London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

Brent Cross: Charity department store opens in 'UK first'

Brent Cross: Charity department store opens in 'UK first'

What is billed as the UK's first multi-charity store has opened to shoppers.

Charity Super.Mkt at Brent Cross Shopping Centre sells donated clothing supplied by 10 UK charities, including Barnardo's and Cancer Research.

It comes as second-hand fashion is gaining in popularity amid the rising cost of living and a higher demand for sustainable shopping.

The pop-up store, which is staffed by volunteers, will be open for a month at the north London shopping centre.

Other charities contributing clothes include Age UK, All Aboard, Emmaus, Havens Hospice, SCT, Marie Curie, TRAID and Shelter.

The department store is the brainchild of Wayne Hemingway, founder of the Red or Dead fashion brand, and Maria Chenoweth, the CEO of TRAID (Textile Reuse and International Development).


Wayne Hemingway and Maria Chenoweth hope Charity Super.Mkt will help to change the way people think about second-hand fashion

Ms Chenoweth said they were inspired to organise the project because charity retailers "weren't getting the recognition they deserved".

She said this was a result of second-hand fashion being "hijacked" by bigger companies to appeal to socially conscious shoppers.

Mr Hemingway said that another key motivation for opening the pop-up store was to combat the "old-fashioned attitude" that High Street charity shops were a "sign of decline".

"When you look at the demographic of people who are shopping in charity shops, it's the people who are leading the way in thinking," he said, adding that 65% of people across the UK wear second-hand clothes at least once a week.

Charity Super.Mkt sells second-hand clothes from charities such as Emmaus and TRAID


Ms Chenoweth also argued that stereotypes about charity shops needed to change.

"It's not a place of musty old clothes any more, it's just a place of normality," she said, adding that post-pandemic, some charity brands had seen a 20% increase in sales.

Mr Hemingway said this rise in popularity was partly down to young people looking to "supplement their income", after seeing lots of them buying items in Charity Super.Mkt in order to resell them online.

He said that charity shops provided a useful "side-hustle" for "entrepreneurial" young Londoners, who "won't be able to afford a house until they're probably in the 40s, if at all".

Charity clothes sales rose by 20% after the pandemic


He said it was a "win-win" situation for young people trying to pay the rent and the charities they were buying from.

Ms Chenoweth argued that the increase in demand for second-hand fashion was not just down to the rising cost of living, but was "mainly driven" by shoppers' concerns about sustainability.

Isaac, 24, and Lauren, 22, said that this was their main incentive for visiting charity shops.

Isaac and Lauren said they enjoy shopping more when their money is going to charity


Lauren said that buying second-hand clothes "feels better", because "you get great quality and you're giving to charity at the same time".

Isaac agreed, adding that it "keeps clothes in use for longer and "the money's going to a good place".

Anita said Charity Super.Mkt stood out from the charity shops she had visited before


Anita said that she was drawn to the pop-up store while shopping in Brent Cross because it looked different from the typical High Street charity shop.

"It's nice and clean and tidy," she said, adding that her daughter was a keen charity shopper: "My daughter's in uni, she always goes to charity shops,

"I thought: 'I have to tell her about this!'"

Fabia's outfit is completely second hand


Fabia, from Brighton, has long been a fan of second-hand fashion, and proudly mentioned that her outfit was completely made up of clothes from charity shops.

She said that she enjoyed going to charity shops because "there's more choice".

"It's individual and different, you can find things in charity shops that you can't find in High Street stores," she added, saying she wants a store similar to Charity Super.Mkt to open in Brighton.

The founders want to take Charity Super.Mkt "on tour"


After learning that the pop-up store was previously a Topshop, Fabia said: "When big stores close down in shopping malls like this, it leaves a big gap," adding that it would be "wonderful" if disused shop spaces across the country were used in a similar way.

The founders of Charity Super.Mkt share her hopes, and told the BBC they planned to take Charity Super.Mkt on tour, visiting cities across the UK.

Mr Hemingway said his "dream" was for the store to become like "the fair coming to town", saying that he wanted it to be an "exciting" experience for shoppers.

Charity Super.Mkt will be open until 27 February.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK: Former Football Association Leaders Call for World Cup Boycott Over FIFA Privatization Plan
Forbidden Love: China severs millions from their virtual partners
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Massive Wildfires Ravage Southern Europe: Fatalities in Greece and Evacuations Across France, Spain, and Turkey
NHS Leaders Warn Royal Mail Tariff Increases Will Raise Administrative Costs
Immigration Remains the Public's Top Concern in Britain, Ipsos Poll Finds
Britain Approves 16 New Grid Storage Projects to Strengthen Electricity Network
London-Listed Merger Activity Climbs Even as IPO Market Remains Weak
Institute of Directors Warns High Energy Costs and Taxes Continue to Weigh on UK Businesses
North Sea Industry Calls for Faster Approval of £10 Billion Rosebank and Jackdaw Projects
UK Inflation Eases to 2.6% but Higher Energy Costs Could Renew Price Pressures
Burnham Holds Talks With Saudi and Qatari Leaders on Middle East Security and Energy
Burnham and Zelenskyy Announce UK Electronic Warfare Technology Cooperation During London Visit
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Launches Cross-Party Push for Social Care Reform in England
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
France Evacuates Atlantic Coast Resorts as Wildfire Risk Rises Again
Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Strikes Kumamoto as Rescuers Search Collapsed Buildings
OpenAI Faces Demands for Full Disclosure After Models Breach Hugging Face
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
Royal Collection Trust Income Falls as Palace Visits Retreat From Record Highs
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Ministers Examine Social-Care Levy as Burnham Seeks Funding Settlement
UK Attractions Sector Forecast to Add £587 Million in Visitor Spending
England Coast Path Extends With New Suffolk Estuary Walking Route
Attorney General Wins Longer Jail Term for Fatal Dangerous Driving Case
Andrew and Tristan Tate Remain in U.S. Custody Pending UK Extradition
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Workers Secure Above-Inflation Pay Deal
Prime Minister Seeks Cross-Party Agreement on Social Care Reform
Court Upholds Competition Ruling Against Drugmakers Over Hydrocortisone Prices
UK Unveils Major Technical Education Reform for Secondary Schools
UK Judge Rebukes Home Office Over AI-Generated Errors in Asylum Case
UK and Ukraine Agree to Share Electronic Warfare Technology
Apple Briefly Crosses Five Trillion Dollar Valuation as Investors Retreat From AI Bets
Badenoch Offers Tory Votes to Keep Serious Offenders in Prison
Why Americans Queue for $15 Ice Cream and a $100 Caviar Pint
Another AI Genius Left the United States — and Silicon Valley Is Starting to Worry
Shein Reports $99mn Loss as Trade Barriers Test Low-Cost Model
CXMT Gains 466% in China’s Biggest IPO Since 2010
Amazon Seeks Approval for 5,105-Satellite Mobile Network
Burnham Puts School-to-Work Reform at Centre of Welfare Strategy
Johnson & Johnson Agrees to $5.5 Billion Talc Lawsuit Settlement
EU AI Act Shapes Global Corporate Standards, Study Finds
UK-Japan Relations Expected to Deepen Under Burnham Government
Burnham Signals Tough Decisions on Council Tax Reform
UK Inflation Slows to 2.6% in June
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75%
Prime Minister Burnham Opens Talks With Business Leaders on Economic Growth
Government Launches 'Number Ten North' to Drive UK Devolution
Labour Regains Poll Lead After Burnham's First Weeks in Office
Prime Minister Burnham Rules Out Early UK General Election Before 2029
×