Te Puke op-shop donations dry up

Op-shop Waipuna Hospice, located in Te Puke, is seeing a decrease in donations, with various potential explanations being considered.

Te Puke-based op-shop Waipuna Hospice is experiencing a decline in donations, possibly because people are feeling the pinch and not buying as many new things.

“Speaking to my counterparts in the Waikato, they are saying the same — it’s quite quiet,” said Waipuna Hospice general manager Jace Downman.

There is an element of speculation in play, but there is a strong possibility that the cost of living crisis is at the root of the drop-off in donations, Downman said.

“I think it’s got a lot to do with that. People are not buying new [items/products], so they don’t really have the ability to donate what they would usually.”

The crisis might also mean more people are buying second-hand and relying more on op-shops.

“It’s all guesswork; it could also be the winter as well. People don’t like moving around as much.”

He said the impact was not just being felt in one particular area.

“Our supply chain is centralised and handles all our collections, and we’ve definitely noticed there has been quite a decline in our collections.”

Te Puke Anglican Community Care Opportunity Shop manager Gill Ludbrook said they had not seen a drop-off in donations, but there had been an unwelcome increase in the number of donations that are unable to be on-sold, such as damaged clothing.

“We have put measures in place to ensure that we are not receiving clothes that cannot be resold, but we are banning black garbage bags and only accepting clothes in smaller bags that we can see into,” Ludbrook said.

Downman said he hoped with warmer, longer days on the horizon, more people would be looking to spring clean and de-clutter and would then consider donating their unwanted, saleable possessions.

He said furniture, bric-a-brac and clothing were always useful and able to be resold easily, but anything that could be sold was welcome at the store.

Waipuna Hospice has a collection service for larger items or for people who might not be able to make donations at stores during their opening hours.