Charity shop

"Thrift shop" and "Op shop" redirect here. For the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis song, seeThrift Shop.For the rock band, seeOpshop.For the television episode, see"The Charity Shop".

Acharity shop(British English),thrift shoporthrift store(American EnglishandCanadian English,also includes for-profit stores such asSavers) oropportunity shoporop-shop(Australian EnglishandNew Zealand English) is aretailestablishment run by acharitable organizationto raise money. Charity shops are a type ofsocial enterprise.They sell mainlyused goodssuch as clothing, books, music albums, shoes, toys, and furniture donated by the public, and are often staffed by volunteers. Because the items for sale were obtained for free, and business costs are low, the items can be sold at competitive prices. After costs are paid, all remaining income from the sales is used in accord with the organization's stated charitable purpose. Costs include purchase and/ordepreciationof fixtures (clothing racks, bookshelves, counters, etc.), operating costs (maintenance, municipal service fees, electricity, heat, telephone, limited advertising) and the buildingleaseormortgage.

Shelves in a thrift store inIndianapolis,Indiana

A charity shop in Sheringham, UK

Terminology

Charity shops may also be referred to asthrift stores(in the United States and Canada),hospice shops,resale shops(a term that in the United States also coversconsignment shops),opportunity(orop)shops(in Australia and New Zealand), andsecond-hands(секонд-хенды) in Russia.

History

One of the earliest known charity shops in the United Kingdom was set up by the Wolverhampton Society for the Blind (now called the Beacon Centre for the Blind) in 1899 to sell goods made by blind people to raise money for the Society.DuringWorld War I,various fund-raising activities occurred, such as a charity bazaar inShepherd Market,London, which made £50,000 for theRed Cross.

However, it was during theSecond World Warthat the charity shop became widespread.Edinburgh University Settlementopened their "Thrift Shop for Everyone" inEdinburghin 1937,the Red Cross opened up its first charity shop at 17Old Bond Street,Londonin 1941. For the duration of the war, over two hundred "permanent" Red Cross gift shops and about 150 temporary Red Cross shops were opened. A condition of the shop licence issued by theBoard of Tradewas that all goods offered for sale were gifts. Purchase for re-sale was forbidden. The entire proceeds from sales had to be passed to the Duke of Gloucester's Red Cross or theSt John Fund.Most premises were lent free of rent and in some cases owners also met the costs of heating and lighting.

The firstOxfamcharity shop in the United Kingdom was established byCecil Jackson-Colein Broad Street,Oxford,and began trading in December 1947.

Popularity

A charity/second-hand shop of theSalvation ArmyinOulu, Finland.

In the early 2010s, shopping at a charity shop became popular enough to earn a name inthe United States:thrifting.Environmentalistsmay prefer buyingsecond-hand goodsas this uses fewernatural resourcesand would usually do less damage to the environment than by buying new goods would, in part because the goods are usually collected locally. In addition, reusing second-hand items is a form ofrecycling,and thus reduces the amount ofwastegoing tolandfillsites. People who opposesweatshopsoften purchasesecond-hand clothingas an alternative to supporting clothing companies with dubious ethical practices. People who desire authenticvintage clothingtypically shop at charity shops since most clothing that is donated is old and/or out of normal fashion (often from a recently deceased person who had not updated their clothing for a long time). ManyYouTubechannels make thrifting videos showcasing fashionable and unusual finds.

Second-hand goods are considered to be quite safe. TheSouth AustralianPublic Health Directorate says that the health risk of buying used clothing is very low. It explains that washing purchased items in hot water is just one of several ways to eliminate the risk of contracting infectious diseases.

Charity shops also tend to be relatively inexpensive which has led to an increase in their popularity during theUnited Kingdom cost of living crisis.Another reason for charity shop popularity is the chance to occasionally find rare or collectible items at these stores.

Sale of new goods

Some charity shops, such asPDSA,also sell a range of new goods which may be branded to the charity, or have some connection with the cause the charity supports.Oxfamstores, for example, sellfair tradefood and crafts. Charity shops may receiveoverstockor obsolete goods from local for-profit businesses; the for-profit businesses benefit by taking a tax write-off andclearing unwanted goodsfrom their store instead of throwing the goods out, which is costly.

Charity shops by region

Australia

Charity shop in Victoria, Australia

In Australia, major national opportunity shop chains include theSt. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store(trading asVinnies) which operate 650 shops across Australia,Anglicare Shops, that currently operate in 19 locations across Sydney and the Illawarra also various locations around Australia, theSalvation Army(trading as Salvos), theRed Cross,MS Research Australia,and theBrotherhood of St. Laurence.Many local charitable organisations, both religious and secular, run opportunity shops. Common among these are missions andanimal shelters.

Canada

TheMennonite Central Committeeoperates 85 thrift stores in Canada and United States. Beginning in 1972, the first MCC Thrift Store opened inAltona, Manitoba.

Denmark

Most of the charity shops in Denmark are operated by eitherThe Danish Red Crossor by Christian organizations. The Danish Red Cross has 250 shops in the country and 10,000 volunteers working in the shops.DanChurchAidhas since 1972 operated charity shops, and currently operates 114 shops.The Blue Cross, founded as a Christian organization,runs 55 charity shops in the country, and focuses mainly on helping alcoholics, addicts and other socially marginalized groups.

A study from 2019 shows that danes on average had spent 5.475 kr. on second-hand items the last 12 months, and that 77% of danes had either shopped or sold second-hand, although the study was not exclusive to charity shops.

Charity shops in Denmark, as of February 2022

Red Cross	Blue Cross	Folkekirkens nødhjælp (DanChurchAid)	Kirkens Korshær (The Church's Army)	Kræftens Bekæmpelse (The Fight of Cancer)
c. 250	55	114	240	15

New Zealand

A large variety of op-shops exist throughout New Zealand. Some are secular and some belong to religious organisations. Charities include St Vincent de Pauls (Vinnies), 60+ shops;The Salvation Army(Sallies), 112+ shops;The Red Cross,53 shops;Opportunity for Animals, 2 shops;TheSPCA,24 shops;Orphan's Aid, 7 shops;and Hospice Shops, 125+ shops.

The term "op-shop" is often used to mean any second-hand shop regardless of its charitable status.

United Kingdom

Window display in a UK charity shop.

Oxfam has the largest number of charity shops in the UK with over 600 shops. Many Oxfam shops also sell books, and the organization now operates over 70 specialistOxfam Bookshops,making them the largest retailer of second-hand books in the United Kingdom. Other Oxfam affiliates also have shops, such asJersey,Germany,Ireland(45 shops in NI/ROI), theNetherlandsandHong Kong.Other charities with a strong presence on high streets in the UK includeThe Children's Society,YMCA,British Heart Foundation,Barnardos,Cancer Research UK,Shelter,Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation,Age UK(formerlyAge ConcernandHelp the Aged),Marie Curie Cancer Care,Norwood,Save the Children,Scope,PDSA,Naomi House Children's HospiceandSue Ryder Care.Many localhospicesalso operate charity shops to raise funds.

There are over 9,000 charity shops in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Their locations can be found on the Charity Retail Association (CRA) website,along with information on charity retail, what shops can and can't accept, etc. The CRA is a member organisation for charities which run shops. British charity shops are mainly staffed by unpaid volunteers, with a paid shop manager. Goods for sale are predominantly from donations – 87% according to the official estimate.Donations should be taken directly to a charity shop during opening hours, as goods left on the street may be stolen or damaged by passers-by or inclement weather. In expensive areas, donations include a proportion of good quality designer clothing and charity shops in these areas are sought out for cut-price fashions.'Standard' charity shops sell a mix of clothing, books, toys, videos, DVDs, music (like CDs, cassette tapes and vinyl) andbric-a-brac(like cutlery and ornaments). Some shops specialise in certain areas, like vintage clothing, furniture, electrical items, or records.

The two largest charity shops in the UK are run by Emmaus. Emmaus Preston store opened in 2016 is on one level and covers 47,000 square feet and Emmaus in Rochdale operate a three floor Department Store since January 2019 which offers the department store feel to the charity store. These stores are run by Emmaus Companions and the money they generate directly benefit the people who work in it. Both stores sell predominantly furniture and white goods but include smaller concessions of clothes, bric-a-brac, books and music.

Almost all charity shops sell on their unsold textiles (i.e. unfashionable, stained or damaged fabric) to textile processors. Each charity shop saves an average of 40 tonnes of textiles every year, by selling them in the shop, or passing them on to these textile merchants for recycling or reuse. This grosses to around 363,000 tonnes across all charity shops in the UK; based on 2010 landfill tax value at £48 per tonne, the value of textiles reused or passed for recycling by charity shops in terms of savings in landfill tax is £17,424,000 p.a.Gift Aidis a UK tax incentive for individual donors where, subject to a signed declaration being held by the charity, income tax paid on donations can be reclaimed by the charity. Although initially intended only for cash donations, the scheme now (since 2006) allows tax on the income earned by charity shops acting as agent for the donor to be reclaimed.

Charity shops in the UK get mandatory 80% relief onbusiness rateson their premises, which is funded by central government (not by local ratepayers) and is one illustration of their support for the charity sector and the role of charity shops in raising funds for charities.Charities can apply for discretionary relief on the remaining 20%, which is an occasional source of criticism from retailers which have to pay in full.

Largest charity retailers

The Charity Shops Survey 2017 revealed the ten largest charity retailers in the UK based on annual income and number of stores.

Charity	Annual Income (£)	Number of Stores
British Heart Foundation	£176.4m	724
Oxfam GB	£92.5m	640
Cancer Research UK	£84.5m	594
Barnardo's	£70.3m	710
Sue Ryder	£55.0m	451
The Salvation Army	£48.0m	230
Age UK	£42.6m	404
British Red Cross	£30.0m	341
Scope	£21.3m	225
Marie Curie	£16.4m	178

United States

Salvation Army Thrift Store, Santa Monica, California USA

In the United States, major national thrift shop operators includeGoodwill Industries,Salvation Army,St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store,and ReStore(operated byHabitat for Humanity).Value Village/Savers,while looking like a thrift store and selling donated goods, is actually a private, for-profit company. Regional operators includeDeseret Industriesin theWestern United States,and those run byAbleLightin theUpper Midwest.Many local charitable organizations, both religious and secular, operate thrift stores. Common among these are missions, children's homes, homeless shelters, and animal shelters. In addition, some thrift stores are operated by churches as fundraising venues that support activities and missionary work.

See also

• Atomic Ed and the Black Hole,a documentary film about a unique secondhand shop
• Auto auction
• Car boot sale
• Consignment
• Fashionphile
• Flea market
• Freeganism
• Give-away shop
• Jumble sale
• Rebag
• Recommerce
• Regift
• Reseller
• Surplus store
• Sustainable clothing
• The Market for Lemons,a book discussing a phenomenon that may make it difficult to maintain quality in markets for certain used goods, such as computers and cars.
• Used good

External links

• Charity Retail Association (UK)