Two more Dorset charities have signed up to the Charity Shop Gift Card scheme.

PramaLife, which supports older people and their carers, and Margaret Green Animal Rescue, which rehomes mistreated, neglected or abandoned pets, are the latest charities to sign up to the scheme which is the first multi-retailer gift card exclusively for charity shops.

The first-of-its-kind gift card has been developed with the Charity Retail Association and will be sold and accepted in PramaLife’s nine shops and Margaret Green Animal Rescue’s six shops across the county.

Lee Fellows, Managing Director of The Charity Shop Gift Card, said: "We’re thrilled to add both PramaLife and Margaret Green Animal Rescue charity shops to the growing network of shops that accept the gift card.

“The residents of Dorset now have a number of shops where they can spend the charity card knowing that they are not only living more sustainably but also helping local charities with their vital work.”

It will support the growing ‘second-hand revolution’ and offer national and regional charities their first opportunity to tap into the £7 billion-a-year gift card market.

Aaron Head, Retail Operations and E-commerce Manager for PramaLife, said: “We’ve been keen to join as soon as we heard about the scheme, recognising there's a real gap for a charity gift card that can be used by our existing supporters as well as potentially new customers for our fundraising shops.”

Charity shops are already collectively diverting more than 300,000 tonnes of textiles away from landfill and contributing over £300 million to help fund the work of their parent charities.

Karen Pothecary, from Margaret Green Animal Rescue said: “We’re always on the lookout for new initiatives that can help raise the vital funds for the charity.

“There’s an increasing awareness of the need to shop more consciously and so it’s great to have a sustainable gift card that we can offer to our supporters.”

National charity Marie Curie is also accepting and selling the Charity Shop Gift Card in its shops across Dorset.

The Charity Shop Gift Card is a member of Social Enterprise UK, meaning a minimum of 65% of their profits will go towards funding free gift cards to people who need them, as well as being part of the Gift Card and Voucher Association.

The cards are recyclable and compostable and are available through retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Asda, Boots and WHSmith or online at www.thecharityshopgiftcard.co.uk