Oxfam has announced a partnership with Vinted, which will make it the first charity in the UK to run a “wardrobe” shop on the international online marketplace.
The partnership comes as part of Oxfam’s Second Hand September campaign, which will also include its London Fashion Week runway show called Style for Change on 12 September.
Every outfit from the Style for Change show will be available on the online Vinted shop, with new listings from its catwalk collection added to the platform throughout the rest of September and all earnings from Oxfam’s online shop going to the charity.
Kehinde Brown, the charity’s strategic communications lead said: “Oxfam is thrilled to have Vinted as our partner for our Style for Change fashion show, as part of our Second Hand September campaign this year.
“Together, we are on a mission to make second-hand fashion mainstream, so it is a wonderful and authentic pairing.
“Our fashion show will be the ultimate display of sustainable fashion, which we hope will inspire people to discover the joys of second-hand clothing.
“Vinted has captured the mainstream and championed pre-loved fashion like no other online marketplace has, so we can’t think of anyone better to be partnering with to help prove that second-hand does not mean second best and that by embracing pre-loved clothing, individuals can express their personal style while contributing to a larger cause.”
‘Our shared mission’
Oxfam has been running the Second Hand September campaign since 2019 to encourage people to donate and buy second-hand items during the month.
Marianne Gybels, Vinted’s senior director of sustainability, said the company aims to make second-hand clothing accessible to everyone around the world.
“Partnering with Oxfam for Second Hand September is a fantastic opportunity to advance our shared mission,” Gybels said in a statement.
“Together, we can collectively champion the tremendous potential of pre-loved fashion and inspire people to embrace second-hand choices, fostering a shift towards more circular behaviours.”
The partnership comes, however, after some charity retailers have expressed concerns over the rise of online sites like Vinted.
Last year, charity retailers reported a decline in high-quality donations, according to Charity Finance magazine’s Charity Shops Survey 2023.
Survey respondents attributed the decline to the cost-of-living crisis, with people hanging on to their items longer or reselling them on online secondhand marketplaces like Vinted instead of donating them to charity shops.
Charity Finance subscribers will be able to read the Charity Shops Survey 2024 in October’s issue.
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