Oxfam launches urgent festival appeal - Oxfam
Our Wastesaver recycling plant has been destroyed in a fire. We’re back up and running already, but urgently need your help to restock our shelves.
The fire completely ruined our machinery and a large amount of stock, including much of the vintage fashion sold at festivals and through pop-up shops. Luckily no-one was injured in the fire - but we urgently need to replenish our retail stock as soon as possible, so we can continue to raise millions of pounds to help fight poverty.
*How you can help*
Please donate any items you can today – take any clothing you no longer need to your local Oxfam shop. Anything you can give us will really help, but in particular we need the following to refill our festival shop:
* winter clothing such as coats, tweeds or fake furs
* vintage items such as dresses, scarves and accessories
* fancy dress items* wellies, waterproofs, tents and sleeping bags.
And, if you’re feeling creative, you could help to knit some blankets (always a hit at festivals) or even make some bunting. (see http://bit.ly/k5Y1gB )
*The immediate future for Wastesaver*
We have two other warehouses in the area, both completely unaffected, in addition to our new southern logistics hub in Milton Keynes and our bases in Portishead and Bournemouth. The processing of stock is being switched to another warehouse (see image, left), and we are working hard to ensure that our regular collections from shops continue."I’m so proud of our team at Wastesaver – it’s been a really shocking few days for all of them, but the way everyone has come together and been so positive is inspirational.”- David McCullough, Trading Director (Read blog entry at http://bit.ly/jc3JcG )
*About Wastesaver*
Oxfam is the only major charity to operate our own textile sorting facility, Wastesaver. It maximises revenue from textiles that cannot be re-sold in our shops, and minimises the amount of textiles sent to landfill.
The facility sorts clothing into around 100 different grades depending on garment type, condition, style and fabric. The clothing is then sold to the most suitable market via a number of different routes, including our high street shops, our online shop and festivals. Low-grade items are sold in bulk to recycling reprocessing companies in the UK, which use the textiles as mattress filler, carpet underlay and upholstery.
18/05/2011