Charity Shops

thrift store: American bucket term for second-hand stores. Often refers to the business model where items are donated to the store, and the store may be a non-profit serving a specific cause.

consignment shop: American term for second-hand stores where the business model is for items to be sold to the store instead of donated. Typically for-profit and dissociated from any social causes.

charity shop: British term for non-profit second-hand stores that serve a specific cause.

opportunity (op) shop: Aussie/New Zealand term for non-profit second-hand stores that serve a specific cause.

pre-loved: a sweeter way of saying "used"

Thoughtful Consumer rule #82: When exploring another town, check out their second-hand scene. There are so many different styles in different regions, that you'll find things you could never find back home, and you may get to bring home a discounted souvenir!

I recently when on a trip to the UK, and London and Edinburgh are *extremely* supportive of second-hand, with charity shops throughout the cities. (Learn the local lingo: they looked at me funny when I said "thrift store".) In the UK, it seemed the stores were much more transparent about exactly what cause they were supporting, for example, the shop I went into was named Royal Trinity Hospice, and others were named after supporting children with autism, etc.

Royal Trinity Hospice was a cute store, well-decorated like a local boutique, with a few main sections: general second-hand clothing, luxury brands, and finally company donations (ie. new items that were leftover from last season).

 

To give you an example of the type of savings you might find, see this splashy linen shift dress. Similar Paul Smith dresses go for approx 300 new, making this like-new dress about 75% off.

 

I was happy to discover this sweet rose-gold necklace in the "last season company donations" section, meaning it's completely brand new but wasn't able to be sold previously. At just £7 (~$9), it was a bargain.

A little different from my standard "single pendant on a chain", I like the delicate, cascading circles.

The store had reminders throughout of why we want to shop second-hand:

Save an item from the landfill, all while looking stylish and donating to charity? Count me in!