Thrift+

Idea

Thrift+ is fixing the way we donate good quality unwanted clothes. No more dustbin bags and donation bins!

Donors receive a flat-packed ThriftBox through their letterbox, they fill it up with their best second-hand clothes, and then order an on-demand collection.

Thrift+ then do all the work of photographing, pricing and selling online. Once sold, the donor’s chosen charity receives 50% and the donor gets 25% back as credit to spend in the online store.

Thrift+ received seed investment from Fuel Ventures in March 2018 and is using the funding to build the team, grow their operations and expand the collection service to other major cities in the UK.

People

Thrift+ was created by solo founder Joe Metcalfe, an alumnus of the University of Cambridge and Cambridge Judge Business School.

Joe has 4 years’ strategy consulting experience at a top-tier firm in London and has been working with some of the largest charity shop networks in the UK for the past 2 years to help them to sell online.

Joe is joined by Kay Hubbard, an expert in social e-commerce, and Poppy Rainer, an Oxford graduate with 4 years’ experience as a technology consultant to large retailers.

Impact

Thrift’s mission is to use technology to supercharge the charity retail sector. By making it as easy as possible for individuals to donate their best unwanted clothes, they will ensure the sector continues to thrive as more and more shoppers move online.

They are committed to supporting high street charity shops too with their ThriftBox service for charity retailers that provides an instant e-commerce sales channel with zero technology.

Together, this means Thrift+ can more effectively redirect secondhand clothes away from landfill, and use them to generate funds for charities, jobs for shop staff and opportunities for volunteers.