Julia Davies, impact investor, philanthropist and founding member of Patriotic Millionaires UK tells us why you can keep your designer stores – she always has been, and always will be, a charity shop fan.
I’ve always worried about waste and how we are trashing our planet with vast amounts of rubbish. So reuse is in my blood and buying second hand is second nature. I love the triple benefits of giving money to charities instead of to tax dodging mega corporations like Amazon; keeping stuff out of landfill instead of funding the production of more stuff with all its associated environmental harms and avoiding all the packaging waste that comes with buying new.
Did you know that buying new contributes to the loss of whales and other marine life? They are so stressed out by the constant noise and disturbance of shipping piled high with containers that they can’t communicate and so fail to mate.
When my sons were young the packaging associated with birthday and Christmas presents horrified me and my house was full of second hand toys and books. The most plasticky tacky second hand toy is more sustainable than expensive FSC certified wooden, but new, toys – as everything new comes with environmental harm – despite the clever marketing.
I always try to buy second hand and only buy new where I need something very specific which is hard to find. I love the hit and miss nature of charity shops – finding something I need in a charity shop is like a lucky win and I am so pleased that I’ve passed that love of finding a wanted treasure on to my sons. My youngest plays chess and wanted a small chess set that he could take travelling. He refused to buy it new and kept looking until with triumph he found it in a charity shop.
My favourite charity shop has to be Lewis-Manning Hospice Care in Westbourne – the source of so many lucky finds. Slightly madly I’ve bought 3 chaise longue from the shop which I’ve had re-upholstered in really bright patterns. It’s great for vintage crockery (I’ve got a bit of a Portmeirion habit) and some great clothing finds – especially for festivals and Christmas novelty jumpers and dresses. I’ve bought a few maxi dresses recently and had them taken up so just below the knee to make really handy casual summer dresses.
During the winter in Covid, where restaurants could only serve you outside, I bought a great fake fur coat and hat and pretended to be a Russian oligarch.
Charity shops for me are the very best of the circular economy. Its guilt free shopping – I can buy a dress and wear it a few times – then I pop it back in my charity shop box for it to go back for someone else to enjoy. Patriotic Millionaires UK campaign to tackle extreme wealth inequality and for higher taxes on wealth. Julia invests in companies providing sustainable solutions including sustainable period product company Mooncup and Library of Things.
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