Charity shop
A charity shop (British English), thrift shop or thrift store (American English and Canadian English, also includes for-profit stores such as Savers) or opportunity shop or op-shop (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a retail establishment run by a charitable organization to raise money. Charity shops are a type of social enterprise. They sell mainly used goods such as clothing, books, music albums, shoes, DVDs, toys, and furniture 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, heat, telephone, limited advertising) and the building lease or mortgage.
"Thrift shop" and "Op shop" redirect here. For the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis song, see Thrift Shop. For the rock band, see Opshop.Terminology[edit]
Charity shops may also be referred to as thrift stores (in the United States and Canada), hospice shops, resale shops (a term that in the United States also covers consignment shops), opportunity (or op) shops (in Australia and New Zealand), and second-hands (секонд-хенды) in Russia.
History[edit]
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.[1] During World War I, various fund-raising activities occurred, such as a charity bazaar in Shepherd Market, London, which made £50,000 for the Red Cross.[2]
However, it was during the Second World War that the charity shop became widespread. Edinburgh University Settlement opened their "Thrift Shop for Everyone" in Edinburgh in 1937,[3] the Red Cross opened up its first charity shop at 17 Old Bond Street, London in 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 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 or the St John Fund. Most premises were lent free of rent and in some cases owners also met the costs of heating and lighting.
The first Oxfam charity shop in the United Kingdom was established by Cecil Jackson-Cole in Broad Street, Oxford, and began trading in December 1947.[4]
Sale of new goods[edit]
Some charity shops, such as PDSA , 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. 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.
Charity shops by region[edit]
Australia[edit]
In Australia, major national opportunity shop chains include the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store (trading as Vinnies) which operate 650 shops across Australia,[7][8] Anglicare Shops, that currently operate in 19 locations across Sydney and the Illawarra also various locations around Australia, the Salvation Army (trading as Salvos), the Red Cross, MS Research 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 shelters.
Canada[edit]
The Mennonite Central Committee operates 85 thrift stores in Canada and United States. Beginning in 1972, the first MCC Thrift Store opened in Altona, Manitoba.[9]
Denmark[edit]
Most of the charity shops in Denmark are operated by either The Danish Red Cross or by Christian organizations. The Danish Red Cross has 250 shops in the country and 10,000 volunteers working in the shops.[10] DanChurchAid has since 1972 operated charity shops, and currently operates 114 shops.[11] The Blue Cross, founded as a Christian organization,[12] runs 55 charity shops in the country, and focuses mainly on helping alcoholics, addicts and other socially marginalized groups.[13]
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.[14]