We hear a lot about sustainable fashion, upcycling, reduce, reuse and recycle, but these worthy concepts require a degree of effort most of us would like to commit, but few truly have the time, energy, or most likely, understanding of how to commit. So we’re left doing our best, and feeling a little guilty about not doing more.
This is quite possibly why the posts and videos made by Jennifer Brody for TikTok and Instagram have garnered her such a fan base of followers. Jennifer has almost 17,000 followers on her Instagram channel, with each of her video posts getting between 4,500 and 13,500 views. On TikTok her videos have achieved millions of views, with some scoring up to 337,000 likes. Not bad for an accidental influencer from Cheshire.
“I never expected it to take off like this,’ Jennifer says. “I have always loved charity shopping, mainly because I found that by going in high street shops everything was the same and you can’t find anything unique. I started off actually in TK Maxx, that’s what got me into loving the rummage. At first, it wasn’t about sustainability. I was only 17 and that just wasn’t as talked about then. It didn’t bother me wearing second-hand clothes, I just always wanted something different, so I started shopping in Quiggins, which was a big indoor market with vintage shops; I loved going in there, then charity shops became more exciting and it felt cool to shop in there.
“There’s still a bit of a stigma about choosing clothes from charity shops, but I think that’s now very quickly going away.”
Before Jen became known as Charity Shop Girl, she worked full-time at Land Rover in Knutsford, managing their barista bar. Sadly, Covid resulted in redundancy and Jen found herself with time on her hands.
“My daughter, Stella, said, ‘you should do TikTok, you should show your charity shop hauls on TikTok’, so I just started doing that because she told me to, and it just took off.”
When you say ‘influencer’, it’s easy to imagine someone making a living from their social media, paid by brands and businesses to advertise their wares. For Jennifer, operating within the charity sector, as it were, this isn’t the case.
“I’m not making an income from this,” Jennifer says, “but I think something will come. What I’m doing now is building relationships and creating this Charity Shop Girl person that I’m hoping will become an ambassador for charity retail.
“I’ve already been made an ambassador for the Charity Shop Gift Card [a card created by The Charity Shop Association, which can be bought online and spent in any of dozens of big-name charities to the less well-known, more local charity shops across the UK, from Marie Curie to Cheshire’s St. Rocco’s Hospice], and for the Air Ambulance charity shops.”
It seems things are happening for Jennifer, but at the moment everything she does is on a volunteer, or expenses-only, basis. She was invited to Lincoln in December, for example, by The Warehouse, the flagship charity shop for local charity St Barnabas Hospice, who asked Jennifer to act as host at a huge fundraising event, paying her out-of-pocket expenses. The key message they asked Jennifer to promote was one of sustainable shopping, whether this be for clothes, home furnishings or Christmas gifts.
“An income isn’t why I went into it,” she adds. “I’ve been offered a lot of things in the last 12 months that aren’t about sustainability, that aren’t about charity shopping, and I’ve said no. I’m passionate about charity shopping and sustainability, and my followers know that I’m passionate about it and I won’t dilute that.”
It’s not just fashion that Jen buys on her charity shop sprees, she regularly posts her homewares and gifts finds, too.
“My house is 99% charity shop. I buy all my home accessories and kitchenware too. My goal is to show people that this is what you can pick up – it's not all bobbly old clothes, there’s some incredible things you can buy, whether they’re new with tags or pre-loved.
“And Christmas,” she exclaims. “It’s such an unsustainable season fashion-wise. We buy all these sequins and glittery stuff, wear it once then ignore it. Get them from the charity shops, then you can donate them back and do the same again next Christmas.
“I am also one that if you handed me £20, I don’t get excited by buying one thing. I love a bag full of different stuff; I know if I hit a charity shop with £20 I can come out with a basket full of new (to me) stuff – a candle and some clothes, something for the house, all kinds of stuff.”
This love of charity shopping leads to an abundance of clothes in her wardrobe, of course, but this is where the sustainability message really means something.
“People forget about the donating side of charity shopping,” she says. “I just did a clear out and donated five huge bags of clothes. I am quite brutal – if I wasn’t and just kept buying, I’d have no more room for anything new.”
Jen uses her social media platforms to show people not only what can be found in charity shops, but how to make it work for you, modelling her finds and showing how she can create multiple looks.
“I always want to keep it quite simple,” she says. “I am just a normal person and hoping that people will look at my posts and videos and relate to it. If it’s all airbrushed and fancy, well, that’s not me. I think people relate more to it that way, and can see how to make it work in their own lives.”
The photos and videos Jennifer posts are taken by her husband or children, and her daughter Stella, now 13, continues to be of great help.
“She helped me post those first videos and build my confidence as we went on,” Jennifer says. “If you watch one of those very first videos I sound so shy, so unsure, whereas now my humour has come out and if I make a mistake I keep it. I’ll show her videos sometimes and she’ll say ‘mum, you have to post that.’ One went viral and got over two million views, and I wouldn’t have posted it without her saying I should.”
Jennifer is very clear on her message to followers.
“Charities have to make huge amounts of money to deliver the services they offer. Their charity shops are a huge part of their income. And they still need to pay all the overheads of the shop – the rent, the heating, the lights and some staff, too, not everybody is a volunteer.
“Charity shopping is a virtuous circle. You donate, so stuff doesn’t go to landfill, and someone finds something they love at a great price. You buy something and the money goes to a great cause.”
What’s not to love?
Find Jennifer on Instagram and TikTok @charityshopgirlcsg
Make your New Year’s Resolutions
1) Have a sort out of your wardrobe before you head into the new year. Ask yourself: “Did I wear this last year?” “Did it make me feel good?” “Will I wear it this year?”
2) Donate some time to your local charity shops this year, there is so many jobs in charity retail, from the shop floor to e-commerce.
3) Visit your local charity shops for a rummage and try make 2023 a sustainable one!
Hit the hot spots: Jennifers top tips on charity shop hot spots
Altrincham
Sue Ryder has an impressive vintage section. I once bought the most incredible Frank Usher blazer for £10. I also love the Salvation Army, which has cool ’70s and ’80s styles all the time and I love the bric-a-brac in there.
Knutsford
One of my favourite places to charity-shop. Cancer Research is a gold mine for designer items. The Age UK Cheshire East shop is beautiful, the way they merchandise makes it feel like a boutique. I also love Barnardo’s for the bric-a-brac, and Oxfam is cool – I could rummage for hours.
Sandbach
I love St Luke’s. The merchandising is excellent and there is a good amount on the rails, so if you aren’t into a proper rummage, this shop is for you. They have modern items, too – you’ll find Boohoo, Nasty Gal and Pretty Little Thing. I once bought an Escada pink leather jacket for £8. I can’t forget to mention Age UK and Oxfam. Oxfam has regular sales. I’ve had some stunning evening dresses from there and the bric-a-brac is brilliant.
Nantwich
Nantwich has good charity shops to rummage in, including Hope House Children’s Hospice, Age UK and Barnardo’s. The Barnardo’s in Nantwich is a gem – rummaging heaven. I got a Moschino bag there and a full vintage dinner set for £12. They have high-end names tucked away in the rails.
Wilmslow
Wilmslow is another of my favourite places to charity shop. There’s Blue Cross, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation (which is huge), British Heart Foundation and two Cancer Research shops, one of which is a little gem I think a lot of people aren’t aware of – it's on Hawthorn Lane and I have found some fabulous bits in there.
