Half a million shoppers recycle through recession

- Oxfam and M&S celebrate first year of Clothing Partnership
- £1.8million raised for lifesaving charity work
- M&S Customers save over £2.5million off their shopping bill - over half a million vouchers given out
- Nearly three million garments re-used that could have otherwise gone to landfill

On its first anniversary Oxfam and Marks & Spencer have revealed their unique partnership, the M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange, has raised over £1.8 million for the charity in its first year - and saved nearly three million garments from going to landfill.

Over half a million shoppers are now recycling their clothes and have benefited from a credit crunch busting £2.5million savings on M&S clothing, home and beauty products.

The Clothes Exchange – which has seen the UK’s biggest clothing retailer team up with the biggest charity shop network – is the first initiative on the high street to reward shoppers for recycling clothing.

It allows consumers to keep supporting charity even while times are tight.

Consumers bringing back M&S clothing to Oxfam shops through the exchange receive a £5 M&S voucher redeemable against a £35 spend on clothing, home or beauty products at M&S.

Not only has the Clothes Exchange saved over 1,400 tonnes of clothing that could otherwise have gone to landfill, the extra revenue generated through the Clothes Exchange is enough for Oxfam to provide:

- Emergency food for 83,000 people for six months in Kenya
- 68,000 goats
- 1.7 million schoolbooks
- Safe water for 2.2 million people
- or 53,000 emergency shelters.

The Clothes Exchange has also supported one of Marks & Spencer’s key Plan A environmental objectives - to encourage the recycling of clothes, and reduce the one million tonnes of clothing sent to landfill in the UK each year.

David McCullough, Oxfam’s Director of Trading said: “The M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange has delivered amazing results. The extra £1.8 million we have generated from the scheme can make a colossal difference to people in the developing world.

“The reason it has succeeded so well is that British consumers love it – you can save money; reduce, reuse and recycle; get rid of clothes you don’t wear; declutter your home and do something for charity. It’s the recession-proof way to an ethical 2009.”

Richard Gillies, Director of Plan A, Marks & Spencer’s 100 Point Eco-Plan said: “The Clothes Exchange is working so well because it lets shoppers help some of the world’s most needy – in a way that saves them money too in what is a tough year.

“We believe it has also tapped into a changing consumer mood which is shifting away from ‘throwaway fashion’. Despite the recession its still important to our customers to do the right thing - and here you’re helping to save the planet as well as your wallet. We’re creating a virtuous fashion cycle – incentivising shoppers to not only think ethically when they buy clothes but also when they dispose of them”.

ENDS

For further information, go to www.marksandspencer.com/plana or www.oxfam.org.uk

For further information for media, please call:
Marks & Spencer
Corporate PR 02087181919

Oxfam
Stuart Fowkes 01865 472254

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