Why are there so many more charity shops now than there used to be? Are they an unqualified Good Thing? Or is their proliferation merely a function of the ever-growing cascade of Stuff in our lives, and actually a symptom of mass over-consumption? How much money do they make and where does that money go? Also, what do you do when someone cheerfully brings in a 'donation' of second-hand underwear?

Charity Shop World seeks to answer all these questions and more, interspersing explorations of key aspects of charity retail with amusing and revealing dispatches from the shop-floor.