Oxfam 'superstore' rides resale wave, taps into ethical trend

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 9, 2019

As growth in the resale market accelerates every year, with consumers becoming more aware of the environmental impact of the new clothes they buy, and increasingly seeking a clear ethical point of view from the retailers they patronise, charity group Oxfam has opened a store to exploit these trends.

Its latest shop, located in Oxford near its HQ, is a ‘superstore’ that’s over 10 times the size of its usual charity shops and features an enviable line-up of designer labels, as well as mass- and mid-market brands.

The 18,500 square foot shop is its biggest store globally and has a 150-strong volunteer team running it. It’s the first of what could be more superstore formats and on opening day late last week featured labels such as Gucci, Michael Kors, Swarovski and Victoria Beckham.

It comes at the same time as the charity has also launched a campaign to encourage people to focus on the environmental and ethical impact of fast fashion and to agree not to buy new clothes for the whole of September, just as the new-season collection are hitting stores.

As well as fashion and other donated household items, the store features a line-up of new gift and homewares pieces with an ethical and sustainable slant under the ‘Sourced By Oxfam’ name.

The shop also has a drive-through drop-off area for those leaving donations, plus community space. Local press reports said preview days were buzzing with shoppers.

The non-profit group has been pushing its message hard recently and late last month enrolled Stella Tennant and her daughter Iris for a photo-session publicising its ‘Secondhand September’ campaign and “to protest against the harm fast fashion does to people and planet.”