Back in early June, we launched the Paperclip Sustainability Initiative. Since then we been working with some great charities across the UK to raise awareness of overconsumption and waste, whilst generating revenue for their retail operations.

Last month, we told you about our new partnership with Porthcawl-based charity Sustainable Wales. Here we used excess donations of clothing and bric-a-brac to create an online store on the Paperclip marketplace. Over the last few weeks, the store has continued to grow, with more items being added and more users grabbing a bargain to support the charity.

Partnering with the YMCA

Since then, we have been developing a new and very special partnership with worldwide youth organization, the YMCA.

Founded back in 1844 by Sir George Williams in London (originally as the Young Men's Christian Association) the organization has focused on delivering projects and services focused on youth development through a wide variety of activities. These include; providing housing, sports facilities, holding classes for a wide variety of skills and promoting humanitarian work in the community. All in all, a great organization to be working with during these difficult times.

Back in the Spring, our team began discussing a pilot scheme with the Roath branch of the YMCA. Similar to our ongoing project with Sustainable Wales, this scheme would focus on reducing waste and generation revenue from their retail premises.

Our plan was to help their retail stores sell second-hand items which have not found a new home since they were donated months ago. Here our team would create an online shop for the Cardiff YMCA, would take photos of their stock and list these items on the Paperclip marketplace. This showcases the items to our 200,000+ strong community of users online, rather than just those living in the local area.

We began listing the donated items a few weeks ago, and since then, items both big and small have been bought by Paperclip users from all over the United Kingdom!

The YMCA Paperclip store now boasts gorgeous pre-loved items from Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Hollister and more, all for a fraction of the price you'd pay first hand. Fresh items are added regularly by our team and we are hoping to onboard further retail sites in the coming months.

Talking about the new scheme, Paperclip Marketing Manager Justin said, "It's great to be working closely with the YMCA in Cardiff. The team here are aware of the valuable work the YMCA do both here and abroad, so we are delighted to help out in any way we can. It's been really satisfying to see so many sales come through in such a short period of time too! The potential for future revenue from taking these charities online is enormous and we are really excited to be leading the charge."

We will be announcing more exciting new projects as our Sustainability Initiative develops over the next few weeks, so stay tuned to the Paperclip blog.

Whilst you're here, consider giving us a follow on our Instagram page for the latest news, hot new items and great giveaways.