The Most Circular Gift Card Out There

Forget gift cards for high-street stores, it’ll soon be possible to buy gift cards to use in participating charity shops – reducing fast fashion and boosting pre-loved gifts, as well as charities’ funds. The Charity Shop Gift Card, which is a social enterprise, is 18 months in the making, explains Lee Fellows, the managing director.

The original idea came from a woman named Lottie, a retail designer for Save the Children, who pondered why there wasn’t a gift card for charity shops. She went to her dad, Richard, who was in the payments industry, and Richard brought the idea to Lee, who worked in the gift card industry.

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When Lee got made redundant, he worked for a social enterprise, and it exposed him to the plight people face in the UK – on the side, The Charity Shop Gift card was his passion project. But now, 18 months on, he works on it full-time.

Independently, a similar concept had been dreamt up by Sarah, a former school teacher who wanted to find a way to help people access the secondhand goods available in charity shops without the charities missing out. It was via the Charity Retail Association that the two initiatives joined forces and developed the concept further.

So, How Does It Work?

The scheme gives charities access to the UK gift card market, which – a ccording to the Gift Card and Voucher Association (GCVA) – the UK market is worth £7 billion a year. Consumers are more aware than ever about the environment and the damage fast fashion has – and the perception of charity shops has changed massively in the past 10 years.

The cards can be in physical form (recyclable and compostable), as well as e-vouchers and charity gift receipts. The Charity Shop Gift Card is working with the Charity Retail Association to sign up charities – where people will be able to redeem their gift cards in participating stores. The gift cards will be sold via gift card channels, as well as in charity shops.

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The team believe the biggest market for them will also be selling to councils and support agencies, says Lee, where the cards are distributed to families in need in the area. The funds will likely go further for these families, it stops goods going to landfill, and it helps charities fund the sector, too.

“We are in the process of signing up charities now,” says Lee, “with a soft launch in October 2021. We think it’s the most circular gift card out there.”

The Charity Shop Gift Card will also buy their own cards to donate to refuges, food banks, and other support agencies, who will get the funds into the hands of people that are most in need.

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