Galway city holds host to many charity shops, big and small, including St Vincent De Paul, Vision Ireland, the Irish Cancer society and Enable Ireland. All of which understand the impact that the younger generation of second-hand shoppers is having on a new era of charity shops.
The charity shops sprawled across Galway city understand, maybe better than anyone else, the importance of catering to a young demographic. Dee McFadden, manager of St Vincent de Paul, Merchants road, notes that she started learning from the young people.
“Young people are the key to maintaining the popularity of sustainable fashion and it is important to listen to what they want,” she said.
“We have sought out what the young people are looking for, what will draw them into the shops, what can be provided rather than the “old fashioned” charity shops.”
Her answer to this was a vintage section, introducing this section allowed for young people to feel like they had a section within these affordable charity shops.
A similar vintage clothing section can also been found inside the doors of Vision Ireland, formerly NCBI, on Eglinton Street.
“Galway is a city of young people and that St Vincent De Paul hopes to cater for them, through bringing in their retro, vintage and designer section. SVP also offers a sport section, which includes jerseys which are immensely popular among young men.
Dee now hopes to introduce a “perfectly imperfect” range.
“This range takes inspiration from the original use of second hand clothing, which involved buying clothes that may not be your exact fit, it may be missing a button or it has a hole in the pocket. Fashion among young people relies heavily on individuality, many people like to have “different” pieces, they take pride in the fact their jacket is from a charity shop or is a “one of a kind” piece.”
Dee hopes to capitalise on this growing interest with her new range, which will sell items of clothes that are “imperfect” and allow the owner to turn it into something that is unique to them. This range includes partially damaged clothes that are being sold for €1 to €3.
Thirty-five years ago charity shops catered for those who needed cheaper alternatives, there was a sort of stigma attached to shopping in a charity shop, however, this is changing and it is down to young people.
“This new generation views second-hand clothing as cool and trendy, changing the narrative surrounding shopping in charity shops.” “It is ye [young people] who have opened that door. That’s why we embrace it here, we try and bring in styles that will suit the new age.”
While this new era of charity shops has attracted a new audience, it is the volunteers behind the scenes who keep the shops going.
The shops themselves are run mainly by volunteers from all types of different backgrounds. Many volunteers enjoy the social aspect of working in a charity shop and find it a good way of connecting with the community.
Irish Cancer Society manager Aileen says people who may have just moved to the area, or people who may feel lonely find it a great way of meeting new people as well as giving back to the community.
“Many people also use it as an opportunity to improve their English. Many workers started with little to no English, but over time were able to make connections with their fellow workers and improve their English. People of all different backgrounds and abilities are welcome to volunteer.”
There are also various schemes that support people and encourage them to volunteer at charity shops.
Susan who works for Vision Ireland told the Advertiser that many people operate under CE (Community Employment ) schemes which encourage people who have been out of the workforce for some time to get back into it.
“People also operate under Tús schemes which offer short term employment for unemployed people.
“There is no set amount of hours someone has to volunteer; if someone can only volunteer an hour or two a week they are more than welcome.
“Even an hour a week is enough to help in the shop or cover someone else’s break. We couldn’t operate without the volunteers, we are very very lucky,” she concluded.
