Charity Post: SATCoL and Retail Partners Unite to Reduce Waste, Support Sustainability, and Fund Vital Charity Work

The Salvation Army’s trading arm, Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL), is a leader in driving positive social and environmental impact. With a longstanding commitment to reuse and recycling, SATCoL operates a nationwide network of charity shops, donation centers, and clothing banks, working alongside community groups, businesses, local authorities, schools, and individuals—all united by a shared mission to help others and protect the planet.

Partnering with brands and retailers, SATCoL accepts excess, returned, and end-of-line stock of clothing and home goods, reselling them in its charity shops across the UK. This collaboration offers brands an opportunity to reduce storage costs, free up warehouse space for new stock, and divert more products away from disposal.

As a call to action, SATCoL produced a photoshoot with leading fashion industry photographer Camille Sanson and Fashion Stylist Karl Willett.  
Photo: SATCoL

By extending the life cycle of these items, SATCoL and its partners contribute to reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions while raising vital funds for charity. In addition, SATCoL’s investment in modern processing centers and innovative textile recycling technology enables large-scale reuse and recycling solutions never seen before in the UK. The organization also supports businesses in amplifying their sustainability efforts by promoting their partnerships and shared commitment to creating lasting change.

To highlight the impact of corporate donations, SATCoL recently collaborated on a photoshoot with renowned fashion photographer Camille Sanson and stylist Karl Willett, known for his work with celebrities at the Grammy Awards, Met Gala, and Vanity Fair.

Reflecting on the project, Karl Willett shared:  "It was a pleasure to be part of the Corporate Donations shoot—a scheme making a tangible impact by diverting everyday items from landfill and championing sustainability."

The campaign showcases the style and potential of second-hand fashion, electronics, and home goods—categories SATCoL is eager to receive. The organization has gained industry-wide recognition for its work in helping brands achieve their sustainability goals and promoting the benefits of second-hand shopping.

Shaunacy Burne, Corporate Partnerships Manager at SATCoL, emphasized the importance of these collaborations: "We are working with businesses to repurpose obsolete, end-of-line, and faulty stock, ensuring these products are reused rather than discarded. Not only do we help brands meet their CSR objectives through sustainable solutions, but the donations we receive are sold in our retail outlets to raise essential funds for our parent charity. We’re actively seeking new partnership opportunities—together, we can significantly reduce waste and keep more items out of landfill. Get in touch; we’d love to hear from you."

British charity launches Fashion campaign in July

If you have a knack for sewing and loves to be creative in customising your clothes, you ought to get involved with a charity drive to showcase your talent.

On 1st July, UK charity the British Heart Foundation will launch their first fashion-led campaign entitled, The Big Stitch, to raise awareness to upcycling and reducing waste while raising funds for the BHF.

Shoppers are encouraged to pop into one of their 750 BHF shops nationwide, buy an item and customise it by utilising sewing and dressmaking skills.

All enthusiastic sewing bees are urged to upload their ‘before’ and ‘after’ images on the BHF’s Twitter, Instagram or on BHF’s Facebook page and be in with a chance of winning a Night Out at a London West End show.

On hand to provide support to the Big Stitch campaign is Senior Costume Tchnician of London College of Fashion Jax Black, as well as YouTuber, Just Jodes.  They will both partake in a series of tutorials throughout July on how to customise current trends with ease. The tutorials will appear across Just Jodes social media channels.

Jax Black said: “It is great to see the BHF championing sewing and dressmaking skills. Making alterations, adding buttons, trims, embroidery and other decorative items to your BHF purchases are a great way to update your wardrobe this July.”

Allison Swaine-Hughes, Retail Operations Director at the BHF said: “We are really excited to see new and existing customers come into our shops and browse the vast fashion offerings we have on display. With clothing waste on the rise, our shops provide the perfect sustainable solution for everyone.

According to the BHF, sewing is a skill worth promoting as it has been revealed in a recent study that Brits are spending over £2.5 billion fixing or tailoring clothes and £3 billion replacing items of clothing due to an easily-repairable fault last year.   Some 260 million items of clothing were thrown or given away due to a fault that could have been repaired, with men giving away around six items per year and women chucking out an average of four items a year due to minor damage.

The Big Stitch will launch from July 1st until July 31st. Entries using the hashtag #TheBigStitch and tagging the BHF will be automatically entered into a competition*. A winner will be selected and announced on Aug 1st. 

For further information on The Big Stitch and information about how to locate your nearest BHF shop visit bhf.org.uk/TheBigStitch

A red-carpet parade of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home’s pooches along with stars and celebrities.

Need a break from all the Brexit and US Presidential talk in the media, these lovely pictures can offer you some welcome relief.

British actor Guy Henry and an admirer.

London's famous animal rescue - Battersea Dogs & Cats Home - once again wowed its supporters and animal lovers last week with the return of its star-studded Collars & Coats Gala Ball at the iconic Battersea Evolution in south London.

TV presenter known for his animal and nature world credentials
goes eye to eye with a man's best friend.

Celebrating its eighth successful year, the high-profile annual charity extravaganza saw a host of UK and international stars take to the red carpet to raise vital funds for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home’s work in rescuing and re-homing abandoned dogs.

Pas de deux!
BBC's Strictly-Come-Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood with friend.

London fashion guru Hilary Alexander
and
hairstylist to celebrities
Charles Worthington
with one of the red carpet dogs.

This year’s star line-up, from the world of TV, music, film, sport and fashion, included: Battersea Ambassadors Dame Jacqueline Wilson and David Gandy, and friends of the Home, including Strictly-Come-Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood, TV Dr Christian Jessen, as well as actor Guy Henry, Danielle Bux, fashion guru Hilary Alexander, hairstylist supremo Charles Worthington, comedian Harry Hill and Leah Weller,  and the iconic music group Sister Sledge. Guests and stars were welcomed by the popular ‘Battersea Doggie Guard Of Honour’ – a red-carpet parade of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home’s pooches.

Comedian Harry Hill with Sisters Sledge group members (Debbie, Kim and Joni) and pooches.

After an opening number by Britain’s Got Talent gymnastics troupe Spellbound, Battersea ambassadors and supporters united on stage to highlight the work and achievements of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. Other highlights of this year’s event included a spectacular performance by headline act Sisters Sledge who brought their legendary R’n’B and disco hits to the dance floor.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Ambassador Dame Jacqueline Wilson  with a friend.

Claire Horton, Battersea’s Chief Executive said last year over 8,000 dogs and cats needed Battersea’s care and attention to help find them the best possible new homes.

Fashion model David Gandy and pooch.

It costs Battersea over £10m to care for its dogs and cats every year, and with no government funding, the Collars & Coats Gala Ball is all about helping to increase awareness of the important work the charity does each and every day of the year to offer a second chance in life to thousands of animals.

Since it was founded, Battersea which was established in 1860, has rescued, reunited and rehomed over 3.1 million dogs and cats.  Battersea cares for an average of 300 dogs and 220 cats across its three centres at any one time.

For further information on Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and to pledge donations, please visit www.battersea.org.uk
or call +44-(0)207 627 7883.

As New Year resolutions go, this one leads to the charity shops.

Well, it's that time of the year again and as we reflect on the happenings in our lives over the last 12 months (the triumphs along with a few regrets perhaps), once again we are going through that process of decluttering our possessions in order to make room for the new year. 

But decluttering is a major responsibility, a chore that I always dread because it is not simply about throwing things out, but deciding on what to discard and what to keep?

But before we do anything, we should consider how we can prolong the life of any items we no longer need or want, as I do believe reuse is better than recycling, or at least to consider the further usefulness of any item before chucking it out to the recycle bin, and the default destination for most of our unwanted possessions will be the local charity shop.

Donating to a charity shop allows your items to live on as well as generating funds to protect and help those who most need it in our society, according to Alastair Petrie, General Manager of BMc Azurri, a company specialising in the provision of Gift Aid systems and IT services for the charity sector. 

The only problem appears to be that a lot of people aren’t sure exactly what’s worth donating, or how best to donate. "We’ve found that some charities are missing out on funding because of the processes required to maximise the benefit available from every donation," according to Alastair. 

So, if you are planning on a new year clear out, Alastair offers these tips for sorting through our unwanted items and making sure charity shops can get the most from your charitable donations.

Remember, remember…Gift Aid

The most important factor in donating to charity shops is Gift Aid. Gift Aid is a tax incentive which allows anyone who pays income tax in the UK to complete a very simple declaration to this effect, stating that they’re happy for Gift Aid to be applied to their donation. Any donations they make are then treated as being made after basic-rate income tax, so the charity can reclaim the value of that tax on each donation. For most people, this adds 25% to the value of their donations, and can have a big impact on a charity’s profits and ability to help their cause.

Declarations are incredibly simple to make

Originally they had to be made in writing, but now they can be made orally. Charities still need to confirm the declaration in writing for records, but for the donor there’s little more to it than verbally confirming that you’re happy for a charity to get 25% extra from the government on all of your donations.

Make this declaration as early as possible in the process, to ensure that you’re on record as a Gift Aid donor. Many charities will have systems in place to enable you to make a declaration over the phone when you first contact them, or fill out an online form. Confirming Gift Aid doesn’t require a signature, so you can get the process underway immediately.

Almost everything is welcome

So what to donate? The short answer is anything which might sell. Just a few examples of donations which are always in demand:

•           Unwanted gifts

•           Clothing and shoes

•           Accessories

•           Toys and games

•           Books, DVDs, CDs and especially vinyl

•           Crockery, glassware, bakeware, etc.

A lot of people wonder – especially in the case of clothes – whether their donation will actually sell. Charities are likely to face a disposal cost for items which they can’t shift, but in the case of clothing, almost every charity shop will have a relationship with one or more textile merchants, so everything donated can be sold on. Even if the charity shop is essentially a landfill alternative in the case of some items, you can always label a bag of clothes ‘for rag.’

Practically every donation is useful. 

Whilst all charities will have the ability to gain income from the “rags “ sale many of them do not maximise the Gift Aid that can increase the value to the charity This is partly because of the associated administration effort but the latest developments in systems make this easier thus enabling charities to claim Gift Aid on the regular Rags income stream and maximise the return so donors should consider a charity shop ahead of the alternatives of landfill and the cash for clothes operators.

Check first for specialist items

Furniture and electrical items can bring often bring in higher revenue for a charity shop. Making sure that the shop you’re planning on donating to can handle this type of donation is important, as not all locations have the facilities. When donating items of furniture, make sure that they have a fire retardant label attached, as this will be necessary for resale and will cost the charity if absent. Any electrical goods should be inspected and tested before donation, ideally by a qualified electrician. If you’re not sure if a charity can handle a certain sort of donation, always contact them first and describe the item fully so that they can judge for themselves.

Focus on what might sell rather than what might not

It’ll be up to the shop’s customers to decide what they’re interested in, and that coat that you wouldn’t be seen dead in might wind up becoming someone else’s treasured possession; those old boxsets that you’ll never watch again might introduce someone to their new favourite show.