Sarah Champion MP supports Oxfam’s #SecondHandSeptember campaign to raise awareness about the impact of fast fashion

Sarah Champion MP is taking part in Oxfam’s #SecondHandSeptember campaign calling for people to buy second hand clothes for the month of September and raise awareness about the harmful effects fast fashion – clothes that are produced in high volume and at relatively low cost to the consumer – have on the planet.

The campaign comes ahead of the UN climate summit COP26, which will be held in Glasgow in November, and is a vital opportunity for global leaders to take decisive action to tackle the climate emergency.

Oxfam is also calling for people to donate their second-hand clothes to Oxfam. Buying and donating second hand clothes with Oxfam gives them a longer life and helps to slow down fast fashion. More than 14,000 tonnes of clothing is diverted from landfill each year through being donated to Oxfam.

Sarah Champion MP said: “I’m really pleased to be supporting Oxfam’s Second Hand September to help draw attention to how choosing second-hand fashion can be kinder for our planet. These small changes can make a huge difference.”

Consumers send 13 million items of clothing a week to landfill, and the textile industry accounts for up to 10 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions – more than international aviation and shipping combined.

Danny Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive of Oxfam GB, said: “The climate crisis is already wreaking havoc on people’s lives with extreme weather events that are destroying homes and harvests.”

“Choosing second-hand is one way we can leave a lighter footprint on the planet while sending a message to retailers that we want them to slow down fashion. By shopping at Oxfam, you’re also raising money to help some of the world’s poorest people cope with the impacts of climate change.

“Scientists warn we have just nine years to prevent catastrophic global temperature rises so all of us – governments, companies and individuals - have a role to play in rapidly reducing carbon emissions.”

Approximately £29m is raised each year from selling clothing in Oxfam shops. The profit raised from this is enough to provide clean water for more than two million people during a drought.

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For more information, contact jacquie.falvey@parliament.uk

For Oxfam media enquiries please contact Sophie Bowell, +44 (0) 7810 814980 / sbowell@oxfam.org.uk

Notes to editors:

·        Oxfam is helping people cope with severe weather events, as well as plan for the consequences of future climate change. As well as responding to disasters such as Cyclone Amphan in India and Bangladesh in 2020, Oxfam is helping communities adapt, by growing more resistant crops, building flood defences and improving early warning systems for when disasters strike.

·        Oxfam is also demanding urgent and decisive action from world leaders, and is looking ahead to COP26 as a vital opportunity take decisive action: to urgently reduce global emissions and significantly increase finance to help communities worldwide to survive and thrive despite the climate crisis.

·        The textile industry accounts for up to 10 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions –that’s more than international aviation and shipping combined. Source: Quantis: https://quantis-intl.com/report/measuring-fashion-report/ ; European Parliament: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/priorities/climate-change/20191129STO67756/emissions-from-planes-and-ships-facts-and-figures-infographic

Oxfam

Get involved in Oxfam's #SecondHandSeptember initiative by buying only second-hand clothes for 30 days or more and donating your pre-loved items. Learn more at www.oxfam.org.uk/second-hand-september

Oxfam has more than 70 years’ experience championing second-hand. The first shop was opened in Broad Street, Oxford, in 1948 to raise money from the donations of second-hand items for the Greek famine.

Oxfam is a global movement of people all working towards the same goal – an end to the injustice of poverty. Together we save and rebuild lives in disasters, help people earn a living, and speak out on the big issues, like inequality and climate change, that keep people poor.

Oxfam has 561 shops in the UK. By buying and donating your clothes through Oxfam shops, you can help to protect our planet, while helping the poorest people around the world to escape the injustice of poverty. To find your local Oxfam shop go to www.oxfam.org.uk/shopfinder. Visit Oxfam’s Online Shop at www.oxfam.org.uk/shop

To make a clothing donation via the post, order a free bag here: https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/donate-clothes