Shoppers can get £5 vouchers for donating M&S clothing to Oxfam, which will earn 15% of the profits from eBay sales
Anyone who has old clothes they don’t need or want anymore is being urged to take advantage of a new charitable scheme. In exchange for their old garments, participants will be gifted vouchers to spend at Marks and Spencer, as the high street store is opening a secondhand clothing marketplace on eBay.
As part of Oxfam and Marks and Spencer’s ‘Another Life’ scheme, people can give their unwanted clothes a second life and get a voucher to spend in return. To access the service, customers need to fill out a brief form on the website or scan a QR code available in stores.
After that, they can send their preloved items to Reskinned, using a complimentary local courier service. The top M&S products that are suitable for reuse will undergo professional cleaning, be repaired by Reskinned, and then made available on the new M&S eBay store.
Oxfam will receive 15% of M&S’s profits from the eBay sales, while the remaining amount will be divided among the retailer, eBay, and Reskinned. Once you get the voucher, you will have only four weeks to redeem it, starting from the date it is issued.
Shoppers can earn a maximum of six vouchers each year through this program, totalling up to £30. Any items that cannot be resold on eBay will either be repurposed or recycled.
Marks and Spencer and Oxfam’s Another Life scheme has been around for years. A statement on Oxfam’s website explains: “Every item donated as part of Another Life makes a difference, and Oxfam knows how to make the most money out of every single item. Unwanted clothes donated by the public to Oxfam shops or in M&S stores are turned into millions of pounds every year – whether by selling them in our shops, selling them overseas or recycling them.”
If you donate your unwanted clothes in Oxfam shops, you can receive a £5 Marks and Spencer voucher off a £35 spend on clothing, home, and beauty products in M&S stores. However, this only applies if your donation contains at least one item of M&S-labelled clothing or M&S soft furnishings (excludes sale and clearance items).
Or, you could head to your nearest M&S store and donate your pre-loved clothes there. Oxfam explains: “Next time you pop into M&S, put any item of clothing you no longer wear (even if it’s not from M&S) into one of the Another Life donation stations.”
Since the collaboration started in 2008 and continued until 2021, more than 35 million items of clothing have been contributed to M&S and Oxfam Shops, valued at approximately £23 million for Oxfam. You can click here to find your nearest Oxfam shop. You can also click here to find your nearest M&S store.
Donated clothes are then sold in Oxfam shops, through Oxfam’s Online Shop, or at festivals. However, clothes that Oxfam can’t resell or reuse are sold in bulk to reprocessing companies to be recycled as mattress filling or carpet underlay.
As for the terms and conditions, Oxfam says: “You’ll be given a £5 voucher when you make a donation to an Oxfam Shop and the donation contains at least one item of M&S-labelled clothing (including shoes, handbags, belts, hats and scarves) or M&S-labelled soft furnishings (bed linen, towels, cushions, curtains, throws, aprons, tablecloths and napkins). This offer does not include donations of the following M&S clothing: swimwear, underwear, socks, or damaged or soiled items. Only one voucher will be issued per visit.”
Only one voucher can be used for each transaction of £35 or more. The voucher is redeemable only during the calendar month stated on the voucher. The voucher is not redeemable against sales and clearance items, Gift Cards and vouchers, Schoolwear, M&S tailoring services, Made to Measure shirts, Personalised Cards, M&S Energy and M&S Money products and services.
The voucher is valid in selected Marks and Spencer stores in the UK and Channel Islands (excluding M&S Stores located in airports, railway stations, motorway services, hospitals and at BP Connect as well as M&S cafe, M&S Food to Go takeaway counters, Delis, Kitchens and Restaurants). The voucher cannot be used in conjunction with any other M&S discount voucher or code.
This offer excludes donations of the following M&S clothing items: swimwear, underwear, socks, and any damaged or soiled products. A maximum of one voucher will be provided for each visit.