The McCarthy Mercantile offers Syracuse alternatives to fast fashion
Shopping sustainably at Syracuse’s McCarthy Mercantile
Finding solutions to textile waste through local businesses, the downtown ‘anti-mall’ is changing access to unique, sustainable clothing.

Wildflower Armory, a gift shop that houses and sells pieces from local Syracuse artists, moved into the historic McCarthy building in 2019. The founder of Wildflower and the McCarthy Mercantile, Michael John Heagerty, said the mercantile started from Wildflower’s relocation.
“I convinced the owner and developers of the building to latch on to my vision of an independent, underground anti-mall,” (a local shop initiative, to embrace supporting small business) Heagerty said. Today, the McCarthy Mercantile is home to 15 shops and services focusing on sustainability and reusability.
“Every single one of the shops down here is a first-time small business owner who created their brand,” Heagerty said. “If they’re selling vintage and thrift down here, it’s 100% not fast fashion.”
Fast fashion is an accelerated garment production model that allows consumers to cheaply and quickly update their wardrobes, usually to keep up with speedy online trend cycles. In 2021, Shein, a popular fast fashion retailer, added 2,000 to 10,000 new garments to its website per day.
Justin Dwyer, owner of Just Bros Vintage, a curated vintage store located in the McCarthy Mercantile, said that many fast fashion companies use non-renewable resources to make clothes.
“It’s throw-away clothes,” Dwyer said. “People don’t realize that when they see it advertised, and then it ends up in the landfill.”

92 million tons of textile waste is destined for the landfill every year and the decomposition of this waste pollutes air and water. To avoid further waste, alternative fashion systems must be accessed.
Buying vintage, secondhand items is one alternative consumers can use to combat textile waste. These garments are of higher quality than fast fashion pieces. Pre-owned curated coats are worn four times more on average than their fast fashion counterparts, making these items more sustainable for budgets and less wasteful.
Pre-owned garments are the only clothing pieces that Dwyer sells in his vintage store.
A unisex and pop culture vintage selection focuses on times of the ‘80s, ‘90s, and early 2000s. Items are hand-picked from thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales, and antique stores.
“It’s not just an article of clothing,” Dwyer said when talking about the selection of clothing his store offers. “It’s like a wearable art piece because it’s going to last. It did last. It will last, and it’s a statement. You know, you’re wearing a piece of history.”
Dwyer not only credits the longevity of these pieces to their lack of petroleum-based textiles. He also credits a more thoughtful design.
Unique pieces are always available at the store. Including ‘90s T-shirts that have a wider collar on the neck and older Champion sweaters that sport a thick reverse weave.
Dwyer’s garments also relate to pop culture, including racks of Syracuse game-day gear and a vast selection of jerseys, film, and cartoon merchandise. Even selling celebrity-branded T-shirts.
Connection to customers is a huge part of the business for Dwyer, and his items host feelings of nostalgia for many.
“People say like ‘I remember my dad took me to these hockey games,’” Dwyer said. “That’s the best part about owning these things, is having these people tell stories.”

The Cherry Pit is another vintage clothing store in the basement of the McCarthy building.
With almost 3,000 followers on Instagram, the shop has become well-known within the Syracuse vintage community.
The store sells second-hand men’s and women’s wear. Focusing on designs from the ‘60s up to the early 2000s.
Lilyan Minicozzi, one of the co-owners of The Cherry Pit, said that she started thrifting and reselling vintage pieces in high school with her older sister. Grappling with new financial independence, they used thrifting as a cheap alternative to fulfill their interest in fashion.

“We would buy things for ourselves and then just sell them and have this continuous circulating closet situation,” Minicozzi said.
Minicozzi’s sister studied Fashion Design at Syracuse University and co-founded The Cherry Pit in 2021. When Minicozzi herself made her way to Syracuse University to study Industrial Design, she started selling at The Cherry Pit too.
The Cherry Pit also hosts clothing swap events. After paying a small entrance fee, attendees can bring up to 15 items to swap, which are then hung on a rack. Instead of selling items, attendees receive a ticket for each item they contribute to the swap and later use the tickets to purchase items.
There is also a sewing aspect to the swaps. From which attendees can customize their new pieces with different textiles.
Minicozzi said The Cherry Pit tries to host the event during a change of seasons. When people would usually be cleansing their closets.
All of the money collected from clothing swaps is donated to a local charity, “The last few times we did it, it went to the food bank,” Minicozzi said.
“And everyone brings reusable bags. So this is 100%, top to bottom, sustainable,” Heagerty said, stating how efficient the event is for sustainability.
Creating demand for items that have already been made is another way to reduce textile waste.
“I personally think that anything that strengthens a person’s connection to an item strengthens the sustainability of it,” Minicozzi said.“Because they view it as more of a connection to themselves rather than just, like, a disposable plate or a napkin or something like that.”
Dwyer said that he appreciated the work his storefront neighbors, the owners of the Cherry Pit, Rat Girl Vintage, Forget Me Not and Lucky Cow Girl, are putting into their businesses.
“We’re able to contribute to do our part in helping stop textile waste,” Dwyer said.

The McCarthy Mercantile has become a safe, entry-level place for customers to try shopping second-hand.
Heagerty said his goal is not to pressure anyone into feeling like they need to shop sustainably. Instead, he is set on creating a space where you can shop, and hang out.
“Get unique items that you would be spending more money on and throwing away in two years in any other store.”