Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK was formed in 2002 through the merger of two of Britain's oldest medical research charities: the Cancer Research Campaign (founded 1923) and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (founded 1902). Together, these organisations had more than a century of combined cancer research experience. Their union created the world's largest independent cancer research organisation, with the UK's most extensive charity shop network devoted to a single disease area.

The charity operates over 600 shops across the UK, staffed largely by volunteers who collectively contribute millions of hours of unpaid work each year. Cancer Research UK shops are particularly well-known for their vintage and retro clothing — many branches have curated vintage sections that attract fashion-conscious shoppers alongside bargain hunters. The quality of stock is consistently high because the charity carefully grades and selects donations before they reach the shop floor.

Cancer Research UK also runs a thriving online presence, selling donated items through eBay and its own website. The charity was an early adopter of online charity retail and continues to invest in digital channels to reach donors and buyers who cannot visit physical shops.

The money raised in Cancer Research UK shops helps fund the scientists, doctors, and nurses who are working to understand, prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. The charity has contributed to some of the most significant advances in cancer treatment over the past century, including tamoxifen for breast cancer, targeted therapies, and immunotherapy. Today, more than half of all people in the UK survive cancer for at least ten years — a figure that has doubled in the past 40 years, in part because of Cancer Research UK's work.