Oxfam puts out call for unwanted gifts

Published on 26/12/2012 00:00

People should donate their unwanted Christmas presents rather than hide them at the back of a cupboard, a charity has said.

Oxfam is making an appeal in order to refill charity shop shelves after Christmas. Donations will be sold to raise funds for the charity’s work with people living in poverty in Scotland.

Clothing, books and music are all sold in Oxfam shops raising around £25 million every year.Most of the money is made from selling and recycling clothes.

Tom Richardson, operations manager for the charity’s Scottish shops, said: “Oxfam knows how to make the most out of every item we receive.

“The more donations we get, the more people we can help. Donations sold in Oxfam shops are turned into millions of pounds every year to fund Oxfam’s life-saving work. We want to encourage people to 
donate to the shops. ”

The charity said donations have fallen recently with the rise of “cash for clothes” shops where people are paid per kilogram of their unwanted items.

Judith Robertson, head of Oxfam Scotland, said: “Everyone gets Christmas presents they just don’t like or need, but instead of hiding them away we are asking Scots to donate them to our shops.”