More men buying their clothes second-hand as finances squeezed, Yorkshire charity reveals

New data from the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, which runs 13 charity shops across West Yorkshire, shows a 45 per cent increase in sales of men’s clothes, with a 70 per cent increase in sales of men’s tops.

Forget Me Not discovered the trend when they compared their sales for the three-month period from July to September 2022 with the same period last year.

Generally sales of all goods are up by 22 per cent, reflecting a trend seen by many charity shops during the cost-of-living crisis – an increased number and wider range of people are visiting Forget Me Not's charity shops. But the increase among men stood out and suggests changing attitudes towards pre-loved goods.

Andrea Kay, Trading Manager at Forget Me Not said “We’ve always seen a strong demand for women’s clothes but we are definitely seeing more men buying clothes in our shops than before.

“A 45 per cent increase in men's clothing sales is a big jump. Some of the increase is women buying for the men in their lives, but there are definitely a lot more men enjoying a rummage in our shops.”