A charity shop, second-hand shop (U.K.), thrift shop, thrift store, hospice shop (U.S., Canada), resale shop (when not meaning consignment shop (U. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Consignment is the act of consigning, which is placing a person or thing in the hand of another but retaining ownership until the goods are sold or person is transferred S. )), or op shop (Australia/N.Z., from opportunity shop) is a retail establishment operated by a charitable organization for the purpose of fundraising. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The definition of charitable organization, and of charity varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates
Charity shops are a type of social enterprise. Social enterprises are social mission driven organizations which trade in goods or services for a social purpose They usually sell mainly second-hand goods donated by members of the public, and are often staffed by volunteers. A donation is a gift given typically to a cause or/and for charitable purposes A volunteer is someone who works for a community or for the benefit of environment primarily because they choose to do so Because the items for sale were obtained for free, and business costs are low, the items can be sold at very low 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.
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Popularity of charity shops
Charity shops are often popular with people who are frugal, people who live on a limited or fixed income, collectors, and people with unusual tastes. Frugality is the practice of acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner and resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services to achieve This last group includes members of various subcultures. For the term in biology see Subculture (biology. For the song by New Order see Sub-culture (song. For example, clothing from charity stores was often modified by early punk rockers. Clothing (also called clothes, accoutrements, accouterments, or habiliments) protects the Human body from extreme Weather Punk fashion is the styles of Clothing, Hairstyles, Cosmetics, Jewelry, and Body modifications of the Punk subculture. In the United States shopping at a thrift store has become popular enough to earn a slang term, thrifting. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Thrifting refers to the act of Shopping at a Thrift store, Flea market, Garage sale, or a shop of a Charitable organization, usually
Environmentalists may prefer buying second hand goods as this uses fewer resources and may do less damage to the environment than by buying new goods. Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and Social movement centered on a concern for the conservation and improvement of the environment. In addition, reusing second hand items is another form of recycling, and thus reduces the amount of waste going to landfill sites. For other uses see Water treatment and Land reclamation. A landfill, also known as a dump (and historically as
Also, people who oppose sweat shops often purchase second hand clothing as an alternative to supporting clothing companies which have dubious ethical practices. A sweatshop is a working environment with very difficult or dangerous conditions usually where the workers have few rights or ways to address their situation
Thrift stores are also popular with eBay sellers who buy collectible items and hope to resell them for a profit. eBay Inc is an American Internet company that manages eBaycom an Online auction and shopping Website in which people and businesses buy and
New goods sold at charity shops
Some charity shops also sell a limited 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. Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working with over 3000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice Fair trade is an organized Social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability Other stores may sell new Halloween supplies and decorations where old vintage clothes are popular for use as costumes. Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a Holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. 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.
History of charity shops
In the U. S. , many charity shops are operated by churches. Some of these shops are fundraising venues that support missionary activities in other countries. Other of these shops are themselves missionary outreach centers.
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). Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Oxfam opened some of the first charity shops.
However, predating this, one of the first Red Cross shops was opened at 17 Old Bond Street, London, as early as 1941. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an International humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide who stated 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.
During World War I similar fundraising activities occurred such as a bazaar in Shepherd’s Market, London which made £50,000 for the Red Cross.
United Kingdom
Oxfam has the largest number of charity shops in the UK with over 700 stores. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Many Oxfam shops also sell books, and the organization now operate over 70 specialist Oxfam Bookshops, making them the largest retailer of second-hand books in Britain. Oxfam is the largest retailer of second hand Books in Europe, selling around 12 million per year Other Oxfam affiliates also have stores - Jersey, Germany, Ireland (45 shops in NI/ROI), the Netherlands and Hong Kong. The Bailiwick of Jersey ( Jèrriais: Jèrri) is a British Crown dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders
Other charities with a strong presence on high streets in the UK include Cancer Research UK, Age Concern, Help the Aged, Save the Children, Scope and Sue Ryder Care. Cancer Research UK' is a Cancer research and awareness-promotion charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger Age Concern is the banner title used by a number of charitable organisations ( NGOs specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people - those over the age Established in 1961, Help the Aged is a United Kingdom based international charity fighting to free disadvantaged older people from poverty isolation Save the Children is a leading international organisation helping children in need around the world Sue Ryder Care is a charity (originally called the Sue Ryder Foundation) which was founded in 1953 by Sue Ryder, with the creation of a nursing home in Suffolk Many local hospices also operate charity shops to raise funds. Palliative care (from Latin palliare to cloak is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of Disease Symptoms
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. Gift Aid is a scheme to enable Tax -effective giving by individuals to charities in the United Kingdom. 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. [1]
United States
In the United States, major national thrift shop operators include Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army, and ReStore (see Habitat for Humanity International). Goodwill Industries International is one of the world’s largest nonprofit providers of education training and career services for people with disadvantages such as welfare dependency The Salvation Army is a Christian charity and church that is internally organised like a military service. Habitat For Humanity International ( HFHI) (generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or simply Habitat) is an international Ecumenical Regional operators include 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. Many local charitable organizations, both religious and secular, operate thrift shops. Common among these are missions, children's homes and homeless shelters, and animal shelters.
Australia
In Australia, major national opportunity shop chains include the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (trading as Vinnies), the Salvation Army (trading as Salvos), the Red Cross, and the Brotherhood of St. Laurence. The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is an international organization of Roman Catholic lay men and women of all ages whose primary mission is to help the poor and less The Salvation Army is a Christian charity and church that is internally organised like a military service. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an International humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide who stated The Brotherhood of St Laurence, known colloquially as The Brotherhood (including occasionally in its own advertising is an Australian Faith-based Many local charitable organisations, both religious and secular, run opportunity shops. Common among these are missions and animal shelters.
See also
Notes
External links
- UK Association of Charity Shops
- TheThriftShopper.com - Thrift shop directory
- Do Good Toolbar - A charity shopping toolbar
- GoodBuying.org - Shop online and raise money for charity
- Locations and Review of Southern Ohio Thrift Shops
- CharityShopChic.com - A blog about charity shop shopping
- Children Make Every Shop Important - Free Fundraising for Children's Charities
- Inventory: on op shops - a book about op/thrift shops
- I op therefore I am - a collaborative blog about op shopping in Melbourne, Australia
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