Secondhand clothing sell­er Blue Ocean Textiles is paying stores hun­dreds of pounds a year in “passive income” to host textile-collection bins.

The bins require one square metre of outdoor space. Shops can earn a yearly rental rate on flexible contracts, which are typically three months or a year in length.

Blue Ocean did not wish to disclose ex­act rent rates. However, Better Retailing under­stands the rent payments are comparable with those paid by parcel companies for hosting two-metre lockers.

The textile bins meas­ure just over two metres tall and are designed not to cover shop windows.

Blue Ocean is seeking more convenience stores to add to its current estate of 97 shops. The company’s estate in­cludes multiple Nisa and Londis locations, most of which are located in northern England.

The company claims benefits include attracting new customers through advertising it provides on the shop’s behalf.

Once clothes are collect­ed from shops, the com­pany aims to “turn textiles into circular fashion” by exporting them abroad.

What do retailers need to do to partner with Blue Ocean for a textile bin in their store?

Wojciech Szuster, direc­tor of Blue Ocean, told Better Retailing: “Retailers don’t have to do anything extra. We cover everything. We are re­sponsible for installation and we make sure every­thing is clean and that bins are never overloaded. This helps us ensure the shops are happy.

“We empty the bins every week. You’ve prob­ably seen images of over­loaded bins many times.” He added that he believed Blue Ocean is “the only company in the UK that pays shops rent for host­ing clothing banks”.

“The biggest thing for shops is that you are envi­ronmentally friendly. We could do business the oth­er way around and open more cash for clothes shops to sell them on, but it’s good to do it in the right way,” he continued.

“If we can help shops, we are happy to do that by paying them rent.”

Asked about contract terms for shops, Szuster said: “Usually, it’s three months for the first con­tract, and after that is a one-year contract. If they are happy, we are happy”.

Asked about space re­quirements for hosting the bins, Szuster said the equipment is usually placed outside the fronts of shops on streets, but can also be placed in car parks, alleyways or sepa­rate outdoor spaces.

“The payment is only one of the benefit shops get because we also pro­vide a free advertising campaign.

“Every time when we install the clothing bank, we do our best to make ad­vertisements for around your area,” he added.

To host a Blue Ocean clothing bank, email your store address and mobile number to
editorial@newtrade.co.uk with the subject ‘Blue Ocean’

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