Most businesses are struggling in the recession but one industry that is booming in Huddersfield is charity shops. Bargain hunters and hard up families are heading to the shops to find a great deal.
Charity shops throughout the year have enjoyed their best ever year but unfortunately they are struggling to meet demand.
The Charity Retail Association stated in a new survey that the charity shops need more people to donate their unwanted goods.
Many charities have set up shops in Huddersfield including Kirkwood Hospice that has 17 shops across Kirklees and made £1.6m last year.
Another hospice, the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, has opened its 10th shop in Kirklees and Calderdale. They are also dozens of other charity shops including Age UK, Scope, Oxfam, Save The Children, the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research.
Kirkwood Hospice shops worker, Susan Marsden, said that the money is vital to the charity and their work.
“Last year the shops raised £1.6m which is vital to ensure the running of the hospice.
“The new survey is a very accurate picture of what is happening. People are going to charity shops looking for anything and everything, from clothing to furniture, but we and the other charities are always short of stock.
“We need local support to help us carry on with the work”.
The amount of money the charity shops are making is up £30m from last year. The shops sell a wide variety of goods at much lower prices than High Street stores. The charities are making over £220m for charities through retailing every year.
Although many people are starting to buy from charity shops more, this new trend has had an effect on the amount of donations that the shops are receiving.
Charity Retail Association representative Wendy Mitchalle said: “People say they have clothing in their wardrobe they no longer use, while the top three reasons people don’t donate is because they haven’t got round to it, haven’t had time or simply haven’t thought about it.
“We are calling on people with unwanted goods at home to consider dropping them off at their local charity shop to help not just the charities, but also people who are increasingly relying on these shops for good quality clothes, furniture and goods.”