Most industries have been hit hard by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic – with thousands of businesses mothballing and many others shutting down for good.
But one of the sectors that’s suffered the most – yet rarely talked about – is Manchester’s charity shops.
Rolling nationwide closures and changing legislation made traditional fundraising increasingly, as footfall in charity stores fell dramatically throughout 2020.
With a third national lockdown now in force, Manchester’s local charity venues have been forced to get creative in order to stay afloat.
Chapter Six MCR
RSPCA Manchester & Salford is a perfect case in point.
This animal care organisation overcame the closure of their physical store by launching Chapter Six – an online platform that offers a new way to shop from a local charity.
“We have always dreamed of having an online presence for our retail side,” says the charity.
“With reduced footfall in our charity shops due to COVID-19 restrictions we have finally been able to dedicate time and resources to making this dream a reality.”
There are some absolute bargains available on the site, too, including products from household names such as Next, Monsoon and Zara, just to name a few.
It’s a platform that lets you fuel your love of sustainable fashion while raising funds to rehabilitate animals. Ideal.
As RSPCA Manchester & Salford rightly said: “Where else can you buy a dress and know that the proceeds will buy food for an animal in need?”
While this website was launched as an alternative to the physical charity shop experience, it has actually been a creative and successful way to raise money for rehabilitating animals.
“Having our own website gives us a great opportunity to reach more people, and it cuts out any fees paid to third party selling sites that we’ve used in the past,” said the RSPCA team.
“This means that 100% of the money we make goes directly towards the rehabilitation and rehoming of animals in our care!”
Another local charity that has been forced to adopt new methods during the pandemic is Barnardo’s Vintage in Cheadle – the charity’s only vintage and retro shop.
Despite not having an online platform or postal service available to them, the store has continued to use their social media to promote sustainable style during the lockdown.
“We set up a photo shoot … so customers could see how vintage pieces could work with their high street capsule wardrobes”, says Gemma, the manager of Barnardo’s Vintage.
Although this has helped to raise awareness for the charity and its vintage finds, the combination of the store being closed and the loss of footfall from the usually bustling high street has been incredibly difficult.
Every charity is feeling the pinch – and the sector needs all the help it can get.
“In all honesty, our charity is struggling to keep its head above water”, says a representative for RSPCA Manchester & Salford, who reported that they ran at a loss of £50K, despite receiving help from the government.
“The fundraising the shops do is vital in keeping our animal centre up and running, and if things continue as they are we don’t know where we’ll be this time next year.
“This is why it’s so important that people continue to spend money with their chosen charity online, or that they donate through any fundraising pages the charities have set up.”
You can visit the likes of RSPCA and Barnado’s online and make a donation to help. Every penny makes a difference.
Style
What people are wearing at Parklife 2025 – ruffles, leopard print, and not much else at all…
Daisy Jackson
Parklife is back, which means festival fashion is back, and Manchester has absolutely delivered on its outfit trends once again.
Every year in the fields of Heaton Park, tens of thousands of music-lovers flock to the biggest party of the year.
And Manchester loves an excuse to get dressed up, whether it’s donning a pair of hot pants, the latest trainers, or something as tiny as a bikini.
Gone are the days where people would just wear jeans to a festival – especially Parklife, which has always delivered a more rave-inspired outfit.
Of course, the inevitable plastic poncho has featured pretty heavily in this year’s Parklife wardrobes.
And we did spot one guy wearing an ankle tag as an accessory…
But here are five other outfits trends we spotted around Parklife this year.
Leopard print
Outfit trends at Parklife 2025 – leopard print
Whoever said leopard print is a neutral is my kinda person, and this is one outfit trend you cannot get away from at Parklife.
We spotted the same pair of sequinned leopard micro-shorts about 300 times on day one of the festival, as well as some other variations on the legendary animal print.
There were leopard print bikini tops, leopard print jeans, leopard print two-pieces and plenty more in between, and they all looked amazing.
Ruffle skirts and frilly shorts
Outfit trends at Parklife 2025 – ruffle skirts
Manchester got the memo – tiny ruffle skirts and frilly shorts are the ultimate festival outfit essential this year, if Parklife is anything to go by.
These have been absolutely everywhere, whether it’s lace-trimmed hot pants or pretty white tennis skirts.
Ideally paired with a little chain belt, we’ll be seeing a lot more ruffles and frills today I reckon.
Cowboy boots
Outfit trends at Parklife 2025 – cowboy boots
Mixed feeling about cowboy boots at a festival – on the one hand, they look absolutely 10/10 gorgeous stunning amazing chic cool.
But on the other hand THINK OF THE BLISTERS. What happened to a sensible wellington boot?!
We saw a lot of people walking around barefoot with their cowboy boots in hand by the end of night one, but at least they looked cute before then.
Sports shirts
Outfit trends at Parklife 2025 – football shirts
It looked like a day out at an American football game out there are Parklife – the trend for colourful, Varsity football shirts was all over the place.
The girls were out in bold red, green, pink and all sorts of other colours, matching their sports shirts with tiny shorts and boots.
Big fan of this one.
Crochet
A festival style as old as time, little crochet shrugs have been making a healthy comeback in the fields of Parklife in 2025.
As well as crochet cardigans we’ve spotted a lot of mini dresses and bikini tops too.
It’s taken over from the trend from a few years ago where everyone squeezed into a full-body fishnet suit and is a much more bohemian twist.
A local indie fashion brand is cleaning tired old trainers while handing out free shoes and ice cream
Danny Jones
A Manchester-based fashion brand is looking to give back to the community with a wholesome new initiative that will see a charitable trainer cleaning service swapped for a brand-new pair of shoes and free ice cream.
Nope, this is not a scam or some kind of prank, just a local indie label doing some lovely for the community and an important a crucial UK non-profit.
In case you’ve not come across the name before, we’re talking about rising sneaker makers KayKrepz, who are behind the increasingly popular model known as the ‘Kezy’, available in a select few colours.
Sneaker heads may have already spotted a select few pairs out on the streets of Manchester, where the designer’s story begins, but we have a very strong feeling you won’t get many other opportunities to get your hands on a pair of these for free.
The ‘Kezy’ in Earth GreenAnd in CreamA very fresh pair of creps, it has to be said – and who could say no to free shoes designed right here in Manchester? (Credit: Supplied)
Speaking to The Manc, creator Kezi told us that building a bit of a community and supporting the local area is just as important as growing the brand itself.
“I really wanted to have a shoe brand that people can afford to buy that are also still comfortable as well as look and feel nice, plus it’s a good way to gather unwanted items to give to Centrepoint.” We couldn’t agree more.
For anyone unfamiliar with Centrepoint, who have a big base here in Greater Manchester, they are a nationwide charity that combats rough sleeping and specialises in youth homelessness, in particular.
It goes without saying that collecting free articles of clothing is an integral part of their work.
So, with that in mind, Kezi and co will be holding ‘The Sweet Swap’, where those who attend can exchange their unwanted, old shoes for a free pair of KayKrepzAND a scoop of premium ice cream.
This is all in return for a free shoe cleaning service which will see those same trainers traded in, given some much-needed TLC, before being donated directly to Centrepoint. Love it.
We’ll back pretty much any small business trying to make it in our region, but it’s fair to say getting behind causes like these is especially easy.
Including the new ‘Butterscotch’ model, the Kezy shoe is usually priced at £69.99, making it arguably one of the most affordable high-end, top-quality trainers on the market at the moment.
Naturally, there will only be a limited number of pairs available and shoes handed in must be of a good enough quality to be passed on via the charity; KayKrepz’s Street Swap scheme will be operating on a strictly first-come, first-served basis.
Taking place on Sunday, 1 June at All Saints Park (M15 6BW). You can reserve your limited free tickets right now from the event page HERE.
Just make sure to leave your name and shoe size when signing up.