Charity Shops; World Book Day Costumes, Hybrid Cars

Available for over a year

Over the past 25 years, the charity retail landscape has changed dramatically. As the high street has adapted to issues such as declining footfall and an increase in online shopping, they have also had to face a decline in volunteers and a dip in quality donations. Robin Osterley, the Chef Executive of the Charity Retail Association, will explain how they have done this, and Cicely Rea Jackson, a self-proclaimed charity shop queen on Instagram, will give us her hints and tips on how to bag a quality bargain. World Book Day started in 1998 in the UK. The charity was set up to promote reading for pleasure and to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds access to books. However, in recent years, more people have accused it of being about dressing up in character costumes, and it seems parents are starting to say “too much”. We’ll be talking to the founder of World Book Day and the person that went viral calling out the high costs of costumes. And we seem to be always talking about the move to driving electric cars, but have we forgotten the hybrid ones? Well, it appears not; sales are up, and manufacturers are turning their focus back to them. We’ll be talking to an early adopter who has stuck with her hybrid. Presenter: Shari Vahl Producer: Dave James