As someone who regularly frequented charity shops on the UK high street, I was delighted to accept an invitation to visit Sukhawati charity store. Founded in 2016, Sukhawati at present has three Kathmandu stores and one in Pokhara. Like leading charity shops globally, Sukhawati also operates through generous donations of clothes, bags, shoes, books, toys, furniture and kitchenware. The items are received, sorted, upcycled if needed and then tagged for resale!
In recent years charity shops have grown in popularity in the UK with almost 48% of people in England and Wales shopping more or considering due to the rising cost of living! Charity shops such as Oxfam have consistently improved their service, launching exciting campaigns such as Second Hand September to attract the fashion savvy to opt for Oxfam instead of their regular fast-fashion brands.
Just like customer perception, even the London fashion scene challenged itself for something different as pre-loved clothing from Oxfam made it to the catwalk through the runway show Style for Change at this years London Fashion Week. With many fashion events taking place across Kathmandu, let’s hope that we will also see Sukhawati’s pre-loved clothes on the runway.
Sukhawati provides a space for people to buy affordable clothes as well as for people to pass on their clothes. As city folks head towards over-consumption and enjoy fast-fashion, stores like Sukhawati challenge the prevailing trend encouraging people to reflect on their shopping habits and impact on the environment.
The store’s objective is to contribute in job creation and environmental protection by promoting the culture of giving and sharing and reuse of unused materials as much as possible. Between 2016-2023, Sukhawati received over 1,11,263kg donations, a figure that contributes to the 3R principle of reduce, reuse and recycle!
Shoppers can visit their stores in Banasthali, Jhamsikhel, Nepaltar and Power House – Birauta in Pokhara, and find donation drop-off points in Thamel, Tangal, Thasikhel – Lalitpur, Hattiban, Nakhipot, Bansbari, Chandol and Boudha in Kathmandu Valley and Baidam, New Road, Hallan Chowk and Power House in Pokhara.
Check out my visit to Sukhawati via this reel!
