Charitable Reuse Aotearoa has launched as New Zealand's new national body for the charity retail sector, and Cybertill is proud to support its mission as Founding Technology Partner.
A new national voice for New Zealand's op shops
Launched on 1 July 2026, Charitable Reuse Aotearoa is New Zealand's new national body for the charity retail sector. It's designed to support the sector collectively as a whole, and each of the organisations operating within it, individually, acting as a centralised platform to engage with governments, communities and circular economy stakeholders on the sector's behalf.
That work is built on four pillars:
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Advocacy: representing the interests of charity retailers and encouraging all levels of government to promote reuse, fund innovation and reduce charitable costs
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Capacity Building: giving member enterprises the resources, tools and advice to become more innovative, progressive and financially sustainable re-users, recyclers and retailers
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Education: inspiring New Zealanders to choose reuse as a simple, cost-effective way to purchase quality items, reducing environmental footprint and enabling social good
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Impact Measurement: using data on the social, environmental and economic benefits of the sector to build a clear business case for ongoing government and community support
Why the sector needs this now
New Zealand's secondhand economy has reached a record $5.2 billion, as more Kiwis turn to op shops to stretch their budgets further during the cost-of-living crisis. Trade Me's Circular Economy Report found that 60% of Kiwis say rising living costs have made them buy or sell secondhand more often. That surge in demand is good news for charity retailers, but many are still running on fragmented, legacy systems that were never built for online marketplaces or today's donation volumes, meaning manual processes and donations that never reach a buyer.
A dedicated national body changes that picture. It gives op shops a collective voice with government and funders, shared benchmarks to measure performance, and a platform to demonstrate the sector's true scale, much of which sits outside conventional circular economy reporting altogether.
Cybertill as Founding Technology Partner
We're proud to be Charitable Reuse Aotearoa's Founding Technology Partner, supporting the sector to accelerate reuse just as we do as members of Charitable Reuse Australia. CharityStore is trusted by charity and hospice retailers across the UK and Ireland, and we're bringing that experience to New Zealand's op shops for the first time:
- Keep prices affordable for cost-conscious shoppers, by cutting the overhead built into day-to-day operations
- Free up staff and volunteer time through automation, so shops can stay open despite squeezed budgets
- List stock on Trade Me, eBay and other marketplaces, extending affordable, sustainable shopping beyond the high street
- Strengthen donor engagement in store, giving shoppers more ways to engage with their charity and increase donations
- Get more value from every donation through smarter pricing and multichannel selling, building on results like Salvos Australia's 410% single-day donation boost from round-up-at-till giving
- Track and report real sustainability impact, supporting funding applications and certifications such as Toitū Envirocare
Launch event: 28 July, Wellington
Charitable Reuse Aotearoa's official launch event takes place on 28 July 2026 at Parliament Buildings, Wellington, bringing together members, partners and sector leaders. Key topics will include the role charity shops and retail technology play in the cost-of-living crisis, and maximising sustainable revenue growth for op shops, alongside the release of the first high-level estimates of the environmental, social and economic impact of charitable reuse across the country.
What this means for New Zealand's op shops
Charity retail is one of the largest contributors to the circular economy, yet it rarely gets counted in national reports. With over 1,000 op shops across New Zealand and an estimated 100,000+ tonnes of clothing sent to landfill annually, a stronger sector voice paired with better technology means more donations finding a buyer instead of a skip, and more funds reaching the communities these shops support.
We're looking forward to working alongside Charitable Reuse Aotearoa and its members to help build a fairer, greener retail sector for New Zealand.
Find out more about Charitable Reuse Aotearoa and how to apply for a membership here.
Want to explore how Cybertill's technology could support your charity retail network through the cost-of-living crisis? Get in touch with our team sales@cybertill.com.au
