Our History

Our History 

In the spring of 2021, the four co-founders conducted research under the GW Institute for Corporate Responsibility on the sustainable fashion landscape in the U.S. Through the discussion of their research, they realized they all have a passion for sustainable fashion and a drive to make a sustainable impact on campus. In April, POP! was born. The co-founders used the summer to interview students about their shopping habits and learned that there wasn’t an accessible or affordable thrift store near campus. By September, the co-founders brought that thrift store to campus at their first POP!-up at the GW Textile Museum, which attracted over 1,000 attendees. Since then, POP! has hosted nine events with the help of their intern team and campus partners during the school year, including a thrifted runway show and a philanthropy pop-up. They have also released 3 eCommerce drops and plan to launch Core Collections in 2023. 

In addition to the success of the pop-ups, POP! won $26,000 in grants during its first year from entrepreneurial competitions, including the GW New Venture Competition. With this money, POP! formed a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) in the summer of 2022 and plans to magnify their impact by reaching college students across the country.