The move away from fast fashion is gathering pace and, during Charity Retail Week 2024, we worked to build awareness of your local charity shop as a fashion destination. Our twin themes for Charity Retail Week 2024 were the Power of People and Preparing for the Future.
We are very grateful to Cookstown Textile Recyclers (CTR) who were the main sponsor for Charity Retail Week. CTR is Ireland’s largest textile recycling company of more than 20 years. CTR works closely with charities, government bodies and waste management organisations, both locally and nationally, to divert used clothes and textiles from landfill.
The Power of People
The Power of People theme was showcased with a commissioned video, featuring real people telling their stories about how their work or interaction with a charity shop has impacted their lives. The video shows volunteers, CE/TUS workers, shop and area managers and, of course, customers talking about their role in charity retail.
Fashion Fix Competition
Kindly Sponsored by The Midlands Park Hotel
This new competition for Charity Retail Week 2024 enabled our members to showcase how charity shops can provide an alternative to fast fashion at less cost. Our members showcased their fashion skills in this fun competition by curating outfits in four categories – Workwear, Partywear, Holidaywear and Festival fashion. The prize was an overnight stay at the Midlands Park Hotel for the lucky overall winner.
More info on the Fashion Fix competition here.
Charity Retail Ireland in Belfast
Our first event in Belfast was an opportunity for charities in Northern Ireland to find out about Charity Retail Ireland and what CRI can offer them. A speaker from Volunteer Now spoke about how to attract and retain volunteers.
Annual Awards for 2023
We celebrated the unsung heroes who run our charity shops throughout the country through five awards:
- The Martin Kenny Volunteer of the Year
- Shop Team of the Year
- Shop Manager of the Year
- Shop Window of the Year
- Online Presence of the Year
As Mark Sweeney, Chair of CRI, said at a previous Awards Ceremony.
“We are here today to reward the people who make sure charities benefit from their retail operations. These are our managers, our volunteers and our shop teams. Without them, there is no charity retail in Ireland. We are here to recognise and to celebrate those people who make a difference.”
Charity Retail Impact Report 2023
Every year Charity Retail Ireland conducts a survey with its members to evaluate how shops deliver on the triple bottom line principles.
Charity Shops provide a unique example of the triple bottom line concept. They provide financial benefits by providing a source of funding for charities who support the most marginalised people in our communities and seek to advocate on their behalf. They have enormous social benefits, providing local employment and training opportunities, for example, community employment schemes. The volunteering opportunities in charity shops can provide a route back to employment for those distant from the workforce as well as providing a sense of purpose and community. Finally, charity shops have a significant role in reducing the environmental impact of the textile industry. They allow textiles and other goods to remain in use for longer, contributing to the circular economy.
Our report for 2023 was launched at our Gathering event in Portlaoise on 24th April.