The impact of Lost Stock

When we started Lost Stock, our aim was to sell 10,000 orders to help workers and factories impacted by retailers and brands canceling completed orders due to coronavirus. 

Thanks to all of you, we massively surpassed that and were able to generate 11x the volume of funding we originally hoped. 

We know how important it is to showcase the impact of your generosity and provide transparency on the finances behind Lost Stock. 

With this in mind, we’re delighted today to release the Lost Stock Impact Report written in conjunction with SAJIDA Foundation. 

Thanks to your generosity through Lost Stock, SAJIDA Foundation has been able to support 113,701 people since the launch of our initiative. 

In their role as the impact delivery partner and after analysing the situation, SAJIDA Foundation took the decision to provide longer-term support to workers who had lost all income to ensure the greatest impact from the work undertaken. 

Because of this each garment worker and their family have received, on average, support for 4.3 weeks.

This support has been provided to 27,732 garment workers and their families. With an average family size of 4.1. 

"Nobody simply hands out money!", is what I was thinking while filling out the forms for aid with half a hopeful heart. Yet, when I received the money, I was happy beyond what words could express. SAJIDA's aid was a saving grace for my five siblings and our mother, who were barely getting by during the pandemic. We at least did not have to worry about a period of time and gave me time to regain employment"

Sathi, Garment Worker 

Whilst the donation value of each order was slightly reduced due to increased costs caused by increased scale and complexity of the Lost Stock model and increased returns and changes made to our returns policy – the actual amount received per worker was still enough to support a family of 4.1 for a week. The amount given by Lost Stock was also 50% higher than other social protection schemes set up to support affected households in Bangladesh. 

Building an initiative with the size and complexity of Lost Stock during normal times would be challenging but in the face of a global pandemic and the continual changes this created, this was even more difficult to do. Whilst the vast majority of customers were happy with their Lost Stock order we know that some weren't – due to either delays in their delivery or with their selection of items. To these customers, we want to offer a heartfelt apology. We know you decided to help workers through Lost Stock and we're sorry we didn't deliver a great experience for you.

For the creation of this report accountancy firm RSM checked for accuracy, corroborated to source documentation and agreed to bank statements the amounts paid to factories for purchase of cancelled stock, donations to SAJIDA and total logistics costs plus VAT and taxes (£1,554,518).

Whilst Lost Stock helped a vast number of people at a horrible time, in reality we were a short-term sticking plaster solution that doesn’t address the long-term problems within the retail industry. The imbalances that exist will continue to allow situations like this to happen. 

Through this experience, we believe that long-term change is needed in this industry and for this to happen there needs to be a collaboration between brands and consumers. We need to look at the waste created by the current retail business model and find solutions that aren’t just better for the consumer but for everyone involved in the supply chain and our planet. 

We have many ideas around this and hope to use our learnings from Lost Stock to help drive long-lasting change. 

Again, thank you everyone from the bottom of our hearts! You really are all heroes! 

Team Lost Stock