What vintage shops can teach charities - in pictures

Valentine Molet, who volunteers at Oxfam Camden, styles many fashion shoots for the store in a bid to persuade consumers to shop more sustainably. She says: "Always highlight the good quality and trendy products with attractive windows and displays. This shows the customer they can find pieces that suit their style in the shop. We also make use of social media and you can find us on Facebook. The second thing would be to refresh all the products every 10 days inside the shop to make customers come back to see what's new. If they know that new things are in regularly and often, then they can't help coming back again and again." Photograph: PR

CLIC Sargent run an in-house upcycled clothing label called Fix Up Look Sharp. The label reuses fabric from donations that do not sell well to create items like these shorts and blouse which are then sold in store. Photograph: PR

Jana Sedlackova is a volunteer at Oxfam's Brighton branch. She is wearing clothes from the Better the Devil You Sew range - for which volunteers create clothing from damaged and donated clothing and fabrics to sell in store. Photograph: PR

Jess Wilcock is wearing items from Oxfam Originals, Manchester. This specialist Oxfam store hand-picks vintage, designer and modern clothes and accessories, and claims to sell only the most exciting, seasonal and on-trend pieces. Shop manager Rachel Verrall says: “Working with vintage clothes so much gives you a good eye for key pieces. At Oxfam Originals, we price based on label, season relevance and quality – that would be our top tip for pricing.” Photograph: PR

Josh Wayles volunteers at Oxfam Originals, Manchester. Here he is modelling a selection of hand-picked items from the store. Josh says: “When items don't sell in Oxfam shops they go to our sorting and recycling centre in Batley. The vintage items for our shop are hand-selected for us from all the donations there, as we are a specialist vintage shop and we just do our best to make the price fair for our customers whilst raising as much money as possible for Oxfam." Photograph: PR

Ty Hafan's marketing manager is wearing items that will be sold in the Abergavenny branch. Ty Hafan recently transformed their business model based on community feedback and opened a boutique charity shop in Glamorgan, Wales. For Matt Williams, general retail manager, visual merchandising is an important part of any retail operation, and charity retail is no different. Charity shops get some great items donated and you can have some fun with these by grouping colours together (rather than sizes or products), and picking out key signature pieces for display. This might be in a window display or on a mannequin in a prominent part of the shop. Build an outfit on a mannequin (from head to toe) and work to seasons or occasions, this will give your customers some great ideas of complete outfits that they can buy. Photograph: PR

Valentine Molet is a volunteer at Oxfam Camden. The store does many fashion shoots showcasing the best of its stock, which in some cases rivals that of the highstreet. Photograph: PR

Volunteer Dallas Pitman models the stock at the British Heart Foundation's Christchurch store. For Mike Taylor, retail director, charities need to ensure the pricing and presentation of your shop is right for customers in the area. The key to this is constant research into what other shops are charging, and trial and error. Make sure you have an eye-catching window display, too, as this is the first thing potential customers will see. It is worth investing in (or getting donated) some really interesting and good quality props to dress the windows, as well as spending time developing the display skills of the store team as the stock changes daily and can look stunning if properly displayed. Photograph: PR