Shop News
Galway Charity Shop Week: Re-Use, Reduce & Re-Think
April 2008
The managers of six of the major Charity Shops in Galway City, including Age Action, Amnesty, Galway Simon Community, Harambee, Oxfam and the St. Vincent De Paul are asking the people of Galway to get on board to celebrate the inaugural Galway Charity Shop Week, which will take place from April 7th to April 12th.
Re-Use & Reduce
The Shop Development Manager of the Galway Simon Shop, Kerry Mossop, commented that in 2005 Irish charity shops ensured that more than 10,000 tons of clothes, shoes and household textiles which would otherwise have been dumped in landfill were either reused or recycled. This is the equivalent of 1000 40-foot containers. More than 80% of the items were reused; the balance was recycled either as re-carded wool or cotton or as insulation and padding in the motor industry.
In Galway, the charities taking part in this initiative estimate that they take 3000 refuse sacks of items in each month which would otherwise go to landfill. By supporting the charity shops in Galway through donations or purchases of goods, not only can you do your part for the local environment but you can also help to raise valuable funds for reputable local charities. The participating charities wish to disassociate themselves completely from the companies which were the subject of recent investigations into bogus charity collections. All the participating shops are reputable charities and all income generated through the shops are used to support the work of the charities.
The Age Action, Galway Simon Community, Harambee and the St. Vincent De Paul shops are all actively seeking donations of good quality clothes, shoes, books and bric-a-brac. The Galway Simon shop and St. Vincent De Paul shop also accept items of furniture.
Re-Think
In addition to providing a channel for reducing waste, charity shops in Galway also provide a valuable outlet for the sale and promotion of Fair Trade products, which include everything from bags to biscuits. Like purchases of donated items, the purchase of Fair Trade products has far reaching and significant effects. The Amnesty and Oxfam Ireland shops both stock these products enabling their customers to shop ethically. “We are asking people to think about the positive impact that their money can have and to take a look in charity shops to see the huge range of products which are available”, said Kerry Mossop.
Events of the Week
During the course of the week running April 7th to 13th there will be number of events taking part in the six shops, including in-store promotions and discounts. It would be well worth dropping in to see what bargain you can pick up!
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