Charity shops in Surrey
Charity shops:Before you throw away your unwanted household items you might like to consider donating them to a charity shop, particularly if they are in good condition.
Charity shops accept donations of a wide range of household items and by selling them on they provide a prolonged life for all those unwanted items. Textiles represent about 60-65% of materials sold. Some charity shops also sell furniture and electrical appliances and some are specialist shops, such as charity bookshops, bridal wear or music shops.
You can support the principal of reuse and `close the loop' by shopping at these shops. They are also a good source for items such as furnishings, crockery, CDs and videos that are no longer available in other stores as well as retro clothing,.
You can find your nearest charity shop listed on the Association of Charity Shops web site.
Charity Shops are largely a British institution. They started in the 19th century by the Salvation Army running second hand clothing shops to provide the urban poor with cheap clothing. However, the first charity shop - set up primarily to raise money for charity - was not established till 1947 by Oxfam. The latter had been swamped by donations from the public (mostly blankets and clothing) following its appeal for aid to alleviate the post-war situation in Greece. The success of this appeal yielded so many donations that it was decided to set up a shop in Oxford to sell a portion of these and to use the profits to further fund aid in Greece.