Keep Britain Tidy’s ‘Buy Nothing New Month’ championed consumer change for the month of January, with customers encouraged to embrace buying nothing new (except for essentials like food, medicine and toothpaste).
‘Buying high volumes of stuff we don’t need is causing enormous harm to our planet. From manufacturing and packaging to shipping and delivery, every stage of the production cycle emits huge volumes of carbon which is heating up the Earth to unsustainable levels. Added to that, our throwaway culture is creating mountains of waste and the methods we’re using to dispose of it are damaging our environment even further’. Keep Britain Tidy
We caught up with Olivia Waters, founder of Reloved, and Ynes Perfitt from Reigate’s Oxfam bookstore find out how this trend has evolved, and how local consumers are adopting this trend for good.
What was the concept behind Reloved?
Reloved initially started in 2019 as a side project. I was working full time then, but as I spent more of my time focusing on Reloved it gained a large loyal following and organically grew into the Reloved you see today!
I chose to open Reloved in Reigate, as its local to me and I’ve always loved the sense of community and open-minded attitude of the people here. The locals have been really supportive, the response has been amazing.
When starting Reloved, I wanted to create an interesting space where we can reuse, reduce, and where like-minded people can join together and create something wonderful.
Recycling, restoring and reusing has always been important to me, helping to reduce single fast fashion can only be a good thing!
Plus, as a female run business, which supports many local charities, including lgbtq+ it allows me to support all the things that are important to me.
How is the store set out?
Reloved currently has four traders, we’re a close-knit group who share the same ethos. And, because we’re a collective of four the store sells many different things, which we turn over quickly.
It’s hard to choose one are I like best, but I would say the crystals and clothing are my current favourite sections.
What are your future plans for Reloved?
We are planning some renovations in store to create more retail space which will add more to the Reloved experience. It’s a fantastic store to come in and browse with lots of interesting treasures to find. We hope to see you in there soon!
We spoke to Ynes Perfitt to find out what the Oxfam bookstore is all about...
As a secondhand bookshop, with a thriving vinyl, CD and DVD line, I think that the shop clientele reflects the increasing trend for sustainability and frugality.
Whilst many of our donated books are virtually brand new, shiny bestsellers, we also delight in our 'old and interesting' portfolio. This ranges from the penguin classics currently in pride of place in the window, to our range of beautiful Folios, and the ‘in-between’, a wonderful range of beautiful books, which have been loved by previous owners and are patiently waiting for new homes and shelves to be displayed upon.
Customers come in and browse for themselves or that perfect and unique gift for a loved one.
Last week, a young mum bought 24 beautiful children’s books as party favours for her child’s birthday party. We thought this was a brilliant innovation: financially astute, not contributing to landfill, educational and a gift which will be enjoyed until it hopefully gets re-gifted back to the shop for another young reader to discover!
We always accept donations in store. The books are an essential revenue stream for Oxfam.
As a small bookshop, we accept donations of up to two large shopping bags from walk-ins and request that our wonderful community of donors call ahead to book an appointment if wishing to make a larger donation.
We never know when we are going to come across 'gold' in a donation. i.e. a rare and or valuable book which will generate money for the charity. But most days, we will find a beauty. It might be old, or rare. Remind one of us of a time and place in our pasts.
Whether we are paid staff or volunteers, the common thread that binds us is that we are all bibliophiles. Some of us are lovers of poetry and contemporary fiction, we have antiquarian experts, music aficionados and ex-librarians who keep the shop and stock organised and beautiful!
There has been an enormous increase in our online sales in recent years. Oxfam Online is an amazing website, contributed to by all our UK stores where one can pick up everything from a vintage jug, a fabulous fashion item, vinyl and of course beautiful books. It is easy to use, competitively priced and of course, the money raised supports the Oxfam mission which is to create lasting solutions to the injustice of poverty.
We look forward to seeing you in the store soon!
Some final thoughts..
As the pre-loved movement gains a strong presence and popularity on our local high street, championed by passionate store owners with a vision to encourage us all to reuse, re-love and reduce.
And, as the cost-of-living crisis begins to have impact on our personal purses, now feels like the right time to revise the way we buy, to change our consumer habits for good, investing in high quality cared for items that don't place any additional demand on the planet, saving us money in the process.
With many thanks to Olivia and Yness for their time and contributions.
You can follow Reloved & Oxfam Bookstore Reigate here:
Reloved: 35 Church Street, Reigate
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Oxfam Bookstore: 55 High Street, Reigate
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