Interviews provide inputs for the identification of ten barriers
| Interview questions | Related interview transcript | Survey |
|---|---|---|
| Finance-related Barrier | ||
| What is the quality of the donations? Have the donations received been cleaned or repaired by donors? | “…they are not quite good… We usually need weight them and sell to one recycling company called RAG…” “…quality of donated goods is poor as people hold onto things longer during economic uncertainty…” “…they are acceptable. Our volunteers will iron the clothing before displaying in the shop…” “…our shop usually accepts only good quality of design and fashion high street…” “…not all the time. Some holiday period, we lack supply…” “ …some are good. But most of them need to be cleaned…our volunteers will iron the clothing before displaying in the shop… most of them are not for the current season…” “…in some holiday period, such as Christmastime, there is not enough supply…” “…they are not very good…washing machine upstairs to clean the clothing … our volunteers will iron the clothing …” “…we have a number of volunteers who enjoy up-cycling …repairing damaged items so they can be used again…” “…it depends. Some need to be cleaned… volunteers iron the clothing …” “…we need more stock…” “…we do not repair, just steam…” | 1: Lack of good quality items for donation |
| Information-related Barriers | ||
| How does your charity shop inform people that items can be accepted by your charity shop? How do you maintain the relationship with donors? How does your charity shop encourage donors to donate? | “…we are clear in our marketing for donation appeals … our charity shop staff are well-trained to recognise quality as they sort through in store identifying what will be acceptable to our customers…” “… rely on the generosity of the public. we need people's donations to be able to raise vital funds for The Salvation Army…” “… there are a number of factors that affect the donations…we have a sophisticated approach…ensuring we handle every donation responsibly… to make the best profit to support our charitable work…” | 2: Lack of information on what items can be accepted by charity shops |
| How does your charity shop introduce its mission? | “… advertisement to encourage donations…we have signs outside of the window…” “…the company does online advertisement… by email. The company does that “…we are small, so cannot react immediately to collect the goods when people just want rid of the furniture on the day…” “…we are a homeless charity and not well known so not the first charity people think of…” | 3: Lack of awareness of charity shops' mission |
| How does your charity shop inform donors about what happens to their donations? | “…information is available online…due to the generosity of the UK public… we do receive more donations than can be sold in our network of charity shops…we are therefore able to export clothing abroad where they can be used again by those in need…” | 4: Lack of awareness of the impact that donation makes |
| How does your charity shop introduce your donation process? | “…you see the books behind the calenders. That is the only thing we do…” “…we have clothing banks. I saw some in Durham…donations to our clothing banks and home or business collections will often help to supply our charity shops as well…” “…the free pick up service… the home clearance service… we also post the donation bags…” “…online advertisement…Yes. We do as a company… The head office will do…” | 5: Lack of familiarity with the donation process |
| How does your charity shop inform donors about the impact their donation makes? | “… our company usually has programs to recycle poor quality goods…usually unsold items go to Oxfam Wastesaver recycling plant … The Frip Ethique plan is to sort and reuse…” “…noncurrent season clothing will be cleaned and packed in the storage… we recycle them…” “…some of the unsold books will be given to other charity shops…” “…some goods are not for the current season. we need to sort the goods… volunteers sort different quality donations…” “… we work with one company called Recycling Solutions…” “…Oxfam's gift aid nectar program…” “…every donation is welcome and of value to us… no matter the season in which we receive it… we ensure that many of our shops are able to store out-of-season donations and we have warehouse space for storage…” | 6: Lack of information on how charity shops make use of donations |
| Convenience-related Barriers | ||
| How many collection methods does your charity shop offer donors? Which method collects more donations? How often do you offer a free pick-up service? Does your charity shop mainly rely on donors to visit shops to donate? What do you think about the barriers that inhibit donors from visiting shops to donate? | “…in some locations in the UK, we have volunteer drivers who will make bespoke local collections…” “…we also operate thousands of clothing banks in convenient locations such as supermarket or local authority car parks and operate a network of collectors to ensure donations are collected as frequently as needed…” “… we have both free pick up services and clothing banks to help with demand and prevent waste crime such as fly-tipping…” “…we offer a collection service across the UK, both to homes as well as to businesses for those wishing to donate larger quantities or bulk items…” “we offer free pick up service, the home clearance service, people need to call to book an appointment first…” “…some of our donors are not able to deliver their donations straight to our charity shops during opening hours…” “…do not need to visit our charity shops …call to book the appointment and we will pick it…” “…we do not collect it…” “…we do not sell online. But I know some charity shops, some children society charity shops, they are doing that…” “… Yes. We do the advertisement. We post the donation bags. Many charity shops are doing that. I could show you one. People fill the bag and put the outside. Our driver will come and collect it…” “…we are small, so cannot react immediately to collect the goods when people just want rid of the furniture on the day…” “…high street shops…difficult to park to access our shop…” “… limited parking slots…” “…we are a homeless charity and not well known so not the first charity people think of…” “we do not have online shops…local people visit to shop and donate…” “…our location… mainly local people visit our shop…” “… living too far away to donate to our shop… might not bother…” | 7: Difficulty of being available for charity shops' free pick-up services 8: Difficulty of travelling to shops during opening hours 9: Difficulty of parking to access charity shops 10: Living too far away to donate to charity shops |
| Interview questions | Related interview transcript | Survey |
|---|---|---|
| What is the quality of the donations? Have the donations received been cleaned or repaired by donors? | “…they are not quite good… We usually need weight them and sell to one recycling company called RAG…” | 1: Lack of good quality items for donation |
| How does your charity shop inform people that items can be accepted by your charity shop? | “…we are clear in our marketing for donation appeals … our charity shop staff are well-trained to recognise quality as they sort through in store identifying what will be acceptable to our customers…” | 2: Lack of information on what items can be accepted by charity shops |
| How does your charity shop introduce its mission? | “… advertisement to encourage donations…we have signs outside of the window…” | 3: Lack of awareness of charity shops' mission |
| How does your charity shop inform donors about what happens to their donations? | “…information is available online…due to the generosity of the UK public… we do receive more donations than can be sold in our network of charity shops…we are therefore able to export clothing abroad where they can be used again by those in need…” | 4: Lack of awareness of the impact that donation makes |
| How does your charity shop introduce your donation process? | “…you see the books behind the calenders. That is the only thing we do…” | 5: Lack of familiarity with the donation process |
| How does your charity shop inform donors about the impact their donation makes? | “… our company usually has programs to recycle poor quality goods…usually unsold items go to Oxfam Wastesaver recycling plant … The Frip Ethique plan is to sort and reuse…” | 6: Lack of information on how charity shops make use of donations |
| How many collection methods does your charity shop offer donors? | “…in some locations in the UK, we have volunteer drivers who will make bespoke local collections…” | 7: Difficulty of being available for charity shops' free pick-up services |