In recent years, buying from second-hand retailers has become increasingly more popular.
In 2018, sales in charity shops in the UK reached £732 million; an increase of approximately £29 million from the previous year. Sales then saw another notable increase of 17.6% in 2019.
To find out more about the increasing popularity of charity shops, I interviewed an employee at the British Heart Foundation, Wimbledon who had worked there full time for 13 years. Willow [not her real name] was clearly very passionate about working in a charity shop and the ethical and environmental good it did globally.
I started by quizzing her on how her shop has been impacted by the increased popularity of the charity sector. “I have more volunteers and employees now than before Covid,” she exclaims “because many have lost their jobs, so they want to get back into work experience.” The industry has been employing an average 36,000 people per year, even throughout the pandemic.
In terms of donations, Willow said, “We get a lot. Only some things are fully reusable, others you must recycle, but saying that things that are recycled don’t go for waste. We weigh them and a company comes in to collect it and we get money for it, so we can never have too many donations.”
According to her on an average day “it is very, very busy, with maybe 200 [people] or more coming into a small shop like this.” However, like many shops in the retail industry, this number has decreased due to the pandemic and the lockdown, as Willow points out; “but before [Covid-19], there were much more than that [200 people]. It was around 300 in a day.”
Although, considering now around 2.14 billion people in the global population shop largely online, the fact that this shop still has a large amount of people shopping there shows the success of the second-hand retail industry in the modern age.
When asked to describe the type of people who come into the store, she immediately replies “Everyone… However, in the past there were no teenage girls coming in and now there are a lot of schoolgirls shopping.”
I asked Willow why she thinks charity shops are so successful and popular and her surprising reply gave a new perspective on the matter. “I’ll tell you one thing,” she said “I would come into a charity shop because there are things I would not find in ordinary shops because all the things you get are from different shops and time periods. That’s why it’s so good to come into a charity shop. Of course, there is an environmental aspect, but I don’t think it’s as strong.” Therefore, do we shop at charity shops for environmental and ethical reasons or because we like the products? And does it really matter why we shop at charity shops, as long as we do?
This reflects what reports have been saying about the impact the environmental crisis, but also globalisation has had on the younger generation. Now they are not only aware that they must save the planet but also, they are yearning for the individuality charity shops have.
Charity shops are going from strength to strength, with their ethical and environmental background, but also the variety of products on offer. This second-hand retail industry is at the forefront of a fashion and consumer revolution which shows no sign of stopping.
