Have you ever wondered how your neighbourhood charity shops such as Cancer Research, Oxfam and various Hospices remain vibrant when large retail chains continue to shut shop and downsize with the growth of e-tailing?
I was keen to understand the economics behind these charity shops and what made them endure. With this in mind I visited my neighbourhood Cancer Research charity shop in Wimbledon and had a conversation with the manager Ms. Lisa Gianadda. According to her, the Cancer Research shops have made more than £3 million in 2018 to date, and over the years the network of charity shops has generated over £107 million. The sole purpose of the charity shop is to generate funding for its cause – in this case to support Cancer research. The simple concept is to resell merchandise donated by people such as clothing, jewellery, furniture, household goods etc., at very reasonable prices giving customers great value. The economics are easy to understand, however there are other aspects, perhaps even more powerful, that makes these little outlets ‘virtuous’.
One of the easiest ways to preserve the environment is to ‘re-cycle’. The charity shops achieve this by re-selling. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 13.1 million tons of textiles are disposed of each year, and only about 15% or ~2 million tons are reused or recycled. Further, it is estimated that almost 50% of the clothes thrown away by people are of good quality. The charity outlets therefore provide the donor an avenue to convert wastefulness to usefulness and for some customers an opportunity to afford the unaffordable.
As explained by Lisa Gianadda, working in the Charity shop is a healing for the soul. For some it is a way to fight Cancer either due to their own battles with the disease or to avail the loss of a loved one to the disease. “Every day you learn from all the interactions you have with those who visit the shop – stories of strength, courage, patience, inspiration and humanness”. The charity shop also provides a safe and friendly environment and a great sense of achievement for those working in it.
Therefore, the growth of the Charity Shops could be attributed to the ‘virtuous circle’ of shopping – good for the Cause, good for the Customer, good for the Donor, good for the Environment and good for the ‘Soul’ of the Charity worker.
