Marks & Spencer launches free postal donation service for pre-loved clothing

Marks & Spencer consumers will be able to recycle pre-loved clothing from home by ordering a pre-paid postal donation bag from the Oxfam website, starting today.

The bag allows consumers to separate items into two groups – those that are good-quality and wearable and those that are unwearable – to be resold, reused or recycled by Oxfam.

The retailer’s new initiative comes after research found that one third of people in the UK do not know what to do with clothes that cannot be reworn, with three in 10 consumers admitting to disposing of unwearable clothes in their household waste bins.

Katharine Beacham, head of materials, sustainability and packaging at M&S, said: “At M&S, we’re focused on making good-quality, durable products, which are made to last.

“In 2008, we launched Shwopping to support customers to give a second home to their pre-loved clothing and we’re now expanding our partnership with Oxfam to trial a free postal service, which enables customers to clear out their pre-loved clothing that they no longer need. Whether it is wearable or unwearable – we want it all!”

Lorna Fallon, trading director at Oxfam, said: “We are so excited to be working with M&S as part of this brand-new trial.

“As well as continuing to encourage customers to donate their pre-loved, wearable clothing to Oxfam and help raise vital funds to tackle poverty around the world, this trial allows us to give unwearable clothes a second chance of life. too.

“By recirculating our clothes, buying and wearing secondhand, we can help to reduce the demand for new clothes, which could in turn help to reduce the damage to our planet.

“So, by learning more about the potential of all our clothes and textiles, we can help to improve the lifecycle of all of our clothing for the better.”