How Oxfam began second hand September
Oxfam has inspired people across the UK to swear by fast fashion and take a more sustainable approach. Here's how the charity got its second-hand pledge for September under way
Oxfam's September Second Hand, where people commit not to buy anything new for a month, was a huge success for its second year, encouraging thousands of people to change their buying habits. In 2019 alone, 62,000 people signed up to take part, and more and more of them are now buying used clothing from the Oxfam website.
It was founded against the backdrop of some dire facts about our fast fashion addiction. According to Oxfam, 13 million items of clothing end up in a landfill in the UK every week. Our new obsession with clothing causes more CO2 emissions every month than flying an airplane 900 times around the world.
"We have been concerned with sustainability as an organization for years and our stores have been selling second-hand clothing and other goods for decades," Cordelia Kretzschmar, director of public relations at Oxfam, told CR. "We have a huge wastesaver site – a recycling facility that was set up in the 1970s to reduce the amount of material that the UK throws in landfills."
While brands are often accused of dishonestly addressing social issues, Kretzschmar says the reason Second Hand started September is because it's consistent with Oxfam's primary purpose. It's also related to people's ever-growing interest in sustainability and how they can make better decisions about their purchases.