UK's first pre-loved charity fashion store takes over ex-Topshop site

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Jan 18, 2023

It’s called Charity Super.Mkt and is clear evidence just how big the UK pre-loved fashion market has become. Billed as a “department store for second-hand style,” the pop-up is taking over the former Topshop store at Brent Cross shopping centre in London on 27 January for four weeks.

Ten charities including Age UK, All Aboard, Barnardo’s, Cancer Research, Emmaus, Havens Hospice, SCT, Marie Curie, Traid, and Shelter have come together to create the concept store, “marking the first time that national and local charities have collaborated for a multi-charity physical retail store”.

It will offer a curated selection of second-hand clothing and will be staffed by volunteers “inspired by ethical and sustainable shopping”.

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Charity Super.Mkt is the brainchild of Wayne Hemingway, founder of British fashion brand Red or Dead and Hemingway Design, and Maria Chenoweth, chief executive of sustainable clothing charity Traid.

Hemingway said: “Charity shops are no longer a signal of decline in our town centres; they represent a powerful and positive movement towards the circular economy and a future that is being wholeheartedly embraced by consumers and contributes hundreds of millions of pounds to our economy, and good causes.”

He added: “Brent Cross is one of London’s best known retail destinations and having Charity Super.Mkt right next door to John Lewis and Apple feels right. Shopping at Charity Super.Mkt ensures that every pound spent is a ‘good pound’ as it’s better for the environment and offers a more sustainable approach to fashion.”

Chenoweth added: “Having been in charity retail for over 30 years, being part of the first ever charity retail collaboration in an old fast-fashion Topshop store is iconic. Charity Super.Mkt hits circular economy and sustainability aspirations, whilst also hitting the cost-of-living crisis. Charity retail is the understated best of sustainable business, there is no better example of a green circular economy in action at this scale.”