Record number of Brits spring clean their wardrobe
Spring arrived in record fashion in Marks & Spencer stores this May, with staggering numbers of shwoppers descending on the retail giant to shwop their unwanted clothes. The bi-annual One Day Wardrobe Clear Out money-off event, in conjunction with Oxfam, saw 435,000 used and unwanted items shwopped over 12 hours – the equivalent of 604 items a minute.
The event, as part of M&S and Oxfam’s sustainable fashion initiative Shwopping, will see every item donated go on to be re-sold, re-used or recycled by the charity, cutting waste and raising much-needed funds in its fight against global poverty. The record 435,000 items shwopped will raise an estimated £504,600 for Oxfam.
One Day Wardrobe Clear Out on Thursday 9th May asked customers to help ease the landfill burden as part of a special ‘money off’ Shwopping event, with all those who shwopped receiving a £5 money-off voucher.
Marks & Spencer’s Castlepoint store was crowned ‘Top of the Shwops’ with 3,502 items donated in their 12 hours of Shwopping hours.
Adam Elman, Head of Marks & Spencer’s Plan A Delivery, said: “It’s amazing to see so many people taking part and shwopping their clothes to support Oxfam. 435,000 clothes donated is a fantastic achievement; this is by far the most successful clothes-recycling event we have ever had! It doesn't stop here, with over 1 billion items sent to landfill each year in the UK, we hope that customers will continue to adopt a ‘buy one, give one back’ culture when they shop and help us to build a more sustainable future.”
Since its launch in April last year, Oxfam has received over 4.3 million items of clothing thanks to Shwopping, worth over £2.8 million for the charity. All money raised by Shwopping is used to support Oxfam’s projects around the world working to alleviate poverty.
For more information on Marks & Spencer and Oxfam’s Shwopping initiative, visit marksandspencer.com/shwopping.
Shwopping
Shwopping is Marks & Spencer’s revolutionary clothes recycling initiative where customers can donate any item of clothing, of any brand, to be re-used, resold or recycled by charity partner Oxfam. Launched by Plan A ambassador Joanna Lumley, M&S believes Shwopping can revolutionise clothes shopping by asking consumers to adopt a ‘buy one, give one’ mentality and encourage greater sustainability on the high street.
The campaign aims to put an end to the one billion items currently ending up in landfill every year. All M&S clothing stores now accept used and unwanted items of clothing from any brand, all year round. The ultimate aim for M&S is to collect 350 million items a year – recycling as many clothes as it sells.