Our Impact
Clothing Collective's mission is to provide access to clean, quality clothing for those in the UK who need it most.
We do this through our gift card scheme - which gives people the means to choose and select clothing themselves - and our various partnerships with charity shops and other organisations.
Here’s a summary of the impact we are making as a charity in our fight against clothing poverty in the UK.
Our Impact in Numbers
£279,606
The value of charity shop gift cards distributed
2,155
Charity shops we support via our scheme
5,946
People we've supported with gift cards to date
93
Distributing partners we have supplied gift vouchers to
Last updated: October 2026
Who We Help
Homeless people
People who are sleeping rough or find themselves in other situations with no home to live in.
Families in crisis
Families in poverty, plus women and children impacted by domestic violence.
Young and elderly people
Younger and older aged people experiencing poverty.
Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
Non-UK nationals, either seeking asylum or recently immigrated, who need support.
Prisoners and ex-offenders
People within the justice system, including prisoners and those recently released from custody.
Unemployed adults over 50
Older people experiencing unemployment, often due to redundancy, but are ineligible for benefits
We are not limited to these groups of people and consider requests from any organisation that is seeking to support people who cannot afford clothing.
Our Focus Areas
We are committed to helping people gain access to clothing under any circumstances, focusing on:
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Restoring dignity and pride for people disempowered by the lack of support available for clothing poverty
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Supporting parents with well-fitting clothes for their growing children, ensuring every child provided for
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Empowering individuals to access clothes they need to support important stages of life (e.g. formal clothes for job interviews)
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Ensuring everyone has access to appropriate seasonal clothing (e.g. a warm winter coat or breathable summer wear)
As well as helping individuals directly, all gift cards equate to funds Clothing Collective raise being channelled into the charity shops own good causes, representing a double benefit for all donations received.
Perceived Benefits
We carried out a survey with our distributing partners in order to understand more about the impact of our gift cards on the lives of the people who received them.
Our partners were asked to identify the benefits they felt people received from exchanging a gift card to buy clothes. They highlighted:
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Warmth
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Physical health
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Mental wellbeing
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Economic security
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Employment opportunities
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Dignity (in being able to select own clothing)
Source: Internal Clothing Collective Survey (2024-2025). Conducted with 27 partner organisations.
“I am in desperate need of clothing and have come from the street. This means everything to me as I have lost everything.”
Gift Card Beneficiary