Charity shop farewell for all our little must-haves that turned into our little never-agains
Our style expert reveals her lockdown wardrobe clearout has inspired a new generation of dedicated followers of fashion
In the long, long hours of lockdown, after the box sets, baking, board games, and even clearing out our wardrobes seemed to have a certain exotic allure.
The hours spent pulling long-forgotten jumpers from long-neglected drawers and filling bin bags with the little must-haves that turned into the little never-agains has led to a bonanza for our charity shops after 67 million items of unwanted clothing were uncovered.
When high street stores reopened for the first time since March, experts anticipated a surge in donations to local causes, with one survey suggesting 49% of people had unwanted clothes waiting to be gifted. And volunteers were not disappointed as bags and boxes began to arrive in droves, with some of the busier stores receiving hundreds of bags a day.
Brenda Walton, area manager for Oxfam’s stores in Glasgow and the west of Scotland, said some shops had been overwhelmed by the volume of clothing, furniture and other household items arriving on their doorstep – and some locations can’t keep up with the donations.
She explained: “The public’s response and support has been absolutely amazing. People have come out in their hundreds.
“Some of our shops have very small back areas, so if a donation of 35 bags comes in – which has been common over the last few days – it can quickly fill the entire space. Plus, we don’t have a lot of volunteers right now, especially as we often rely on students, so it’s created quite a backlog for us.”
She added: “Our Helensburgh shop had separate donations booked last week with 35 bags one day, 23 the next, and 19 more the following day. But those bags have been all shapes and sizes – boxes, rubble sacks, carrier bags and bin bags, so there’s been a lot coming in.
“Some shops are seeing up to 150 bags a week, which is a lot more than usual times.”
According to Givingassistant.org, a rewards platform, online searches for “charity shops near me open today” have increased by 450% in the past 30 days. But with charity shops currently having to quarantine new items for a minimum of 72 hours before they can be sold, Brenda admits it’s been a challenge to find space for extra stock.
“If someone brings along a donation, and we are already stockpiled from floor to ceiling, it’s very rare that we would say no – but it does add to the pressure on our processing services. In some of the smaller shops, the donations are stacked more than halfway up the walls.
“So, we’ve put in place a system called Ring Before You Bring, which encourages donors to phone ahead and book a slot, so we can safely accept the donation and avoid any disappointment.
“Without people’s gifts we couldn’t make money, so we’re really grateful.”
‘ People have come out in their hundreds. The support has been amazing