Our eighth #FRBookClub between Meg Pirie and Tansy Hoskins on Charity Shop World, left us with a lot to think about.
Tansy spent time volunteering in a London charity shop and sorting through what people donate, including the things that never make it onto the shop floor. Her book blends these diary-style notes with investigation into where our unwanted clothes actually go, who profits from them, and what that says about the UK’s relationship with consumption, austerity and class. Follow the textile waste money far enough and there’s a spoiler, ending with a billionaire prince. The book is definitely worth a read to find out who, and how.
Three things stayed with us after the live:
Charity shops are often the first sorting point in a global waste stream, and they’re paid very little for the bulk of what they receive.
Clothing poverty is still a real issue in the UK, and the “guilt and shame” narrative around consumption rarely accounts for who can afford to donate and who needs to buy secondhand.
If we want a different model of consumption, we need to look at the wider model of society, and at the policies that shape it. Extended Producer Responsibility and better design standards as part of that conversation.
Thank you Tansy for joining us, and to everyone who came along. The full discussion is definitely worth a watch if you missed it.
We also discussed Fashion Roundtable’s Creative Wellbeing Economy Framework.
Thank you to everyone who tuned into our live video!