Pre-loved retail concept has so far raised 拢3.4m for charity
Unique multi-charity retail store is set to open its first ever Welsh venue at St David鈥檚 Cardiff on 14th February, offering a curated collection of sustainable, affordable second-hand fashion and bringing together multiple charities under one roof.
The 鈥榙epartment store for second-hand style鈥, founded by Maria Chenoweth and Wayne Hemingway, will be launching at St David鈥檚 with a new partnership alongside the Royal Opera House, which invites guests to buy theatre costumes from past productions for the first time ever in a shopping centre.
new Made Better initiative which upcycles high-quality pieces into one-off items. With thousands of tons of clothing ending up in landfill each year often due to small, repairable issues, this 鈥榬escue鈥 scheme creates one-of-a-kind pieces that look good and do good.
Charity Super.Mkt鈥檚 partnership with the Royal Opera House will allow guests to browse and purchase iconic and elaborate costumes worn during the institution鈥檚 past ballet and opera productions, sourced from its Scenery Store in Aberdare. Funds raised from the rare pieces, which will be accessibly priced, will go towards the Royal Ballet and Opera Foundation Fund, supporting every area of the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera.
The pre-loved 鈥榝ashion with compassion鈥 retail concept has already proven hugely popular with shoppers in locations such as Manchester, London, Glasgow, and Reading, selling more than 400,500 items that may have otherwise gone to landfill since its launch while raising over 拢3 million for both local and national charities including Oxfam, British Heart Foundation, Shelter, Cancer Research, Age UK, and more.
Helen Morgan, Centre Director of St David鈥檚 Cardiff, commented:
鈥淥ur guests have an appetite for unique fashion, while also showing their support to charitable initiatives that we鈥檝e hosted at the centre, so we know they are going to love this new department store offering the best charity retailers in one place.
鈥淐harity Super.Mkt is a fantastic concept which aligns with our sustainability goals, so we鈥檙e delighted to host its Welsh debut. There will be some incredible items waiting for our guests to snap up, including beautiful, rare pieces from the Royal Opera House鈥檚 collection, all while raising vital funds for charity.鈥
Wayne Hemingway, Charity Super.Mkt Co-founder, added: 鈥淲e are really looking forward to Charity Super.Mkt鈥檚 first store in Wales. Charity Super.Mkt is proving, for the first time, that well curated secondhand charity fashion can sit happily next to large world-renowned fashion brands in busy locations and that secondhand clothing is no longer second best. St David鈥檚 in Cardiff is a busy shopping centre and we are relishing being close to Zara, Levi鈥檚, Boss and giving all those shoppers an affordable, sustainable and purposeful alternative.鈥
TRAID CEO and Co-founder, Maria Chenoweth, said:
鈥淐harity Super.Mkt is super excited to be bringing its concept and retail offer to Cardiff, our charities and curation of clothing offer something special, which is sustainable fashion that raises money for good causes. Our mission is to get charity retail into the spaces and places that it would not otherwise operate, we are sure that St Davids will be the perfect pitch.鈥
Charity Super.Mkt opens to the public at St David鈥檚 Cardiff on Friday 14th February and is celebrating the store open with a launch party event on Thursday the 13th February, between 4pm-7pm, providing shoppers with an exclusive sneak peak of the store. The store is located on the Upper Mall, near John Lewis and Zara. Click here to book onto the event.
Charity Super.Mkt Facts:
Since it launched two years ago, Charity Super.Mkt has:
- Sold 400,565 second-hand items, and in so doing鈥
- Stopped 114,441.51kg of clothing going to landfill
- Prevented 1+ million kg of CO2 emissions
- Saved 183,106 cubic metres of water
- Funded 3,000 hours of nursing care or over 2,600 hours of bereavement support calls from Marie Curie
- Paid for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to gain part time supported employment in one of Brandon Trust social enterprises and learn valuable vocational and life skills
- Funded a Shelter emergency helpline for 15 days, answering around 1,700 urgent calls
- Enabled Cancer Research to fund 192 more days of Cancer Nurses
- Funded 1,280 hours of specialist care for Havens Hospices nurses for a patient in their own home at the end of their life
- TRAID used its proceeds to support a new project providing schooling for the children of waste pickers at Dhaka鈥檚 Matuail landfill site