IRIS Opens A Store
With A Mission

At 9 months old, little Jayne Warren was the youngest shopper in ​“Clothes Without Borders.” At one day old, the store itself was even younger than that.

Jayne and her father were among a festive group of shoppers, neighbors, clients, and volunteers at 900 Grand Ave. on Friday night for the grand opening of the thrift store. Owned and operated by Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS), a New Haven not-for-profit that helps to resettle and provide services for refugees, ​“Clothes Without Borders” is a for-profit store with a social mission: first, creating a sustainable income for IRIS while taking advantage of clothing donations from around the state; and, in the future, helping refugees gain valuable job training and retail experience.

The idea for the store started right around the start of the national recession, a moment when most companies hesitated to expand. The staff at IRIS saw opportunity.

They combined their strong volunteer base (every hour put into creating, decorating, and staffing the store thus far has been unpaid) with a whole bunch of donated clothing that their refugees didn’t need. They decorated and painted signs.

They invited three Quinnipiac University freshmen who had committed to a full year of service with IRIS to gussy up some mannequins for the front windows. ​“We actually thought this store could be pretty useful as we were looking through everything,” said Olivia Pietrowicz. They said they might bring their friends back there to go shopping.

That’s exactly the response that the owners want to hear as they try to attract customers. They aim to price their goods below even Goodwill so that visitors will buy both for the low costs and for the benefit of their consciences.

“We said we were going to start our own stimulus package,” said Linda Barone, a third-year member of IRIS’s board. She gestured to the racks of ties and books behind her. ​“And [now] it’s miraculous what they’ve done to the place.”

Their streetmates on Grand Avenue agreed. Erin Wirpsa, the executive director of CitySeed, came to the event with two other employees to welcome the business to town. IRIS Executive Director Chris George ushered them into the door and then yelled, ​“Our neighbors! Everybody say hello to CitySeed!” A round of applause broke out in one of the many shoutouts to the community over the course of the evening.

George greeted everyone personally when they walked in. He also rang up purchases, urged attendees to ​“eat, eat, eat!” from the table of donated food next to the entrance, and advised a shopper on the optimal necklace to pair with her shirt. ​“I come from a family of compulsive thrift store shoppers,” he said in one of his few free moments. ​“And I promise you our prices will be the lowest in the city.”

But his dream extends beyond nickels and dimes. George is reserving one wall of the shop for artwork by and about refugees, and he envisions refugees not only using coupons to shop in his store but also applying to work there.

Refugees like Beatrice Tumba, a New Haven resident who came here from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in December 2009 and now takes English classes at IRIS. ​“I think [job training] here is a good idea,” she said. ​“IRIS helps me with a lot of things.”

George and his team have worked for years to make life easier for Tumba and her fellow refugees. As of Friday, they will also be working to keep the doors open at ​“Clothes Without Borders.” He’s convinced they’re up to the challenge.

“Some say it’s crazy,” George said as he ended his welcome speech. ​“But we’ll succeed.”