Marks & Spencer (M&S) is to open a very different type of store this Thursday when a two-day Oxfam pop-up Shwop Shop is unveiled at its flagship Marble Arch store.
The Shwop Shop will be a one-of-a-kind secondhand store that will sell the best items donated to the retailer’s sustainable fashion initiative, Shwopping, from the public and famous faces from popular culture.
To enter the Shwop Shop visitors will have to shwop - hand over an unwanted item of clothing, using old or unused clothes as their ticket to the exclusive sale.
An array of TV, music, film and fashion stars have donated previously treasured items from their wardrobe.
Once loved items from Gary Barlow, Alexa Chung, Caroline Flack, Daisy Lowe, David Gandy, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Gemma Cairney, Plan B, Lauren Laverne, Pixie Lott and Shwopping ambassador Joanna Lumley will be on sale.
Adam Elman, Head of Plan A Delivery at Marks & Spencer, said: “The Shwop Shop is a celebration of Shwopping. Fashion influencers, designers, stylists, thought-leaders and visionaries have given their sign of approval by donating their unwanted items and we hope this will inspire a new generation of shwoppers who see fashion and sustainability as one. The aim is to change people’s attitudes towards clothes recycling and give unwanted garments a future.”
Since its launch in April, Oxfam has received over 2.8 million items of clothing thanks to Shwopping, worth over £1.8 million for the charity. All money raised by the shop will be used to support Oxfam’s projects around the world working to alleviate poverty.
Amongst the Oxfam volunteers working in the Shwop Shop, there will be a host of famous faces lending a helping hand during the launch day. Shwopping guru Joanna Lumley will be serving customers at the till whilst stylists Grace Woodward and Brix Smith-Start, will be on hand to lend some fashionable tips to shwoppers.
A series of sustainable art installations have also been created around the store by the London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion.
The celebrity shop will be staffed by a host of famous faces throughout the two days including Shwopping guru Joanna Lumley, who said:
“By opening your hearts, minds and your wardrobe and going shwopping, you can not only bag an outfit worn on the red carpet or to a glitzy awards evening, but help the environment too. Fashion with a conscience, it is perfect isn’t it’ By shwopping all we want you to do is give your unwanted items stuffed in the back of your wardrobe a future. Simply bring an old item back every time you buy a new outfit, shwop and shop! Come to the Shwop Shop, shwop and shop and leave with a smile – the world will then feel a better place!”
M&S and Oxfam’s Shwopping collaboration urges shoppers to donate - or „shwop’ - an unwanted item of clothing that will go on to be re-sold, re-used or recycled by Oxfam, cutting waste while raising much-needed funds for the charity.
Shwop Shop is open from 10.30am – 9pm on Thursday 24th & 9am – 9pm on Friday 25th January 2013.
Address: Ground Floor, Marks & Spencer Marble Arch, 458 Oxford Street. London. W1C 1AP
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.
Plan A is Marks & Spencer’s eco and ethical programme that aims to make M&S the world’s most sustainable major retailer by 2015. Launched in 2007 and extended in March 2010, it takes an holistic approach to sustainability focusing on involving customers, engaging all areas of the business and tackling issues such as climate change, waste, raw materials, health and being a fair partner.
Oxfam is a global humanitarian, development and campaigning organization working with others to overcome poverty. Oxfam is working in nearly 60 countries on a diverse range of projects, from providing emergency water sources to supporting community health projects.
