M&S ‘Kids Shwop Boutique’ for Oxfam

Abbey Clancy, Rochelle Humes and Peaches Geldof come together to support fashion boutique for charity

•     Shwop Boutique to sell the best childrenswear items donated to Shwopping campaign
•     A host of celebrities including Joanna Lumley, Abbey Clancy, Rochelle Humes, Peaches Geldof, Alex Gerrad, Zoe Ball and Mel Giedroyc from GBBO have donated items that will be sold
•     All money raised go to charity partner Oxfam as part of their Mother Appeal initiative
•     Over 1,000 shwopped childrenswear clothing will be on sale over three days

Shwop Boutique

Where:  Marks & Spencer, Marble Arch, 458 Oxford Street. London. W1C 1AP
When:  Thursday 6th - Saturday 8th March 2014 - 8am – 9pm
Entry:   Free with a shwopped item of clothing

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is set to open its first-ever childrenswear pop-up store when a three-day Kids Shwop Boutique opens to the public this March in aid of Oxfam’s Mother Appeal.

Open from Thursday 6th – Saturday 8th March at the retailer’s Marble Arch store, the one-off secondhand store will sell the best childrenswear items donated to M&S and Oxfam’s sustainable fashion initiative, Shwopping by the UK public and a host of celebrity donations.

All proceeds raised from the Kids Shwop Boutique will go towards Oxfam’s Mother Appeal campaign – which is being supported by M&S - that aims to raise £10 million for projects that help mothers around the world lift themselves and their families out of poverty for good.

Shwoppers will be able to pick up once loved childrenswear items from Britain’s top style icons and celebrity mums including Abbey Clancy, Peaches Geldof, Alex Gerrard, Zoe Ball, Rochelle Humes, Sarah Story, Mel Giedroyc and Shwopping ambassador Joanna Lumley. And, thanks to the UK government, every pound raised for the appeal will be doubled. *

Each celebrity-donated item will include personal words of wisdom stitched into the fabric of the item allowing advice to be passed onto the new owner.

Entry to the Kids Shwop Boutique is free, but visitors will have to shwop - hand over an unwanted item of kids clothing, using old or unused clothes as their ticket to the exclusive sale.

M&S has asked the public to donate childrenswear items to support the Oxfam campaign through its joint Love, Mum initiative. All other items of clothing donated will also go towards the appeal.

The public can show their support by Shwopping items in any M&S store add their words of wisdom on social media mentioning @shwopping and the hashtag #LoveMum.

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.

Since its launch in April 2012, Oxfam has received 6.9 million items of clothing thanks to Shwopping, worth £4.5 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 Kids Shwop Boutique visit www.marksandspencer.com

For further information on Shwopping visit www.marksandspencer.com/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 organisation 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. Oxfam has just under 700 high street shops across the UK and Ireland and is one of the only major charity retailer to operate a textile sorting facility, Wastesaver.

·       Oxfam’s Mother Appeal celebrates mums around the world and aims to help mothers worldwide lift themselves and their families out of poverty for good. The appeal, which runs until the end of March, hopes to raise over £10 million for Oxfam’s vital work and, thanks to the UK government, every pound raised will be doubled (up to a total value raised of £5 million).*

There are lots of ways to get involved and support the appeal, whether it’s donating unwanted goods to Oxfam shops; Shwopping used or unwanted clothes in Marks & Spencer stores; holding a fundraising get together with friends and colleagues; or simply donating money via Oxfam’s website. www.oxfam.org.uk/Mother-Appeal

·      * The UK government will match the value of everything you donate to the Mother Appeal, doubling the difference you're making. Matched funding is up to a maximum total value raised of £5 million. It covers:
o   Fundraising events taking place between 31 December and 31 March 2014 and money paid in by 31 May 2014
o   The value of items shwopped or donated to the appeal between 31 December 2013 and 31 March 2014 and sold before 30 April 2014 in participating Oxfam and M&S stores in England, Scotland and Wales
·      Cash donations between 31 December 2013 to 31 March 2014