We recently had the pleasure of attending the Up For Yorkshire’s ‘Shop For The Future’ sustainable fashion show at Selby Abbey. The circular economy Selby town has created is hugely impressive, and we strive to mirror the same initiatives across the Wakefield District.
One of the many highlights of the night was a fantastic, thought-provoking poem by Fiona Kearn, that describes some of the woeful (and often unhygienic) donations charity shops receive.
WOULD YOU BUY THAT?
Eighty per cent of donations cannot be sold
a costly road to landfill, truth be told!
The rag man pays less as poor clothing’s rejected
so funds for the cause are directly affected
Before offering your kind donation
Consider a quick evaluation
A second look at what’s in the sack
to check that things are up to scratch
Things that don’t make anyone happy
are stinky undies and dirty nappies
A shoe that’s estranged from its pair
A legless doll that’s missing its hair
A solitary smelly crusty sock
Broken records of 70s rock
or chewed up toys for the dog or cat
Be honest, would you buy that?
Pre-coloured colouring books
Wall organisers without the hooks
Tooth marks on kids’ building bricks
A game of Kerplunk without the sticks
Smashed up pictures of someone’s Nan
A rusty set of cooking pans
Packaging from a fast food meal
and adult toys I can’t reveal
Of all this overwhelming tat
Please tell me, would you buy that?
Fiona Kearns
In the Community Give Box, we can sympathise with Fiona and her fellow charity shop staff members. Whilst we believe most of the poor donations we receive are down to apathy and a lack of thought, rather than a conscious move to force charities to pay waste removal fees, etc. from their already-limited funds, this message needs to be hammered home again and again as the issue is getting worse.
We’re so very grateful for the donations we receive, we really are. But when our shop staff are spending more time sorting out the dregs of the day’s deliveries rather than helping create care packages for people in need, that’s when is becomes a problem. Or when we receive a sack full of things suitable only for the local waste recycling centre, it’s not cool. Our staff and volunteers’ health and safety can be at risk from simply opening and unpacking a bag of donations…we’ve seen hypodermic needles and dirty nappies amongst items passed on to us.
Even clothes that are clean may have reached the end of their life. If we realistically can’t sell the item, we have to pay to dispose of it. This means funds that could go to helping people escape domestic violence, for example, or people in desperate need of our support for whatever reason, are instead going towards costs we haven’t chosen to pay. All because someone hasn’t double-checked their donations to make sure they’re suitable.
It’s a problem across every charity shop, but it’s one that could be sorted easily, if our kind and generous supporters were just a little more conscious and careful about what they donate.
Many thanks to Fiona Kearns for perfectly conveying the issue. If you’d like to see more of her work, visit https://youtube.com/shorts/qPr70hB85j0?si=J–lj096UBmixnxc or her Facebook page: F KEARNS CREATIONS.
