I also have found a lot of junk in the thrift stores. One reason is that more people are snapping up good stuff to re-sell on Ebay. As far as sending the good stuff to Eastern Europe- Jobbers buy clothing in bulk, at cents on the pound by weight, then re-sell it. One solution is to go to small thrift stores that are not part of a chain, which tend to be overlooked by the entrepreneurs and have small treasures in the junk. At my local thrift store, I found a length of silk fabric which I had assumed was polyester, until I washed it in the machine. Cold water- saw by the response of the weave that it was silk, no harm done.
