I'd say that's a pretty scary economic indicator. (The video was made a year ago, when it wasn't that bad yet.) I've been buying most clothes from thrift stores for several years, and I've noticed that lately it's been slim pickings:

Non-profit groups across the country say they are hurting from a recession-fueled decline in thrift store donations, and the pain is being passed down to thrifty shoppers, who increasingly rely on second-hand stores to stretch in hard times.

The groups, such as the Salvation Army, rely on thrift shop sales to finance their charitable operations.

"Demand is up, but donations are down," says Major Man-Hee Chang, who is in charge of the Salvation Army's thrift stores and the alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs they finance in 13 Western states.

The most dramatic declines in donations are in regions where the recession has been deepest and most long-lasting, officials of both groups say. Salvation Army donations are off 20% in California and other Western states, says Chang, who is based in the Salvation Army's Long Beach, Calif., regional headquarters.

The South and Mid-Atlantic have also seen declines in clothing and household item donations, says Col. Larry White, who oversees the stores in 15 states from Maryland to Texas. Overall the donations are down 15%, and in central Florida donations are off by 25%, he says. The Salvation Army averages $140 million in total thrift-store sales annually in that region and uses it to operate 24 adult rehabilitation centers, he says.

"It's been a struggle to maintain the sales so we can keep our rehabilitation centers open," White says.