What Do We Know About Charity Shops?

Charity Shops are upholding the principles of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle but what do we know about them? We asked Lekha Klouda from the Association of Charity Shops to tell us more…

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

GuG – What is a charity shop?

Lekha – Charity shops are largely a British institution. They are retail outlets selling mainly second-hand donated goods to raise funds for their parent charities. Traditionally, charity shops used to occupy unlet or unpopular shops but the majority are now not only permanent, but are often in prime trading locations in high streets and market towns.

GuG – When was the first charity shop opened?

Lekha – In the 19th century the Salvation Army ran second hand clothing shops to provide the urban poor with cheap clothing. However, the first charity shop – set up primarily to raise money for charity – was established in 1947 by Oxfam. Oxfam had been swamped by donations from the public (mostly blankets and clothing) following its appeal for aid to alleviate the post-war situation in Greece. The success of this appeal yielded so many donations that it was decided to set up a shop in Oxford to sell a portion of these and to use the profits to further fund aid in Greece

GuG – How many charity shops are there in the UK?

Lekha – Our current estimate for the number of charity shops in the UK is about 6,500, and there are hundreds in London alone. Charity shops can be found on high streets throughout the country.

GuG – Who works in charity shops?

Lekha – Although there has been an increase in the number of paid staff in recent years, the majority of people working in charity shops are volunteers. There are more than 100,000 volunteers nationwide, and some shops are run entirely by volunteers.

GuG – Why do people shop in charity shops?

Lekha – Many people shop in charity shops because they want to support the activities of the parent charity. Other people shop in charity shops because they like the range of goods available – many charity shops stock clothes, furnishings, crockery, CDs and videos which are no longer available in other stores. Many people visit charity shops to pick up retro clothing in particular. Charity shops are also popular because the prices charged for items are often lower than other shops, even commercial second-hand shops.

GuG – Where do the goods in charity shops come from?

Lekha – More than 90% of the goods sold in charity shops are donated by the public; however, some shops do sell what are termed ‘bought-in’ goods. These are new goods which are bought and sold for profit. Many shops – especially smaller hospice shops – sell only donated goods, but others (such as Oxfam) sell both bought-in and ethically produced ‘fair trade’ goods. However, a shop must sell wholly or mainly donated goods in order to qualify for rates relief.

GuG – What do charity shops sell?

Lekha – Most charity shops sell ladies’, men’s and children’s clothing, books, toys, ornaments, kitchenware, videos, music, computer games, furnishings and bric-a-brac. Some charity shops also sell furniture and some are specialist shops, such as charity bookshops, bridal wear or music shops

GuG – How do charity shops help the environment?

Lekha – Charity shops sell almost wholly second hand goods – a large proportion of which is clothing. Had they not been donated to a charity shop, these items would have been discarded into the domestic waste process and would probably have ended up going to a landfill site. Clothing that cannot be sold is recycled. For many years, charity shops have been promoting reuse of items and passing items on for recycling.
Not only do charity shops recycle donated goods brought to them by members of the public; some charities collect goods door-to-door. 90% of everything sold in UK charity shops is an unwanted item donated by a member of the public.

This Year’s fashion – Next Year’s Rubbish – click here to see why.

Lekha Klouda is the Executive Secretary, Association of Charity Shops - 28/06/04

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