Charity bazaars, elaborate themed events to raise monies for charitable causes, continued to be part of the social scene until the Second World War, although they were increasingly replaced by less elaborate “pop up” Charity fundraising events, such as jumble sales, and, later still, bring-and-buy sales. The first recorded jumble sale was held in Wollaston to raise funds for “church paraphernalia”, as the Northampton Mercury noted on January 5, 1889.

The earliest known fundraising Shop was sited in Mayfair, selling flowers to support a mission in East London from 1870. The Salvation Army combined the two prevailing strands of charitable endeavour in the latter part of the 19^th century, establishing “salvage stores” to provide cheap second-hand clothing and furniture to the poor while giving Salvationists the opportunity for gainful employment by making and selling high-quality, branded goods, ranging from musical instruments to razor blades. The charity shop opened by the Wolverhampton Society for the Blind on Victoria Street in 1899 sold baskets, chair seating, and mats made by visually impaired men and women in their Alexandra Street workshop.

One of the very first Charity Shops as we know them now, the Edinburgh University Settlement’s “Everybody’s Thrift Shop”, opened in 1937 at 79a, Nicholson Street. Public reaction was astonishing, the Scotsman reporting on April 27^th that people had queued for an hour before it opened its doors and police were present to ensure that the crowds did not overwhelm stallholders. Crystal, evening shawls, and furniture were among the goods on offer and one woman delightedly bought a handsome suit once worn, it was whispered, by a professor.

War spurred a boom in charity shops, the Red Cross opening their first on Old Bond Street in 1941, followed by over two hundred “permanent” and around 150 “temporary” gift shops. A condition of their licence from the Board of Trade was that purchase for re-sale was forbidden. The escalating humanitarian crisis in Nazi-occupied Greece led to the formation of the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief in 1943, which the following year organised it first “Greek Week” campaign, soliciting donations from the public and raising £13,000 for the Greek Red Cross to assist the relief effort in Greece.

By 1947 as order was slowly restored to war-torn Europe, the committee, now referred to as Oxfam, converted its surplus stocks of clothing and other goods into cash by opening their first permanent shop in December 1947 on Broad Street in Oxford.  

It was a model that proved successful and by the 1960s many charities had opened their own shops to raise funds mainly through the sale of second-hand clothing. They were beneficiaries of the rising standard of living coupled with the demise of the old “mend and make do” attitude engendered by clothes’ rationing and the rise of throwaway consumerism. The public were now more willing to part with redundant clothing and make impulse purchases.

In the 1980s with supermarkets increasingly forcing specialist shops out of business, the Government gave charity shops significant incentives to take up redundant retail space, providing exemptions from Corporation Tax on profits, putting a zero VAT rating on donated goods sales and discounting property taxed by 80%. This led to them taking over more prime retail locations and spurred a discernible improvement in the way goods were presented and a rise in expertise and professionalism.

Although ideally placed to capitalise on 21^st century concerns over sustainability and waste, they are not immune to modern pressures. That bellwether of real life, Mumsnet, reports the impact of rising prices in charity shops, an area of concern when consumers are increasingly buying out of necessity rather than on a whim.

The focus of their charitable endeavours might have changed over time, but charity shops are needed more than ever.