The Charity Retail Association (CRA) has urged the next government to build systems to make it easier for people to move between volunteering opportunities in different charities.
Ahead of next month’s general election, CRA last week published a manifesto setting out its priorities for the charity sector for the 2024-29 parliament.
CRA is calling on the next government to prioritise reuse and waste reduction and build upon “the existing success of charity shops”.
It states “reuse is a time-intensive activity that requires a wide range of skills, which is why the role of volunteers is so crucial”.
The future government should improve the support given to volunteers referred by government bodies and provide charities with better information about those referred, it says.
Government bodies should also “track the outcomes of volunteering referrals so that they can measure the effectiveness of volunteering in improving wellbeing or as a stepping stone into training or employment”.
Seven steps to boost charity retail and reuse
The manifesto highlights seven steps for putting reduction and reuse at the heart of net zero, which CRA hopes “the next government will adopt to boost the growth of charity retail and reuse”:
- Durability and ability to repair
- Ensuring household collection and takeback schemes prioritise reuse
- Extended producer responsibility
- Embracing the role of volunteers
- Putting #SecondHandFirst through public spending on household goods and clothing
- Reinventing our high streets and town centres
- Supporting charitable giving through the donation of goods
The manifesto says the drive to produce fast, cheap items has resulted in low-quality clothing which hampers the growth of reuse as charity shops are unable to resell items once they are no longer functional, and calls on the next government to implement policy measures to address the issue.
It urges the next government to “reduce the financial burden of business rates on in-person retail including maintaining charitable business rates relief for charity shops and removing the anomaly that means that charity shops run by wholly-owned charity trading subsidiaries cannot access this relief”.
CRA also asks for more charitable giving support through the donation of goods, including promoting and improving gift aid and working in partnership with charities to support the location of charity-led recycling banks to make it easier for people to donate.
‘Thriving second-hand retail market’ key to achieving net zero
The manifesto reads: “A thriving second-hand retail market, along with designing products that are more durable, will be vital to achieving net zero by 2050.
“The mantra of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ has universal recognition but policy initiatives and funding often prioritise recycling above reduction or reuse.
“It often feels like the concepts of reduce and reuse are a forgotten language, and this manifesto seeks to change that by setting out policies for the next government to pursue.”
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