What if your surplus stock could help fund someone’s care in their final days?
Surplus stock doesn’t have to become waste. Through Second Purpose, St Luke’s is working with retailers, brands and businesses to give good quality surplus stock another life, while generating funds for hospice care.
You have surplus stock, we take care of everything else
If your business has surplus, returned or sample stock, we can take it off your hands for free. We collect from your premises, sort everything responsibly, and sell it on through our 16 shops across Harrow and Brent. You receive a formal partnership agreement, full brand protection and a quarterly impact report covering income generated and waste diverted – supporting your internal sustainability, ESG and social value reporting requirements without creating another logistical headache for your team.
Surplus becomes care
St Luke’s Hospice has provided free palliative and end of life care to the people of Harrow and Brent for almost 40 years. We care for over 2000 patients and their families every year.
It costs 11 million pounds every year and our 16 charity shops generate a significant proportion of that income. The quality of the donations we receive directly determines how much care we can fund. Your surplus goods can generate revenue that goes towards funding the care our community receives.
Something your business no longer needs could help fund specialist care on our Inpatient Unit, support someone to remain at home to receive palliative care or help a family navigate a loss through bereavement counselling.
Ready to explore a partnership?
Get in contact for a chat:
Patricia McHugh, Corporate Retail Consultant, St Luke’s Hospice (Harrow and Brent)
FAQs
How will my donation be used?
Your donated items are sorted, priced and sold through our 16 charity shops. Every pound goes directly to St Luke’s, funding the Doctors, nursing teams, therapists, counsellors and care coordinators who support patients and their families every day, completely free of charge to the patient.
Items that cannot be sold in our shops are handled responsibly. They are either passed to our certified rag partners, prepared for specialist online resale, or donated to community organisations. Our aim is to keep your donations out of landfill and for everything to have a second purpose.
Will you provide a formal agreement?
Yes. We will provide a simple written agreement covering the key details of the partnership, including what is being donated, where items will be sold, how your brand will be represented, and any specific requirements you have around brand protection or confidentiality. We want you to feel completely comfortable.
How do you make sure our products don’t return to our supply chain?
We take brand integrity seriously. All donated items are sold exclusively through our charity shops and online resale platforms at prices that reflect their donated status, never at prices that would undercut your retail operation or damage your brand positioning.
If you have specific requirements such as particular geographies to avoid, pricing floors or restrictions on certain product lines, we will build those into our agreement and honour them throughout the partnership.Yes. We will provide a simple written agreement covering the key details of the partnership, including what is being donated, where items will be sold, how your brand will be represented, and any specific requirements you have around brand protection or confidentiality. We want you to feel completely comfortable.
What CSR and sustainability evidence can you provide?
We provide partners with an annual impact report covering the total number of items received and processed, the income generated through their sale, the estimated weight of goods diverted from landfill, and stories and context about the hospice care your donation helped fund.
This gives your sustainability and CSR teams the documented evidence they need for internal reporting, ESG submissions and stakeholder communications, without you having to chase us for it.
From April 2026, a new law also means that businesses donating surplus goods to registered charities like St Luke’s can do so VAT-free. We are happy to provide any documentation your finance team needs to support this.
What happens to items you don’t sell?
Any items that are not sold through our shops or online platforms are handled responsibly. Clothing and textiles go to community groups or our certified rag partners. Furniture and homeware that cannot be sold can be donated to housing associations or vulnerable households. Small electricals in working order are tested and either sold or donated. We avoid anything going to landfill.
Do we need to commit to regular donations, or can it be a one-off?
Both work for us. We are equally happy to receive a one-off clearance, whether that is warehouse surplus, a seasonal end-of-line clear out, a store refit, or to establish a regular ongoing relationship where we receive stock periodically throughout the year.
Many of our partnerships start as a one-off and develop into something more sustained once both sides see how well it works. There is no pressure and no minimum commitment.
Will our brand be publicly acknowledged?
Only if you want it to be. Some partners prefer public recognition and we are very happy to acknowledge your support across our social media, in our shops, on our website and in our annual report. Others prefer to keep the arrangement private, and we respect that equally.
If you do want recognition, we will work with you on how that looks, whether that is a partner logo, a social post, a co-branded campaign or a mention in our impact report. We will never publicise your involvement without your explicit agreement.
Is there a minimum or maximum amount we can donate?
No minimum and no maximum. We welcome donations of any size, from a single bag of samples to a full warehouse clearance. If you have a particularly large volume, please let us know in advance so we can plan collection and processing capacity accordingly. We have collection vans and can arrange pick-up from your premises at a time that suits your team.
How do we arrange a collection?
Simply get in touch and we will take it from there. We offer a free collection service. For larger donations or collections outside London, we will discuss the most practical arrangement. We aim to make the entire process as straightforward as possible. One call or email is all it takes to get things moving.No minimum and no maximum. We welcome donations of any size, from a single bag of samples to a full warehouse clearance. If you have a particularly large volume, please let us know in advance so we can plan collection and processing capacity accordingly. We have collection vans and can arrange pick-up from your premises at a time that suits your team.
Can we visit a shop to see how donations are used?
Absolutely, and we actively encourage it. We would be delighted to welcome you, show you around and introduce you to the volunteers and staff who make it all happen. It also makes for genuinely compelling internal content if you want to share the story with your own team. We would also welcome you to visit the hospice in Kenton too, to see where the proceeds raised ultimately end up and how they are used.
What can you accept?
We welcome quality donations across a wide range of categories including clothing and accessories for all ages and sizes, homeware, furniture, small electricals, children’s toys, samples, customer returns, ex-display items, past-season stock, shop fittings, display equipment, mannequins and shelving.
If you are unsure whether a particular item or category is suitable, please feel free to ask. We would rather you check than discard something we could use.
