Oxfam works across more than 90 countries to alleviate poverty. Its many operations range from providing vulnerable communities with clean water, food and education, to speaking out against global injustices that keep people in deprivation. But this September, in the UK, the charity giant is tackling a problem of abundance: the nation’s addiction to throwaway fashion.
New research by Oxfam shows that over two tonnes of clothes are bought in the UK each minute. Monthly, this translates into a carbon footprint greater than flying a plane around the world 900 times. And a lot of it is wasted: 11 million garments end up in landfill every week. Encouraging everyone to reflect on the environmental impact of such choices, Oxfam launched #SecondHandSeptember, a campaign inviting consumers to stop buying clothes that are harmful to the planet for 30 days. As an alternative, Oxfam proposes buying second hand to save clothes from landfill, and when bought from Oxfam’s charity shops, also help to fund their support to impoverished communities worldwide.
To show how easy it can be for consumers to embrace this more sustainable alternative, Oxfam asked us to create a video to promote their online charity shop (Oxfam.org/shop). The video is now live as an ad to encourage a more conscious–and no less stylish–September.
