Since it is the season of giving, it feels like a prudent time to spotlight an organisation that is making doing ‘a good thing’ that bit easier for companies.

A Good Thing is a UK-based organisation which connects businesses with excess stock or unwanted items with charities in their local area that are in need of such items – simultaneously diverting product from landfill while creating positive social impact.

Founded by Cathy and Richard Benwell, A Good Thing began to address a particular need; “We saw that there as this big gap where businesses very much wanted to donate to charity and be engaged with their local communities […] but it can be very difficult and time consuming for them to do so. And then on the other hand, you’ve got charities who desperately want to connect with businesses – build those relationships, have donations made to them – but again very often don’t have the means or network to do so,” explained Cathy.

So A Good Thing was set up – a platform and app to connect businesses that have something to donate, to local charities in need, in a really fast and easy way. Once registered on the site, a company can upload a listing of an item or selection of items it no longer needs, alerting registered charities within a geographical radius, who can each click to say they are interested. The company will then select which charity to donate it to and can make the arrangements for collection or delivery.

With so many charities in desperate need, with difficult times since Covid, and reduced donations due to the cost of living crisis, and companies with stock they don’t want to send to landfill due to environmental considerations and commitments, A Good Thing offers the perfect matchmaking service.

A Good Thing has now streamlined the process even further with a Charity Needs section of its platform, where charities can list exactly what they are searching for and local companies can see if they are able to help out, allowing for a more targeted approach.

While currently the A Good Thing platform only operates in the UK, Cathy explained she is already looking further afield as enquiries come in from Europe where she is already manually matchmaking. She hopes to expand the platform to other countries as it is clear the need and the opportunity exists all over.

One of A Good Thing’s biggest supporters is the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA), constituting 400 businesses, many of whom regularly make donations and contributions to A Good Thing. Merchandising is an industry that often finds itself with massive amounts of surplus stock, whether a company changes its branding, there is a misprint, or it over orders product, there can be vast amounts of waste. Since the partnership began in 2023, donations have been flowing from the association and supporting numerous charities.

With the licensing industry often faced with a similar dilemma of excess or unwanted stock, A Good Thing is a fantastic opportunity for companies to meet their sustainability targets by redirecting from landfill and providing end of life solutions, all the while meeting social impact ambitions and getting involved with local communities.

“It’s really those twin benefits that people are getting from using A Good Thing,” said Cathy. “We would love your members to challenge themselves and each have a think about what they might have sitting in a cupboard/storeroom/warehouse that they could potentially donate. Something that could benefit a brilliant local charity.”

Are you UK-based or have UK stock and may have something to spare? Visit www.agoodthing.org.uk to find out more, and to www.agoodthing.org.uk/blog to read some of the case studies of the kinds of items donated and the impact they have had.

Creating an account on A Good Thing takes 30 seconds at www.agoodthing.org.uk/signup, and items can start to be listed straight away.