World Op Shop Day – celebrating our Salvos Stores
Tomorrow (Saturday 17 October 2026) marks just the second year of World Op Shop Day. Salvos Online takes a look at The Salvation Army’s op-shop history and ongoing impact around Australia.
BY FAY FOSTER
Did you know the concept of op shops, or ‘opportunity shops’, has existed in Australia for over a century, and that The Salvation Army has been there from the start?
Long before the term ‘circular economy’ became popular, The Salvation Army was already pioneering sustainable practices. The Salvation Army opened its first recycling depots in Melbourne and Sydney in 1883, providing work, accommodation and food for men leaving prison. The depots repaired, sorted and sold items to help cover running costs.
‘Jumble Sales’ (essentially early versions of op shops) gave families access to low-cost clothing when they needed it most. One remarkable example is The Anchorage Hostel in Abbotsford, Victoria, where they repaired items and repurposed them as new garments or wove them into mats for local businesses.
These initiatives laid the foundation for what we now recognise as circular economy thinking – extending the life of goods through reuse, recycling and repurposing.
World Op Shop Day is more than a celebration; it’s a call to action. Op shops play a crucial role in reducing waste, supporting those in need, and funding essential community and welfare programs.
Each year, Salvos Stores diverts more than 40 million items from landfill through resale and recycling. Over the past 25 years, this has amounted to 575 million kilograms of textiles, electronics and home goods that would otherwise have become waste. But it’s not just about protecting our environment.
“What I think is really special about op shops is that they’ve really become part of the fabric of Australian society,” said Sarah Knop, Salvos Stores’ General Manager of Customer and Strategy.
“They are not just about being an income source for charities. They are a really vital community hub where Australians from all walks of life can belong and find purpose … op shops are also a great way to contribute to a meaningful cause by generously giving your time and your valuable donations.”
At the heart of every store is the desire to ensure that everyone who walks through the doors feels welcome, connected and part of something bigger.
“We really want to offer a welcoming environment where people know that every purchase they make, donation they give, or hour they spend volunteering helps people and the planet,” Sarah added.
As op shops have evolved over the decades, so have the Salvos, from rethinking store layouts and how goods are displayed to setting up an online store. Customers can purchase a wide range of clothing, accessories and collectables via the Salvos Stores e-commerce platform at salvosstores.com.au/shop.
Today, with more than 400 store locations, Salvos Stores remain sustainability powerhouses. Supported by the Queensland government, they have also installed Australia’s first automated textile sorting and decommissioning facility. The cutting-edge facility processes donations for resale, and non-resellable items are sorted by colour and fibre type, then cut into high-quality textile swatches for future recycling.
“It is a really exciting Australian-first initiative,” Sarah remarked. “We are proud to provide ways for Australians to participate in the circular economy – and we are always working to deliver better sustainability solutions for those items that can’t be resold in our stores.
“We want to celebrate the power of second-hand,” said Sarah. “Whether people are donating, shopping or volunteering, their involvement helps create positive change. By supporting op shops, they are not only helping to deliver the life-changing programs of The Salvation Army but also championing a more sustainable future.”
