Q&A with the Charity Retail Association

We chat to Susan Meredith (Deputy Chief Exec) and Jonathon Mail (Head of Public Affairs) about sustainable fashion in the context of charity shopping, and how the industry is doing at the moment.

What is your role at the CRA?

I’m the Deputy Chief Executive with a remit for charity membership, member-facing comms and campaigns – but I’ve been here coming up for 17 years and I’ve had many roles. I handle the website. Up until recently I was the corporate partnerships lead. And I started out as the administrator. My colleague Jonathan Mail, our brilliant Head of Public Affairs has also contributed to some of these answers.

Can you tell us a little more about the textiles 2030 initiative?

[Jonathan] Textiles 2030 is a voluntary initiative which seeks to transform the way that the UK produces, uses and disposes of clothing in order to reduce the carbon and water footprint of the fashion sector. We want to see buying second hand clothing become people's first choice and hope that voluntary action through Textiles 2030 will see greater support for reuse among producers and retailers – including the production of clothing that is more durable and so better suited to reuse.

We know that charity shops are positive in so many aspects, sustainability included, but what happens to clothes/items that don’t get sold in charity shops?

[Susan] The clothes that don’t get sold are mostly taken away by collectors for sorting and distribution to overseas markets. Increasingly we are seeing attempts to keep more textiles within the UK, for example through upcycling and crafting stores and workshops and the emergence of charity ‘pound shops’. We are working with an organization called TRUST to raise standards in the collection and sorting industries so charity shoppers can be confident that best practice is taking place.

Do you feel that there is enough legislative support available for the sector?

[Jonathan] The area where we would like to see much greater legislative support is in prioritising reuse. We are yet to see the Government’s long awaited Waste Prevention strategy but early signs are that there is lack of ambition in driving up levels of reuse. This extends to the lack of targets around increasing reuse which creates the risk of incentivising less sustainable options which are target driven such as recycling or even energy from waste incineration. We’d like to see a much stronger partnership approach from Local Authorities which could include support for charities to locate collection banks on public land, support in diverting saleable goods away from becoming waste and joint initiatives to promote reuse at a local level. At the level of national Government, we have high hopes for plans for Extended Producer Responsibility schemes and are lobbying to ensure that these are designed to prioritise reuse so that as few reusable items enter the waste stream as possible. A combination of financial support for innovation and growing capacity for reuse is needed alongside policies to support the production of better made and longer lasting products.

What are the main challenges faced in the industry?

[Susan] The main challenge reported to us by our members is access to people – whether staff (mostly shop managers) or volunteers. The sector is trying hard to change negative perceptions of charity shops and focus on all the amazing and unique aspects of our sector to attract the next generation of volunteers and shop managers – focusing on sustainable fashion, environmental matters and community.

How has covid-19 affected the industry?

[Susan] I think we actually came out stronger. Of course having to close shops down for periods of time is tough and financial losses were obviously made – affecting the funds to the parent charities. But we all pulled together, hosting hundreds of members on Zoom meetings where problems were solved, guidance was issued and we kept our members abreast of what they should be doing and when. Post-lockdowns – many members have experienced periods of record sales. And it’s not just a boom resulting from the initial joy of being able to shop again. The results have been sustained.

Which of our 4 themes (regenerate, rewear, repurpose and reconnect) do you resonate with the most, and why?

[Susan] Personally – and maybe for our sector too, I suppose it’s rewear. I’m all about second-hand. But each of those themes has a strong resonance. I love to make-do-and-mend, circularity is the only way forward and it’s imperative that we take time to think about how our clothes are made and by who and to reject wastefulness.

What would you say are the main challenges the sector has to overcome to meet the net-zero target by 2030?

[Jonathan] In common with other retailers, there are challenges around energy use in shops and the split of responsibility between commercial landlords and tenants. And, in the online space there are challenges in finding the most sustainable delivery partners. In terms of supply chain emissions, charity shops are in the fortunate position of selling donated second hand stock that would otherwise be disposed of. And, finally there are challenges around dramatically reducing the use of plastic both in-store and for online deliveries.

Would you say that charity shops suffer from the problem of fast fashion too, finding themselves overwhelmed with donations?

[Susan] No, I wouldn’t say so. The issues are very different and varied depending on which shop manager or chain you are talking to or where you are in the country. An issue sometimes reported is a lack of saleable donations. If soiled and broken items are donated to a charity shop they are basically being treated like a civic amenity site. Which is not their purpose. Charity shops exist to raise as much as they can for their parent causes – and if they have to deal with unsaleable goods – then resource is being diverted from achieving that aim.