New research has found that more than half of people in the South East bought items from charity shops in the last year, with 76% saying they have unwanted clothing sitting in their wardrobe that they don't need.

The Charity Retail Association, which carried out the research, is now calling on the public to make a donation of unused items to their local charity shop to help, and to pledge to continue donating during the coming year.  

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas will meet staff at Oxfam on Western Road tomorrow (18 May) to make a donation of unwanted clothes in support of the Choose Charity Shops campaign (1).

Lucas commented:

"Charity shops like Oxfam have long featured on our high streets and the trend for vintage fashion - not to mention greater awareness of the need to live more sustainably - has broadened their appeal to a whole new generation of shoppers.

"The Charity Retail Association research showing that more than half of people in our region shopped at a charity store in the last year is proof that, as the Government's damaging economic policies hit home, these affordable stores really are more necessary than ever.

"So rather than letting the unused clothing that clutters up our wardrobes to go to waste, it's vital that we make a real effort to support our local charity shops and donate as much as possible."

Warren Alexander, Chief Executive of the Charity Retail Association, said:

"Charity shops are a uniquely British institution and our new research shows the scale of the national love affair with them, but they can't survive without donations from the public.

"The unused and unwanted items in people's homes are worth millions of pounds to charities, and we hope this campaign will act as a reminder to people that making a donation of unused clothing or goods to their local charity shop is a great way to help charity when you don't have cash to give."

ENDS

Notes to editors

1) Over 5,500 shops are participating in the Choose Charity Shops campaign, which aims to get more donations of unwanted items into charity shops in and around the campaign launch week 14^th - 19^th May 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.choosecharityshops.org/

2) The Charity Retail Association is the UK trade association for charity shops, representing 80 per cent of UK charity retailers and over 7,000 shops.