When designer Wayne Hemingway promoted Traid’s 1999 launch during his fashion segment on popular British morning show The Big Breakfast, it brought the brand — and charity retail — to the attention of a new demographic. But in the following years, Traid CEO Maria Chenoweth began to feel celebrities were attaching themselves to charities in a way that was disingenuous, to further their careers.
She put the brakes on further celebrity affiliations until a journalist introduced her to the concept of shopping hauls and influencers in the 2010s. “We had to wake up and realise that [celebrities and influencers] are the new marketing generation,” says Chenoweth, who is now also co-founder of multi-charity retailer Charity Supermarket alongside Hemingway.