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Secondhand spaces such as charity shops, reuse projects, repair networks and community exchanges are often understood through sustainability and waste reduction, as they extend the useful lives of a wide range of objects and materials. This project focused on the wider role these spaces can play in community life\u00a0by bringing together staff, volunteers, and other participants in shared work and conviviality. In particular, it explored how secondhand spaces\u00a0can become more accessible, more inclusive of Disabled people, and better able to support shared knowledge, care and social connection.<\/p>\n
The team, which included Dr Violet Broadhead<\/a>, Dr Rhiannon Craft<\/a>, and Lizzie Harrison<\/a>, expanded a network of researchers, practitioners and policymakers working in secondhand economies. We developed new partnerships with organisations involved in wood recycling, paint reuse, clothes exchange, disability access, charity retail, and community repair and heritage collections.<\/p>\n From interviews and site visits, we created two plain-language toolkits focused on accessibility and social repair.<\/p>\n Find out more about partners for our toolkit on Social Repair to Sustain Secondhand Economies<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n Find out more about partners for our toolkit on Fostering accessibility and equity for disabled people in second-hand spaces<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n We also worked with policy organisation Fashion Roundtable (www.fashionroundtable.co.uk<\/a>), and joined in three public engagement events to build understanding of second-hand sites and issues.<\/p>\n IAA funding supported the team to build relationships, share research and turn learning from secondhand organisations into practical resources. With the funding, we could go to the sites where this important work was happening and talk directly to the people making it all happen. The funding helped early career researchers connect their work with public and practitioner audiences, creating materials that can support more thoughtful, accessible and socially connected secondhand economies. Finally, IAA funding enabled us to renumerate contributors fairly for their time.<\/p>\n Further information<\/strong><\/p>\n The project has produced new toolkits on accessibility and social repair, which will be published through the Secondhand Cultures blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n The team will continue to monitor feedback, track downloads and work with partners to understand how the resources are used in practice.<\/p>\n A related article in The Conversation, written by project team member Violet Broadhead, explored the pressures placed on charity shops by unwanted clothing donations and was read more than 134,000 times.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/funded-research-impact\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/684\/2026\/09\/Fieldwork_ShopSwopDonateResell_2024-7-1-scaled-e1782899581769-624x833-1.jpeg\")
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