Charity shop
Encyclopedia
A charity shop, thrift shop, thrift store, hospice shop (U.S.
, Canada
), resale shop (when not meaning consignment
shop [U.S.]) or op shop (Australia
/N.Z.
) (from "opportunity shop") is a retail
establishment run by a charitable organization
to raise money.
Charity shops are a type of social enterprise
. They usually sell mainly second-hand
goods donated
by members of 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/or depreciation of fixtures (clothing racks, bookshelves, counters, etc.), operating costs (maintenance, municipal service fees, electricity, telephone, limited advertising) and the building lease or mortgage.
. In the United States, shopping at a charity store has become popular enough to earn a slang term: thrifting
.
Environmentalist
s may prefer buying second-hand goods as this uses fewer natural resource
s and would appear 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 of recycling
, and thus reduces the amount of waste
going to landfill
sites.
People who oppose sweat shops often purchase second-hand clothing as an alternative to supporting clothing companies with dubious ethical practices.
Second-hand goods are considered to be quite safe. The South Australia
n Public 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.
, also sell a range of new goods which may be branded to the charity, or have some connection with the cause the charity supports. Oxfam
stores, for example, sell fair trade
food and crafts. Other stores may sell new Halloween
supplies and decorations where old vintage
clothes are popular for use as costume
s. Some stores specialise in selling books, music, or bridalwear. Charity shops may receive overstock or obsolete goods from local for-profit businesses; the for-profit businesses benefit by taking a tax write-off and clearing unwanted goods
from their store instead of throwing the goods out, which is costly.
The first Oxfam
charity shop in the United Kingdom was established in Broad Street, Oxford
, and began trading in December 1947 (although the shop itself did not open until February 1948). Oxfam opened some of the first charity shops.
However, pre-dating this, one of the first Red Cross shops was opened at 17 Old Bond Street, London
, as early as 1941. In total, over two hundred “permanent” (for the duration of the war) Red Cross gift shops and about 150 temporary Red Cross shops were opened during the war years. A condition of the shop licence issued by the Board of Trade was 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 and St John Fund. Most premises were lent free of rent and in some cases owners also met the costs of heating and lighting.
There is also evidence that the Wolverhampton Society for the Blind (now called the Beacon Centre for the Blind) opened up a shop in Wolverhampton in 1899 to sell goods made by blind people to raise money for the Society.
During World War I
, similar fund-raising activities occurred such as a bazaar
in Shepherd Market
, London, which made £50,000 for the Red Cross.
Oxfam has the largest number of charity shops in the UK
with over 700 stores. Many Oxfam shops also sell books, and the organization now operates over 70 specialist Oxfam Bookshops, making them the largest retailer of second-hand books in Britain. Other Oxfam affiliates also have stores, such as Jersey
, Germany
, Ireland
(45 shops in NI/ROI), the Netherlands
and Hong Kong
.
Other charities with a strong presence on high streets in the UK include YMCA
, British Heart Foundation
, Barnardos, Cancer Research UK
, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation
, Age UK (formerly Age Concern
and Help the Aged
), Oxfam
, Save the Children
, Scope
and Sue Ryder Care
. Many local hospices also 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, music and bric-a-brac (like cutlery and ornaments). Some shops specialise in certain areas, like vintage clothing, furniture, electrical items, or records.
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 or 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 Aid
is 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. Sue Ryder Care
was the first to 'Gift Aid
' its donations with a pioneering new system developed with Eproductive Ltd.
Charity shops in the UK get mandatory 80% relief on business rates on 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.
(trading as Vinnies), the Salvation Army
(trading as Salvos), the Red Cross, MS Australia, and the Brotherhood of St. Laurence. Many local charitable organisations, both religious and secular, run opportunity shops. Common among these are missions and animal shelter
s.
, Salvation Army
, St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store
s, ReStore (see Habitat for Humanity International
), Deseret Industries
(in the western U.S.), and Value Village (see Savers
). Regional operators include Deseret Industries
in the western United States
, and those run by the Bethesda Lutheran Home in the Upper Midwest
. Many local charitable organizations, both religious and secular, operate thrift shops. Common among these are missions, children's homes, homeless shelters, and animal shelters. In addition, some charity shops are operated by churches, and are fundraising venues that support activities including, in some cases, missionary activities in other countries. Several U.S. stores are for-profit, with the charity that collected the goods making money from the wholesale
of those items to the store.
In July 2009, a U.S. government report revealed that several lenders were judging their customers' financial status based on where they shopped, and were assuming that those who shopped at thrift stores and other low-cost retailers were struggling financially. In response, the lender were increasing interest rate
s, lowering their credit limit
, or even damaging their overall credit score
, which may have caused other credit
issuers to further harm the shopper by taking similar actions (universal default
), or denying credit applications altogether. Laws were passed by Congress in 2009 to stop issuers from these practices.
In many countries around the world, not just exclusively in the Third World, second-hand clothing that is initially donated, are resold and is considered a commodity throughout the world. Some countries forbid it as it harms the local textile industry, as it is in the case in the Philippines. In other cases countries increase tariffs to reduce imports. Some countries ban the sale of second-hand clothing because unwashed used clothing is seen as a potential threat of spreading disease. The author of an article, Karen Transberg Hansen, suggested that in Zambia, however, salaula, or the selling of second-hand clothing actually helps the local economy in generating income. Hansen said the trade provided more jobs (handling, cleaning, repairing, and restyling). It has also provided governments with revenue from tariffs.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
), resale shop (when not meaning consignment
Consignment
Consignment the act of consigning, which is placing any material in the hand of another, but retaining ownership until the goods are sold or person is transferred. This may be done for shipping, transfer of prisoners, to auction, or for sale in a store Consignment the act of consigning, which is...
shop [U.S.]) or op shop (Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
/N.Z.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
) (from "opportunity shop") is a retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
establishment run by a charitable organization
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
to raise money.
Charity shops are a type of social enterprise
Social enterprise
A social enterprise is an organization that applies business strategies to achieving philanthropic goals. Social enterprises can be structured as a for-profit or non-profit....
. They usually sell mainly second-hand
Second-Hand
Second-Hand was a 2005 Romanian film directed by Dan Piţa.-Plot summary:The film's plot surrounds the romantic involvement of two contrasting characters: Petre , a Mafioso, and Andreea , a young violin player. The pair meet and fall in love...
goods donated
Donation
A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...
by members of 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/or depreciation of fixtures (clothing racks, bookshelves, counters, etc.), operating costs (maintenance, municipal service fees, electricity, telephone, limited advertising) and the building lease or mortgage.
Popularity of charity shops
Charity shops are often popular with people who are frugalFrugality
Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent or economical in the use of consumable resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance....
. In the United States, shopping at a charity store has become popular enough to earn a slang term: thrifting
Thrifting
Thrifting refers to the act of shopping at a thrift store, flea market, garage sale, or a shop of a charitable organization, usually with the intent of finding interesting items at a cheap price....
.
Environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
s may prefer buying second-hand goods as this uses fewer natural resource
Natural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
s and would appear do less damage to the environment
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
than by buying new goods would, in part because the goods are usually collected locally. In addition, reusing second-hand items is a form of recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
, and thus reduces the amount of waste
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
going to landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
sites.
People who oppose sweat shops often purchase second-hand clothing as an alternative to supporting clothing companies with dubious ethical practices.
Second-hand goods are considered to be quite safe. The South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n Public 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.
New goods sold at charity shops
Some charity shops, such as the British Heart FoundationBritish Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation is a charity organisation in Britain that funds research, education, care and awareness campaigns aimed to prevent heart diseases in humans.-Foundation:...
, also sell a range of new goods which may be branded to the charity, or have some connection with the cause the charity supports. Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
stores, for example, sell fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
food and crafts. Other stores may sell new Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
supplies and decorations where old vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
clothes are popular for use as costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
s. Some stores specialise in selling books, music, or bridalwear. Charity shops may receive overstock or obsolete goods from local for-profit businesses; the for-profit businesses benefit by taking a tax write-off and clearing unwanted goods
Closeout
A closeout or clearance is the final sale of an item or items to zero inventory. It may be a given model of item that is not selling well, or in the case of the final closure of a retailer because of a relocation, a fire , or especially because of a bankruptcy. In the latter case, it is usually...
from their store instead of throwing the goods out, which is costly.
United Kingdom
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
charity shop in the United Kingdom was established in Broad Street, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, and began trading in December 1947 (although the shop itself did not open until February 1948). Oxfam opened some of the first charity shops.
However, pre-dating this, one of the first Red Cross shops was opened at 17 Old Bond Street, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, as early as 1941. In total, over two hundred “permanent” (for the duration of the war) Red Cross gift shops and about 150 temporary Red Cross shops were opened during the war years. A condition of the shop licence issued by the Board of Trade was 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 and St John Fund. Most premises were lent free of rent and in some cases owners also met the costs of heating and lighting.
There is also evidence that the Wolverhampton Society for the Blind (now called the Beacon Centre for the Blind) opened up a shop in Wolverhampton in 1899 to sell goods made by blind people to raise money for the Society.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, similar fund-raising activities occurred such as a bazaar
Bazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
in Shepherd Market
Shepherd Market
Shepherd Market is a small square in the Mayfair area of central London, England. It is located between Piccadilly and Curzon Street and has a village-like atmosphere.- History :...
, London, which made £50,000 for the Red Cross.
Oxfam has the largest number of charity shops in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with over 700 stores. Many Oxfam shops also sell books, and the organization now operates over 70 specialist Oxfam Bookshops, making them the largest retailer of second-hand books in Britain. Other Oxfam affiliates also have stores, such as Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(45 shops in NI/ROI), the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
Other charities with a strong presence on high streets in the UK include YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, British Heart Foundation
British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation is a charity organisation in Britain that funds research, education, care and awareness campaigns aimed to prevent heart diseases in humans.-Foundation:...
, Barnardos, Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK is a cancer research and awareness charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Its aim is to reduce the number of deaths from cancer. As the world's largest independent cancer...
, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation
Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation
The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is a British medical research charity dedicated to the prevention and cure of lung cancer. It is the only charity in the UK wholly dedicated to the defeat of lung cancer....
, Age UK (formerly Age Concern
Age Concern
Age Concern was the banner title used by a number of charitable organisations specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kingdom....
and Help the Aged
Help the Aged
Help the Aged was a United Kingdom based, international charity, founded in 1961 by Cecil Jackson-Cole, to free disadvantaged older people from poverty, isolation and neglect. It merged with Age Concern in 2009 to form Age UK.-Organisation and campaigns:...
), Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
, Scope
Scope (British charity)
Scope is a London-based charity, which operates in England and Wales, focusing on people with cerebral palsy particularly, and disabled people in general. Its aim is that disabled people achieve equality....
and Sue Ryder Care
Sue Ryder Care
Sue Ryder is a charity which was founded in 1953 by Sue Ryder, with the creation of a nursing home in Suffolk, UK....
. Many local hospices also 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, music and bric-a-brac (like cutlery and ornaments). Some shops specialise in certain areas, like vintage clothing, furniture, electrical items, or records.
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 or 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 Aid
Gift Aid
Gift Aid is a UK tax incentive that enables tax-effective giving by individuals to charities in the United Kingdom. Gift Aid was originally introduced in Finance Act 1990 for donation from 1 October 1990, but was originally limited to cash gifts of £600 or more...
is 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. Sue Ryder Care
Sue Ryder Care
Sue Ryder is a charity which was founded in 1953 by Sue Ryder, with the creation of a nursing home in Suffolk, UK....
was the first to 'Gift Aid
Gift Aid
Gift Aid is a UK tax incentive that enables tax-effective giving by individuals to charities in the United Kingdom. Gift Aid was originally introduced in Finance Act 1990 for donation from 1 October 1990, but was originally limited to cash gifts of £600 or more...
' its donations with a pioneering new system developed with Eproductive Ltd.
Charity shops in the UK get mandatory 80% relief on business rates on 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.
Australia
In Australia, major national opportunity shop chains include the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift StoreSt. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store
The St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store is an international chain of thrift stores operated by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. It operates its thrift stores throughout Australia, the United States and Canada....
(trading as Vinnies), the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
(trading as Salvos), the Red Cross, MS Australia, and the Brotherhood of St. Laurence. Many local charitable organisations, both religious and secular, run opportunity shops. Common among these are missions and animal shelter
Animal shelter
An animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost, or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats.Parrots, for example, are the third most common pet owned by people...
s.
United States & Canada
In the United States, major national thrift shop operators include Arc Thrift Stores, Goodwill IndustriesGoodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries International is a not-for-profit organization that provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have a disability, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges...
, Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store
St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store
The St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store is an international chain of thrift stores operated by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. It operates its thrift stores throughout Australia, the United States and Canada....
s, ReStore (see Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat For Humanity International , generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or simply Habitat, is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organization devoted to building "simple, decent, and affordable" housing, a self-described "Christian housing ministry." The international...
), Deseret Industries
Deseret Industries
Deseret Industries is a non-profit organization and a division of the Welfare Services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It includes a chain of retail thrift stores and work projects operated by the program. Deseret Industries thrift stores are similar to the well-known Goodwill...
(in the western U.S.), and Value Village (see Savers
Savers
Savers, Inc. headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, is a privately held for-profit thrift store chain offering secondhand shopping. An international company, Savers has more than 200 locations throughout the United States, Canada and Australia, and receives its merchandise by paying cash to...
). Regional operators include Deseret Industries
Deseret Industries
Deseret Industries is a non-profit organization and a division of the Welfare Services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It includes a chain of retail thrift stores and work projects operated by the program. Deseret Industries thrift stores are similar to the well-known Goodwill...
in the western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, and those run by the Bethesda Lutheran Home in the Upper Midwest
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the midwest. Although there are no uniformly agreed-upon boundaries, the region is most commonly used to refer to the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and...
. Many local charitable organizations, both religious and secular, operate thrift shops. Common among these are missions, children's homes, homeless shelters, and animal shelters. In addition, some charity shops are operated by churches, and are fundraising venues that support activities including, in some cases, missionary activities in other countries. Several U.S. stores are for-profit, with the charity that collected the goods making money from the wholesale
Wholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...
of those items to the store.
In July 2009, a U.S. government report revealed that several lenders were judging their customers' financial status based on where they shopped, and were assuming that those who shopped at thrift stores and other low-cost retailers were struggling financially. In response, the lender were increasing interest rate
Interest rate
An interest rate is the rate at which interest is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrow from a lender. For example, a small company borrows capital from a bank to buy new assets for their business, and in return the lender receives interest at a predetermined interest rate for...
s, lowering their credit limit
Credit limit
A credit limit is the maximum amount of credit that a financial institution or other lender will extend to a debtor for a particular line of credit...
, or even damaging their overall credit score
Credit score
A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of that person...
, which may have caused other credit
Credit (finance)
Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide resources to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately , but instead arranges either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided may be financial Credit is the trust...
issuers to further harm the shopper by taking similar actions (universal default
Universal default
Universal default is the term for a practice in the financial services industry in the United States for a particular lender to change the terms of a loan from the normal terms to the default terms Universal default is the term for a practice in the financial services industry in the United States...
), or denying credit applications altogether. Laws were passed by Congress in 2009 to stop issuers from these practices.
Thrift stores
Thrift stores are generally owned by a charity but run as an independent business under contract: they are licensed by the charity, which provides the merchandise for sale, and benefits by the sale of these goods directly to the contractor who operates the shop. The shop may then make a profit from this arrangement. In some cases, e.g. 'Savers' and 'Value Village' they pay a small percentage of the profit to the charity. Charities in the US are supported by tax legislation (see 501(c)(3)) but this does not extend to the 'for profit' thrift shop. Unlike directly charity-run shops run by volunteers, thrift shops pay taxes, and must under their contract have employees with proper contracts of employment.In many countries around the world, not just exclusively in the Third World, second-hand clothing that is initially donated, are resold and is considered a commodity throughout the world. Some countries forbid it as it harms the local textile industry, as it is in the case in the Philippines. In other cases countries increase tariffs to reduce imports. Some countries ban the sale of second-hand clothing because unwashed used clothing is seen as a potential threat of spreading disease. The author of an article, Karen Transberg Hansen, suggested that in Zambia, however, salaula, or the selling of second-hand clothing actually helps the local economy in generating income. Hansen said the trade provided more jobs (handling, cleaning, repairing, and restyling). It has also provided governments with revenue from tariffs.
See also
- Consignment shop
- Flea marketFlea marketA flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
- Give-away shopGive-away shopGive-away shops, swap shops, freeshops, or free stores are stores where all goods are free. They are similar to charity shops, with mostly second-hand items — only everything is available at no cost...
- Jumble saleJumble saleA jumble sale or rummage sale is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Scout group or church, as a fundraising or charitable effort...
- Surplus storeSurplus storeA surplus store or disposals store sells items that are used, or purchased but unused, and no longer needed. The surplus is often military, government or industrial excess often called army-navy stores in America...
- Sustainable clothingSustainable clothingSustainable clothing refers to fabrics derived from eco-friendly resources, such as sustainably grown fiber crops or recycled materials. Historically, being environmentally-conscious towards clothing meant buying clothes from thrift stores or any shops that sell second-hand clothing, or donating...