GREEN
FOR
THE
GOSPEL
The role of
secondhand stores
While many Canadian retailers
are noticing a downturn in sales,
with stores closing regularly
(remember Target’s ill-fated foray
into Canada?), secondhand shops
continue on an upward trend.
The for-profit Value Village
chain remains the largest of the
secondhand enterprises, but
shops operated by the Salvation
Army, Mennonite Central
Committee (MCC) and Bibles for
Missions (BFM) are generating
millions of dollars annually for
social programs and ministries.
BFM opened its first small
store in Chilliwack, B.C., back in
1989 with the idea of supporting
missionaries in India. Today
there are 48 BFM stores across
Canada. Last year, through its
partner organization Bible League
Canada, it contributed $8.2 million
to missions in 43 countries from a
gross of $16–17 million.
The Salvation Army has more
than 200 stores across Canada,
and according to its website
yielded close to $14 million in
profits during its 2012–2013 fiscal
year. Profits from Salvation Army
thrift stores are spent primarily
on the organization’s social
services programs.
And MCC puts millions of
dollars of thrift store proceeds
each year into relief and
development work overseas.
Both shops and shoppers
have changed over the years.
Formerly the domain of low-
income families and students,
secondhand shops attract a
spectrum of clients looking for
something unique or wanting a
good deal.
“Our economy in the last years
since 2006–7 has gone really
volatile, almost to the point where
32 MILLION
POUNDS OF MATERIAL THE SALVATION ARM Y DIVER TED
FROM LANDFILLS IN 2012
$8.2 MILLION
AMOUN T DONATED TO MISSIONS IN 43 COUN TRIES FROM A GROSS OF
$16–17 MILLION THROUGH BMF PAR TNER ORGANIZATION BIBLE LEAGUE CANADA
SOCIETY
sorted into cartons destined for
19 different departments. While
most donors call ahead if they’re
unclear whether an item will be
accepted, sometimes they just
show up.
“Sometimes it’s very difficult
to tell people we can’t take
[their] items,” she says. “It’s not a
garbage dump.”
Along with turning away broken,
torn or dirty items, there are
certain things – helmets, baby
car seats, old televisions – Health
Canada disallows from being resold.
Nothing stays in the store
longer than three months. After
that it’s packed up and picked
up by a recycling company.
Some of the excess inventory
from BFM, Salvation Army and
other secondhand stores is
sent overseas; nonwearable
clothing goes to a fibre-recovery
plant to be recycled into other
products such as upholstery
stuffing; metals and electronic
components are also recycled. In
2012 alone the Salvation Army’s
efforts diverted 32 million pounds
of materials from landfill.
“If we didn’t exist, those goods
would be in the dumpster,” says
Brandsma. BFM has a “green
for the gospel” philosophy that
focuses on reclaiming materials
as much as possible rather than
sending them to landfills.
“It’s win-win all the way
around,” she says. Donors can
declutter and downsize, shoppers
can get something for a low price
and ministries benefit from the
proceeds. –DEBRA FIEGU TH
thrift stores are necessary,” says
Sharon Brandsma, who oversees
15 BFM stores (with three more
in development) across Western
Canada.
With a background in marketing,
Brandsma took over the BFM store
in Lethbridge, Alta., transforming
it from a dingy, crowded little
room, where she would never
shop herself, into an attractive,
spacious venue no one would be
embarrassed to walk into.
Sharon Moore manages the
successful Kingston, Ont., store
where a steady stream of donors
appears at the back door to drop
off used goods, which are then
