Ethical Superstore donate 4,289 items to Newcastle West End Foodbank

Our sister company Ethical Superstore, ran their Foodbank Friday event for the fourth year running on Black Friday in 2018. Ethical Superstore customers were offered a ‘feel good’ Black Friday alternative for the fourth year running. Customers were given 20% off everything and Ethical Superstore donated goods to Newcastle West End Foodbank for every order that exceeded £30.  Ethical Superstore donated a total of 4,289 items to the foodbank in this year!

What do Newcastle West End Foodbank Say? 

John McCorry, chief executive at Newcastle West End Foodbank, said: “Black Friday is one of the busiest days in the shopping calendar and it’s easy for us to forget the daily struggles that many of us face. The West End of Newcastle is populated with large areas of poverty, so we always encourage and welcome any form of support. More and more families are being forced to use foodbanks with the number set to rise following the introduction of Universal Credit, a new benefits system, coming into force as many people waiting weeks for their payments adding to other financial pressures. It’s fantastic that we can continue our partnership with Ethical Superstore having been chosen as the sole beneficiary for the fourth year. It’s through initiatives and kindness like this from local businesses and our volunteers that we can keep doing what we do.”

What do Ethical Superstore Say? 

“We’ve done our Foodbank Friday promotion since 2015. After ‘Black Friday’ took off in the UK in 2014 many stores had discounted prices and police had to be called to stores to deal with crowds, threatening customers and even assaults. In light of this we thought we would take a different approach and do something more positive. We already worked with the Newcastle West End Foodbank with our checkout donations which allow our customers to add a donation to one of six charities, so we decided to use Black Friday to help the foodbank and highlight the growing problem of poverty and increasing usage of foodbanks in the UK which is the 6th largest economy in the world.

Black Friday is essentially just rampant consumerism which just encourages us to think about buying a slightly larger TV we really don’t need, whilst taking our attention away from the very real problems in this country. 14 million people live in poverty in the UK (JRF) and this is rising every year which is leading to record numbers of people relying on food banks so by working with the Newcastle West End Foodbank (which is the busiest in the UK) we are giving back to those in need.

With every order over £30 we donate an item directly from our stock to the foodbank, this way our customers who are shopping know that as a result of their purchase, something tangible would go to someone in need. The selection of products we give is based on what is needed by the foodbank which can vary every year. We worked with a local PR company to get the message out about our alternative to Black Friday and to also gain publicity for the foodbank itself to encourage people to make direct donations.

The promotion was so well received by our customers that we were being asked if we were going to do it again, so it was a natural decision to continue to support the cause this year. We could see the number of products which were being sent to the foodbank as a result of Foodbank Friday so the help it gives is quite clear to see! Each year we have donated more items, 2018 was the biggest so far with 4,289 items donated directly to the foodbank worth over £7,000!”

Who Are Ethical Superstore? 

Ethical Superstore has become an essential resource for Britain’s growing number of ethically and environmentally aware consumers. Established in 2006, the site allows consumers to buy Fairtrade, organic and eco-friendly merchandise and currently features over 5,000 products.  If you are interested in shopping ethically, you can visit Ethical Superstore here www.ethicalsuperstore.co.uk.