New Haul : Consumer spend vs. Charitable Giving

There’s little doubt we live in the age of the consumer. Although the local High Street may be dying, shopping malls in city centres are still jam-packed with customers and online spending is still surging strong across the Western World. We may be in economically-uncertain times but the consumer hypnotist is still going strong.

I’m probably not the only one (at least I hope not) who looks at the endless barage of advertising whether it be billboard or digital, the constant #haul social media, influencer, buy-buy-buy narrative and finds it somewhat…dystopian.

How can our social media feeds be filled with news of real-life stories of horror playing out across the globe, war, abject poverty and suffering and then be interrupted by yet another glossy advert to buy an overpriced perfume, handbag, shoe or shirt?

Is this some paradoxical universe? What’s going on here?

Not to go all Matrix on you but it’s like two worlds both playing out in real time. One where there is nothing but horrific trauma and tragedy; and one where the biggest trauma someone faces is not having the latest trending label.

One where a red sole on your shoe means one thing - and something entirely different somewhere else.

Are we kept distracted from what we could achieve, what we could fix, what we could do with our money by a purposeful drip-feed of must-have fashion?

Consider this:

A 2025 consumer survey from Fashion Network found UK adults spend about £250 per month on clothing, i.e. around £3,000 per year. Sound about right? That’s everything from your underwear to your shoes and if you are buying for others (such as children) the cost can be even higher.

In comparison:

The Charities Aid Foundation UK Giving Report 2025 found that UK adults donated an estimated £15.4 billion total in 2024. That’s an average monthly donation among people giving of about £72 per month, or around £864 per year per donor. (scvo.scot)

BUT:

That same CAF report found that only about half of UK adults actually donate in any given year. This means that the entire adult population (including non-donors) average giving works out to roughly £430 per person per year.

Now you may say this is an unfair comparison - but is it?

Everyone needs clothes. Clothing is a basic human right and need along with shelter, food and water. Every single person on this planet (unless you are some full-time nudist) needs clothes. And what is fashion, if it is not just clothes?

But do we need to spend so much? £3000 per year vs. £430 per year?

Whatever you think, it’s pretty shameful.

Are we being tricked, duped, distracted in order to keep the consumer monster going and avoid thinking about what our money could in fact achieve?

No-one ever died and the words at their funeral were about what a great wardrobe they had.

Instead, people talk about what you did for others, how you made them feel, the impact you had on the world. Not about how good you looked with the latest fits.

Imagine if we could tip that clear spending imbalance back the other way - just a little.

I’m not suggesting that we all have to sew our own clothes from hemp seed and go live off-grid - but what I am suggesting is that we take back some control.

Sure, shopping makes you feel good. You earnt this money - you get to spend it on yourself (if you are lucky). You deserve this. Its time to treat yourself. You have to have it. What’s the harm?

Well depending on where you buy your clothes from, the ‘harm’ is definitely subject to debate (but that’s a story for another day).

But what if you could look good AND do good at the same time?

Is it possible? Could we buy and give at the same time?

Let me know what you think in the comments.