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 Amy Lamé introduces the final programme in this brand new series from the Community Channel showing you how to bag more than just a bargain from your local charity shop, and inspiring you to make a difference and get involved. The programme gives bags of information about working for a charity shop, introduces the nation’s ‘chazzers’ who enjoy nothing more than scouring local charity shops for the next hidden bargain, and get top tips from fashion guru John Scott (ITV’s This Morning). Don’t miss your opportunity to watch ‘Charity Chic’ right here on your Community Channel.
In today's show globetrotting journalist Michael Durham comes into the studio to discuss his epic journey 10,000 miles across the world following a blouse from being donated to a clothing bank in Leicester to a small township in Zambia. This amazing adventure began as a dinner table bet to see if it would be possible to follow an item of clothing from its donation to a charity in the UK through a drop-in box all the way to the person who received it in Africa.
Through following the blouse on its intercontinental voyage Michael began to understand the nuances of the system that takes second-hand clothing from the West to provide affordable clothing for people across the developing world. Most people imagine that donated clothes are given straight to the people who need them. However the reality is that they are sold to a legitimate middleman who give a percentage of their profits to charity. They are then sold on to businessmen and dealers in Africa who sell them on to the small traders who make a living out of selling clothes.
Michael explains, "Most people don't regard the clothes that arrive in Africa as charity, they often don't realise that they've been given to charity shops. Almost the whole of Africa is covered by what almost amounts to an enormous open-air second-hand clothes market. This occurs in virtually every country and it's very common in southern Africa."
One of the greatest joys of shopping in charity shops is the thrill of the unknown as you venture into your local charity shop hoping to snap-up another bargain purchase. 26-year-old Laxmin Pattni just loves shopping in charity shops, sneaking off whenever she can to do a little bargain hunting. She gives us a glimpse of her extensive collection of bargains handbags, earrings, dresses and furniture. "When I purchase something that's at a reasonable price not only am I buying something that's at a good price, but I'm also buying something that's helping a good cause. It's a bit like recycling you know because when you recycle something you feel like you've done a good job for the day. I enjoy it," says Pattni.
71-year old Merlynn White volunteers in her local British Heart Foundation shop in Ramsgate. She’s worked in the shop for over 17 years and it’s become an integral part of her life. "I volunteered mainly because I needed to do something - I couldn't just stagnate. I've been busy and worked all my life and I needed to do something. It's just my little way of showing that I can help to help other people and give something back." Merlynn gets involved in every aspect of the shops retail activity, including sorting and steaming the clothes, arranging the displays and working on the till. "You know you're doing a good job, you feel like you're out there and part of that foundation, you're part of the world and you're doing your bit. You don't feel like a has-been or a person sitting at home alone. I need to be out there doing something and that's where I want to be," says Merlynn.
 Also featured on this week’s programme is an exceptional little diary from the 1920’s by a woman who’s been dubbed ‘the original Bridget Jones’ for her tales of excess and excitement in Bristol. This extraordinary diary was discovered in the Oxfam’s Bristol branch and soon attracted international attention for it’s unique style and racy content. The organisation realised there was an interest in the diary that warranted publishing the book and so far this tiny volume has raised in excess of £50,000 for the international development agency.
John Scott from ITV’s This Morning is back in the studio to help you get the look for less. This week he’s helping a young man to find that trendy casual look for pennies rather than pounds. But that’s not all, this week Scott has tracked down some classic Tommy Nutter suits from the swinging sixties. Popular in their time amongst such superstars as the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, they remain the suits to be seen in for their unusual and quirky style.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 03 March 2006 )
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