It's cheap, it's hip, it's got what you want. Younger shoppers turn to Goodwill

Forget your blue-polyester-pantsuit image of Goodwill. The quintessential bastion of the second-chance mercantile has a whole new look, and it''s one aimed at kids just like you.

A recent increase in young, high-school and college-aged shoppers has encouraged the local Goodwill Industries to directly market themselves to young shoppers. Many students buy back-to-school clothes on a tight budget, and Goodwill is proving a haven for style-conscious young adults and teenagers who want to look hip without overheating their credit cards.

"It''s chic to shop at Goodwill now," says Nancy Sawyers, manager of the Goodwill Store on Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey, where the average shopper can pick up two pairs of pants and two shirts for about 20 bucks.

"Young people and Goodwill are a natural combination," says Jay Dravich, director of marketing and development for the local chapter of Goodwill Industries, which includes Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties.

"I see a great many young people rejecting conformity, wanting to express themselves fashionwise in a way that''s comfortable and not corporate-marketed," he says.

Walk into the Monterey and Seaside locations, and it''s hard to miss how seriously the staff takes displaying the wide variety of merchandise. You won''t find piles of discarded clothes on the floor. Rather, clothes of all brands and styles are tidily arranged--usually according to color--on dozens of racks.

In the Broadway Avenue store in Seaside, storefront windows display colorful "Back 2 School" signs and child-size mannequins sporting fashionable jumpers and slacks, as well as lunchboxes, binders, backpacks and books.

Inside, frugal yet fashion-conscious shoppers will find stylish Ellemenno brand chunky clogs for $10, Gloria Vanderbilt black flats for $4.95, a St. John''s Bay suede jacket for $39, and blue jeans from Gap, DKNY, Levi and others for as little as $4.95. Men can find a wool blazer for $9.95 and build an entire suit--suitable for any wedding or funeral you''re called on to attend--for less than 20 bucks.

"We''ve gone way beyond to make sure it''s clean and organized," Sawyers says.

This attention to detail is part of the Goodwill mission, and it''s what separates Goodwill from other second-chance outlets.

"Our stores are handsome, our stores are clean, they''re attractive, they are stores you''d be pleased to shop in," Dravich says. "I don''t know that all the other second-hand stores ever made that kind of decision."

Of course, Goodwill is hoping that advertising to a younger crowd and maintaining clean, well-organized stores will help increase sales and profits, encouraging regular customers to visit more often and recruiting a new generation of thrift-store shoppers.

On a recent Monday, both the Seaside and Monterey Goodwill locations sported a hefty customer turnout among all age groups. Several 20-somethings were perusing the racks and trying on outfits in the stores, but no one consented to an interview. Still, most of those questioned said they shopped at Goodwill often.

While Goodwill hasn''t necessarily started a media blitz aimed at a younger set, Dravich says, "We try to inform the community that we have quality fashion and household items that they can have at an affordable price. Students are just one segment that are interested in that combination."

Not all students are new to the idea of Goodwill, Sawyers says. Students have always shopped at Goodwill, she says, but now young people are advertising that fact and bringing their friends along, too.

A long-time Goodwill customer, Dorian Ellis of Pacific Grove began shopping the stores when she returned to school. Even now, she says, her "primary motivation is to get something to put on my back that I can afford."

Ellis says she bought a jacket at Goodwill for less than $20 that she saw in a department store for around $250. With these deals, she says, "The hardest part is to stay away."

Return shoppers like Ellis have been good to Goodwill. According to information on Goodwill''s Web page, the organization earned $6.7 million in 1995. Sales of donated goods accounted for $5.8 million of that money. The rest came from a combination of fees for services ($575,000), contributions from the Friends of Goodwill ($115,000), and other sources of income ($150,000). The Goodwill Auxiliary volunteers raised $118,000 through a variety of activities that helped finance job training programs.

Goodwill expenses included the collection and sale of donated goods (71 percent), providing professional staff to vocational services (12 percent), administration of the programs (7 percent), housing and occupancy (4 percent), depreciation (4 percent) and community outreach (2 percent).

Many people who make donations assume their clothes, books and furniture are distributed directly to needy individuals and families, not sold to trendy students and bargain hunters. In reality, 99 percent of the textile donations which come to Goodwill are sold to fund the education and job placement programs that are a major part of the organization''s mission.

Dravich says most local funds go toward Goodwill''s job training campus on Fort Ord. Goodwill''s largest facility, it includes a cooking school, hospitality management and computer applications programs, and job placement and training services.

"The average donation finances about three hours of school for students," about 50 percent of whom are physically disabled, Dravich says. People trying to regain financial independence or who are developmentally disabled also find help at Goodwill, he says.

Since the sale of donated items is what sustains Goodwill, it''s lucky that local people are in such a generous mood.

Says Sawyers, "Donations are up tremendously."

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