'A book which anyone who has ever bought clothes should read'

Hello,

A huge welcome to everyone who has signed up over the past month - it is great to have you aboard. And a high-five to everyone who has been reading for a while - I promise I will write the next edition of Patched soon.

Charity Shop World has been out for just over two weeks and the press and book tour is going so well. Behind the scenes it has been frantic - write, do an interview, post, eat fruit, jump on a train, do another interview, remember to drink water, unpack ragbags in a basement with a BBC journalist, post, eat fruit, talk to a room full of people, do another interview, write some more, post, post, post. Drink water!

I'm getting to the point where I can look at everything and think - wow, this is great! I've done a round up so you can have a read, a watch and a listen:

Audio

• NEWEST! BBC World Service - Inside the sorting room of a London charity shop (starts at 42:40)
• BBC Woman's Hour with Clare McDonnell - The hidden world of charity shops
• BBC London Robert Elms Show - Interview with Gary Crowley (starts at 2:08)
• BBC Bristol - Interview with Claire Carter
• Garmology podcast - The secret life of charity shops

Reviews

• NEWEST! The Evening Standard - Absolutely Staggering: The real fate of clothing donations

"A starkly compelling investigation into what really happens to the bags-for-life we donate. It is a book which anyone who has ever bought clothes should read."

• Independent - Books of the month
• The Bookseller - Books not to miss for September
• No Kill Magazine - The afterlife of our stuff

Articles by me

• NEWEST! EcoAge - Working in a charity shop broke my wardrobe

This is a personal piece that examines the emotional turmoil of sorting worn clothes. I would not have shared something like this without first experiencing the way people are connecting with the diary sections of my book.

• The Telegraph - While volunteers keep charity shops alive, a billionaire prince is profiting
• The Stylist [paywall] - These are my top tips for finding gems this Secondhand September
• The New World [paywall] - How charity shops became a bin for fashionistas
• Vogue [paywall] - How to fix charity retail

Video

• BBC - What actually happens to clothes donated to charity shops

Charity Shop World – an investigation into community, consumption and waste is out now and available from:

The Tour

I am loving meeting so many people on the book tour - I'm hearing lots of inside stories from people who work in charity shops, great ideas for how to change the waste stream for the better and tackling some tough questions from switched-on audiences.

If you are in one of these locations, it would be great to see you on the rest of the tour. All ticket links here.

Before I head to Brighton, I will be attending the Raise The Wages protest in London alongside trade unionists from Pakistan. We're going on a tour of major UK fashion brands around Oxford Street - meet at Soho Square at 17:30 on Thursday 24 September.

....Speaking of Pakistan AND waste, I've been reading this excellent investigation, check it out:

Inside the Pakistani factories where exploited workers process Europe’s discarded clothes

Europeans’ appetite for fast fashion produces mountains of discarded clothing that the bloc cannot process. Many of the unwanted clothes end up in Pakistan, where they are sorted in factories with no protections for workers’ rights.

Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalismRaluca Besliu

Here's those links again as I know you cannot wait to get your hands on a copy of Charity Shop World!

Thank you for reading and catch up with you soon.

In solidarity, Tansy.

p.s.