The Martlets Hospice is bringing the national Charity Shop Gift Card scheme to its eight branches in and around Brighton and Hove.
It is the first nationally accepted multi-retailer gift card that can be spent exclusively in charity shops.
The Charity Shop Gift Card is being sold and accepted in all eight Martlets stores across Brighton, Hove and the Havens, the charity said.
It was developed in partnership with the Charity Retail Association and is now being accepted by several other charities in most parts of the country.
Martlets said: “The scheme aims to support the growing second-hand revolution. It will also help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and boost the income of charities by giving them their first collective opportunity to access a share of the £7 billion-a-year gift card market.
“Shoppers can visit any Martlets shop to use their gift card where they can also buy them.
“The Charity Retail Association has 450 members with 9,000 shops and together they are already diverting over 300,000 tonnes of textiles away from landfill and contributing over £300 million to help fund the work of their parent charities.
“The gift cards themselves are recyclable and compostable and on sale at www.thecharityshopgiftcard.co.uk and at supermarkets and other major retailers.”
Martlets head of trading Robert Parker said: “The Charity Shop Gift Card will introduce people to our fantastic shops and to shopping sustainably while supporting a fantastic cause.
“Martlets, and other charity retailers, also offer a valuable way to counter the effects of the cost-of-living crisis that is affecting so many within our communities – the gift card will help more people access quality affordable items.”
With Christmas coming, Charity Shop Gift Card co-founder Lee Fellows said: “We’re delighted to see Martlets join the scheme, giving the residents of Brighton, Hove and beyond a way of not just supporting a local charity but also a way to aid the circular economy.”
Martlets provides terminally ill people in Brighton and Hove and the surrounding area with the care and support.
The charity’s expert team aims to help patients to live life to the full during the precious time that they have left, allowing them to feel hope, purpose and possibility.
Most people receive care from Martlets in their own homes. Outpatients can visit the hospice for pain relief, physiotherapy, counselling, welfare advice and social activities.
Others choose to spend their final days at the hospice or to stay as inpatients for respite care or symptom management.
