Big Ideas, Real Impact.
We are dedicated to finding practical, creative and sustainable ways to tackle inequality and injustice - combining entrepreneurial thinking with deep social purpose.
Our Current Projects
Knit for Peace is one of our flagship and most visible initiatives. It is built on a simple but powerful insight: knitting benefits both the maker and the recipient.
Originally established to bring together people from different – often historically divided – communities, Knit for Peace has grown into a nationwide movement. Today, thousands of volunteer knitters across the UK donate hand-knitted items which we distribute to:
Homeless shelters
Refugee and asylum-seeker centres
Hospitals and community organisations
Overseas humanitarian relief projects (such as Ukraine)
Tens of thousands of items are sent each year to people in need, providing warmth, dignity and comfort — while also improving the wellbeing, purpose and mental health of the knitters themselves.
Knit for Peace demonstrates the power of simple actions to create profound human connection.
Launched in 2003, Good Gifts revolutionised ethical giving by offering an imaginative alternative to traditional presents. Instead of buying unwanted items, supporters can give meaningful, life-changing gifts such as:
Goats for peace
Solar lights for survivors
Medical and educational support
Tools, seeds and training for livelihoods
Crucially, every Good Gift funds the specific item or service described — not a general pot. This commitment to transparency and authenticity has earned enormous trust and loyalty from supporters, and has raised many millions of pounds for charities around the world.
Good Gifts remains a flagship example of how ethical commerce can drive real social transformation.
Recent & Past Projects
CAT has initiated, managed or supported a wide range of pioneering projects over the years, including:
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First established in the early 1980s, our Card Aid initiative helped revolutionise the charity Christmas card market by:
Supporting charities with tailored card services
Supplying companies with ethical cards
Establishing a chain of charity Christmas card shops in London
Over the years, Card Aid raised tens of millions of pounds for charities. We are still continuing to sell Christmas cards produced for the initiative today, though that is at a much diminished level.
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Established to expose misleading “charity card” practices on the high street and highlight how little actually reached good causes, the Scrooge Awards helped drive greater transparency in the charity card sector.
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For many years the Trust distributed over £500,000 annually, proactively identifying emerging needs and supporting innovative individuals and grassroots causes.
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A model of sustainable tourism, with all profits reinvested into charitable and environmental work in India. The Green Hotel, which is in Mysore in India, was conceived and initially managed by CAT to wide acclaim, including being described by Time Magazine (Asia) as:
“The best place in Asia to improve your karma.”
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Produced in Israel by Jews, Arabs, Druze and Bedouin working together, Peace Oil® promoted co-operation, economic development and peace-building through ethical trade.
Our Wider Legacy
Over the years, CAT has also:
Managed trading operations for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Helped found the Charity Retail Association (originally the Charity Shop Group)
Developed specialist publications such as the Charity Trading Handbook and Museum Trading Handbook
Ran the Museum Stores in London, donating £100,000 to the British Museum’s education work
Established Medical and Dental Electives in South India
Delivered training and support programmes for charities in the UK and emerging Eastern European sectors
A defining principle of the Trust has always been to empower others, not to empire-build. Wherever possible, initiatives are supported to become independent, sustainable entities in their own right. That commitment established over 40 years ago, still drives forward our work today.