Charity shops are set to be packed with “gems” once they reopen, says Oxfam, which is reopening 10 shops this week.

From Monday 15 June, non-essential retailers will be able to open their doors to shoppers after weeks of forced closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, all shops must ensure that adequate safety and hygiene measures are in place to make sure that customers can maintain social distancing while inside.

Oxfam, which will be opening dozens more shops in the next fortnight, has said it will be isolating donated items for 72 hours before sorting them and putting them on sale to prevent the risk of contamination.

Speaking to PA, Fee Gilfeather, head of audience and strategic planning at Oxfam, has said that she is expecting for shops to be inundated with treasured items due to people doing lockdown clearouts.

“From a shopper perspective I think that people can expect to find some really great treasures to buy, because everybody’s had a lockdown clear-out, and I think that charity shops are going to be full of some really great gems that people have cleared out of their homes,” she said.

Gilfeather’s comments come after some charity shop owners have expressed concerns over the amount of donations they expect to receive upon reopening.

Speaking to the BBC last month, Robin Osterley, chief executive of the Charity Retail Association, said that shops are expecting to be “full to bursting”.

“We’re not just anticipating a normal three months’ worth of donations but also the extra stuff that people may have picked out to donate during their clean-ups,” he added.

Mr Osterley also encouraged people to be “thoughtful” about their donations so that shops do not end up with a deluge of clothing.

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