On Wednesday 8th September Marks & Spencer is calling on its customers to clear out their wardrobes and help raise £1 million for Oxfam

As part of the ongoing M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange, for one day only, M&S customers will be able to donate their unwanted clothing to Oxfam in M&S stores, in return for a £5 voucher.

The One Day Wardrobe Clear-out is on Wednesday 8th September. Shoppers will be able to donate to special Donation Stations in Salisbury M&S store where they will also have the chance to meet some of our lovely Salisbury Oxfam volunteers too!

All the clothing will be donated to Oxfam, which could help Oxfam raise over £1 million in sales if M&S hits its target of collecting hundreds and thousands of items.

And if you can’t make the one-day clearout, you can still take your unwanted clothing to your nearest Oxfam shop and receive a £5 voucher thanks to the M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange.

(Check out the terms and conditions here if you would like further information.)

As part of this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight theme of The Big Swap we have a very special swap for you!

During Fairtrade Fortnight, at Salisbury Oxfam (general shop only), you can swap a bag of quality donations for a delicious box of Cafédirect tea. It’ll help you kickstart the aim of swapping your usual brand of goods for the Fairtrade equivalent during Fairtrade Fortnight (22nd February – 7th March 2010) and tasting the increase quality without adding much to your shopping bill – and guaranteeing a fair price for third world producers.

While you’re in store you can also stock up on other Fairtrade goods as we have a fantastic selection with something for everyone!

What can I do?

• Shopping – drop into Salisbury Oxfam and buy some great Fairtrade goods
• Fundraising – drop in a bag of quality donations and we’ll give you a free pack of tea to get you started!
• Campaigning – register for The Big Swap at the Fairtrade Foundation website

Please note: offer available while stocks last and are limited to one per person.

Compare for Good is a price comparison site with a difference – two-thirds of everything they make is donated to Oxfam to fund our work with poor communities worldwide.

Working in collaboration with Beat that Quote, Compare for Good compares money and insurance products. It delivers the lowest prices and the very best price comparison site, while producing vital revenue for Oxfam. It is estimated that the commissions received by price comparison sites in the UK is £700,000,000 every year. Compare for Good has been designed to go head-to-head with Money Supermarket, Go Compare, Compare the Market, Confused.com etc. The aim is to take their profits and put it in the hands of the people who really need it.

What can I do?

• Shopping – Next time you’re shopping for insurance or financial products you could take a look at Compare for Good and it’ll help raise money for Oxfam too.

There’s been coverage on BBC News and a press release from Oxfam today reporting that Oxfam shops across the country are suffering a 15% drop in donations due to the recession. In Salisbury too, we have seen donations go down, which is a shame because during a recession is a time when Oxfam’s UK Poverty Programme, in particular, needs even more support than usual and without high quality donations our shops’ sales are bound to fall too even with demand remaining strong.

However, we think that people still have some things stored away at home that they are happy to donate to Oxfam but just haven’t quite made it to our shops yet. This is the time we really need you! Help us keep our stock levels high, our shoppers happy and those Oxfam helps from losing out on the support they need.

Many are now suggesting that we are heading towards the end of the recession, our Trading Director, David McCulloch said:

“This is a crucial moment for us. Over the last eighteen months, people have been buying less, replacing less and therefore donating less to Oxfam. Now sales are apparently on the increase, we can only wait to see if this is reflected by an increase in donations to our shops.”

We can only hope that this is correct, but in the mean time if you do have something you’ve been meaning to donate we’d love to see you, especially sooner rather than later:

“We rely on the generosity of the public for their stock. Without continued donations of everything from clothing to cookware, Oxfam shops could not continue to play such a key role in communities across the UK.”

For the shoppers out there, don’t worry, our shops are currently still well stocked with great bargains and we’re never short of fantastic ethical goods, scrumptious Fairtrade Food and our Oxhibitions Art Gallery will of course continue its monthly exhibitions raising money for Oxfam. We hope you’ll come and visit!

The shop is packed with customers; presents, festive food, Oxfam Unwrapped gifts and much more are flying off the shelves. Christmas time is almost here!

This of course means a couple of changes to our usual opening hours:

***Late night opening***
Thursday 17th December – 9am – 7pm

Wednesday 23rd December – 9am – 5pm
Christmas Eve – 9am – 1pm
Christmas Day – CLOSED
Boxing Day – CLOSED
Sunday 27th December – CLOSED
Monday 28th December – CLOSED
Tuesday 29th December – 9am – 5pm
Wednesday 30th December – 9am – 5pm
Thursday 31st December – 9am – 5pm
New Year’s Day – CLOSED
Saturday 2nd January – 9am – 5pm
Sunday 3rd January – CLOSED
Monday 4th January – 9am – 5pm

… then open as usual (Monday to Saturday 9am – 5pm)

Very Merry Christmas to you all!