Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced it is extending its Shwopping scheme by introducing school uniform collection boxes in more than 200 UK stores.
Dedicated M&S back-to-school ‘Shwop’ boxes will be put in place in the coming weeks, allowing consumers to donate pre-loved school uniform. That which passes the quality assessment will be made available at Oxfam shops and – for the first time – on a pre-loved school uniform shop on eBay.
Every school uniform sale – whether through Oxfam’s shops or via eBay – will raise funds to support the charity’s efforts in tackling poverty and inequality around the world. M&S said any school uniform that can’t be resold will be recycled or reused wherever possible.
Members of M&S’s Sparks loyalty scheme who donate pre-loved school uniform into one of the Shwop boxes will also receive 20% off selected kids’ clothing at M&S, as an additional incentive to embrace the initiative.
Sourcing and making products that are “too good to waste” is core to M&S’s sustainability programme, Plan A, which was revamped with a raft of new eco targets in October 2021. Additionally, M&S’s latest insight from its ‘Family Matters Index’ highlights that 60% of families continue to be worried about environmental damage on future generations and 44% are looking to make their clothing last longer.
Alexandra Dimitriu, kidswear director at M&S, said: “We know our customers frequently hand down our school uniform to friends and family and this season, we’re encouraging them to drop school uniform which they no longer need into one of our new Shwopping boxes where it will be resold in Oxfam shops and through our exciting pilot shop with eBay.“
Lorna Fallon, Oxfam’s retail director, called the new scheme a “win-win initiative and a simple way for shoppers to make a huge difference”. Lucy Peacock, head of pre-loved fashion at eBay UK, remarked: “The cost-of-living crisis has created greater education poverty and an ever-increasing need for school uniforms.”
[Image credit: Green Retail World]
