第1571期:The UK charity shop

What do you do with old stuff? That top you bought for a party three years ago, for example. You wore it once and it's been hanging in your wardrobe ever since. You could throw it away, but that seems wasteful – after all it's still perfectly usable. So, what to do? In the UK, we might take it to a charity shop.

你用旧东西做什么？例如，你三年前为派对买的那件上衣。你穿过它一次，从那以后它就一直挂在你的衣橱里。你可以把它扔掉，但这似乎很浪费——毕竟它仍然完全可用。那么该怎么办？在英国，我们可能会把它带到慈善商店。

The first charity shops appeared in Britain in the 19th Century. The Salvation Army, a UK charity, was one of the first to run a second-hand clothing shop to provide the impoverished and needy with affordable clothes. This was followed by charities such as the British Red Cross, who also relieved hardship and raised money for the war effort during World War Two. The modern form we know today was opened in 1947 by Oxfam.

19世纪英国出现了第一家慈善商店。英国慈善机构救世军是最早开设二手服装店的机构之一，为贫困和有需要的人提供负担得起的衣服。紧随其后的是英国红十字会等慈善机构，他们也为二战期间的战争纾困并筹集资金。我们今天所知的现代形式是由乐施会于 1947 年开放的。

These days, charity shops are a common sight with around 11,200 shops across the UK, according to the Charity Retail Association. During business hours any member of the public can donate their unwanted items to a charity shop – clothes, books, electronics, furniture. Most charity shops will take anything. These items are checked for wear and tear and if found still serviceable, priced up to be sold at a heavily discounted price.

据慈善零售协会称，如今，慈善商店很常见，全英国约有 11,200 家商店。在工作时间，任何公众都可以将他们不需要的物品捐赠给慈善商店——衣服、书籍、电子产品、家具。大多数慈善商店会采取任何措施。检查这些物品的磨损情况，如果发现仍然可以使用，则定价以大幅折扣价出售。

For many, this is a win-win situation. To the charity, it means a valuable source of revenue, which they can use to pursue their charitable aim. To the consumer, it provides the opportunity to buy, often extremely cheaply, items and clothes. Though previously owned, they are durable. To the donator, it declutters and may help to assuage consumer guilt. “You can make a pretty good case to yourself that you are doing good, because what you are doing is going towards a charitable cause [and] you are saving stuff from landfill,” Clare Press, fashion journalist and sustainable style advocate, tells the Guardian. Indeed, approximately £140 million worth of clothing alone goes into landfill each year, according to UK charity WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme.

对许多人来说，这是一个双赢的局面。对于慈善机构来说，这意味着一个宝贵的收入来源，他们可以用它来追求他们的慈善目标。对消费者来说，它提供了购买通常非常便宜的物品和衣服的机会。虽然以前拥有，但它们很耐用。对于捐赠者来说，它可以整理并可能有助于减轻消费者的内疚感。“你可以很好地证明自己做得很好，因为你所做的是为了慈善事业 [并且] 你正在从垃圾填埋场拯救东西，”时尚记者和可持续风格倡导者 Clare Press 告诉监护人。事实上，根据英国慈善机构 WRAP（废物和资源行动计划）的数据，每年仅价值 1.4 亿英镑的衣物就被送往垃圾填埋场。

There are sometimes hidden treasures for the buyers, too. On more than one occasion a buyer has purchased something very cheaply, only to later discover its true value – such as a screen print bought for 99p and later found to be by English artist Ben Nicholson. It sold at auction for £4,200. So next time you need to rid yourself of something, spare a thought for the charity shop – after all, charity begins at home!

有时买家也有隐藏的宝藏。不止一次，买家以非常便宜的价格购买了某样东西，但后来才发现它的真正价值——例如以 99 便士购买的丝网印刷品，后来发现是英国艺术家本·尼科尔森 (Ben Nicholson) 之手。它在拍卖会上以 4,200 英镑的价格售出。因此，下次您需要摆脱某些东西时，请考虑到慈善商店——毕竟，慈善始于家庭！

词汇表

throw away 扔掉
wasteful 浪费的
usable 能用的
charity shop 慈善商店
second-hand 二手的
impoverished 贫困的
needy 穷苦的，贫寒的
relieve hardship 解困
donate 捐出
unwanted 不需要的，多余的
wear and tear 磨损
serviceable 可以使用的
previously owned 二手的
durable 耐用的
declutter 清理（多余的物品）
do good 做好事
charitable cause 慈善事业
sustainable 可持续的
hidden treasure 隐藏的宝藏
charity begins at home 好事从身边做起