The establishment of Quad Marketplace, a platform for buying, selling and renting clothes among students at The University of Alabama, is making waves on and off campus within the first few months of opening.  

 CEO and co-founder Ethan Myers alongside Chief Operating Officer and co-founder Walton Cherry, who are both students at the University, started Quad Marketplace with a mission to simplify the experience of finding clothes while promoting values of philanthropy, faith and sustainability.  

 The Quad Marketplace team came together to address a common issue on campus: the anxiety-inducing struggle to find the right outfit for events.  

 “From a guy’s perspective, we don’t understand the societal pressure you [women] all have on campus to look the part for every event. If we can take any of that stress off, we’ve achieved our goal,” Myers said.  

 Eliminating the hassle of scouring Poshmark, Instagram closets and other resale websites, Quad serves as a centralized platform to buy, sell or rent clothing items. All items are listed on the company’s website, where you can easily select the item you would like to buy or rent and pick up from their Tuscaloosa storefront located at 1419 22nd Ave.  

 Cherry said that Quad Marketplace also implements procedures to ensure proper maintenance of quality and condition of clothing items held at their store. Through a partnership with a local dry cleaner, all items are dry-cleaned in between rentals. Additionally, any renter is held responsible for the cost of an item in the event of damage or non-return. 

 Recognizing the influence of sororities on campus, Quad Marketplace started with sorority events in mind and has since expanded its target market. However, their market is not limited to women in Greek life. Chief Marketing Officer Ebbie Stutts explained that any student at the University can buy, sell or rent clothes through Quad, and anyone is allowed to buy clothes.  

Outside of the University, the team shared its plans to eventually expand the Quad to other colleges in the future.  

 The company’s core values are deeply embedded in its mission to create a difference on campus. According to its website, Quad Marketplace claims that “through strategic partnerships with organizations here on campus, and a dedicated focus on mental health awareness, Quad plans to not only raise funds but also champion philanthropy as a core value, fostering a community that actively supports both economic growth and emotional well-being.”  

 The staff expanded on this by excitedly sharing their current plans to partner with sorority philanthropies.  

 Quad has also partnered with Campus Outreach, a local Christian organization on campus, to build on the company’s value of faith and to create more meaningful connections in the community that go beyond transactions.  

 Regarding its value of sustainability, Quad emphasizes its fight against fast fashion by promoting the reuse of higher-end clothing through its business.  

 As of right now, Quad Marketplace is focused on growth rather than profitability.  

 “We’re trying to get as many people signed up to sell as we possibly can, so in terms of profitability we’re really just focused on grow, grow, grow, and we’ll worry about the bottom-line profitability later,” Will Cox, a junior majoring in finance, said.  

 The company’s focus on growth has tremendously paid off, as Quad Marketplace has already gained a substantial following on Instagram. Stutts explained that Quad is constantly looking for ways to expand its reach, and even recently organized a 1,000-follower giveaway to further engage their audience.  

 “When they came to me with this idea, all my friends were like, ‘We thought about that, but we just said that someone should start that, we never actually did it.’ So the fact they were actually doing it and serious about it was so awesome because everyone was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s genius!’” Stutts said. 

 The Quad Marketplace team was beyond excited to share their mission with UA students and to finally address the need for a simplified fashion experience.  

 “Quad is as if Instagram closets met Poshmark and Rent the Runway. We basically simplified the process of buying, selling and renting clothes amongst students here at UA and just made that process as easy as possible for them,” Myers said.  

 Quad is redefining how students think about style, philanthropy and sustainability, and is positioned to leave a lasting impression on campuses everywhere with its distinct blend of convenience and values.