things that don’t “spark joy” and “thank” any items they choose to dispose of.
Ms. Kondos’ best-selling book caused a similar ripple of donations when it was published in the U.S. in 2014, but Netflix’s broader reach has led to countless articles on the boom thrift shops are receiving as well as “Does it spark joy?” memes across social media.
The movement adds to existing sustainability and better-quality trends being championed in food and other sectors. A few articles suggested that the trend could impact fast-fashion with Millennials already focused on “experiences” over “buying stuff” and showing concern over the eco-damage of disposable apparel.
"I really scrutinize an item when I go shopping and I pick it up and I ask myself if it's really going to make me happy or if I really need it," Natalie Taylor, who’s been practicing the KonMari method for three years, told Canada’s CBC News. "I realize just how many things I was buying that I didn't need or wasn't using."
Of course, the trend suggests opportunities elsewhere.
The Container Store attributed its bounce-back to near double-digit comps in January in part to the show’s debut. Said CEO Melissa Reiff last week on her company’s third-quarter conference call, “We just love Marie Kondo and we love the KonMari method because it just fits with right with organization and what we're all about.”
- Could Marie Kondo Slow Down Fast Fashion? – Fortune
- Marie Kondo on Turning Her ‘Life-Changing’ Book Into a Hit Netflix Show – Variety
- KonMari tidying trend 'sparking joy' for followers, thrift shops in Toronto – CBC
- The Marie Kondo Effect Reaches Beacon’s Closet – The New Yorker
- The tidying tide: Marie Kondo effect hits sock drawers and consignment stores – The Washington Post
- The 'Marie Kondo effect' hits Chattanooga as thrift shops see increase in donations – Times Free Press
- Marie Kondo Sparks Joy in Viewers... But Maybe Not Fast Fashion Retailers – Cheddar
- The ‘Marie Kondo Effect’ Comes at a Weird Time for Thrift Stores – CityLab
- The Container Store Third Quarter 2019 – Seeking Alpha
- Is fast-fashion slowing down? – RetailWire