From bags to riches- Laura Whitmore celebrates £2m raised in first year of Nectar and Oxfam initiative

Savvy shoppers have raised £2 million for international development charity, Oxfam, in the first year of its unique partnership with Nectar.

A year after the initiative was launched by TV presenter Laura Whitmore, the style icon returned to an Oxfam shop near her home in North London to mark the first anniversary and celebrate the £2 million Nectar customers have raised for Oxfam  through the sale of their donated items.

Laura, a regular donor to her local Oxfam said: “It’s great that so much money has been raised in the first year of this brilliant partnership. While we are a nation who love to shop, we’re also brilliant at being savvy, so Tag Your Bag is a great way to encourage quality donations for Oxfam and raise money to help lift people out of poverty around the world, whilst also helping to put a little something back in our own pockets.”

The £2 million raised could help up to 25,000 people living in the Philippines repair their boats and start earning a living again, after the super typhoon Haiyan hit their communities in November last year.

Nectar cardholders have been signing up to Tag Your Bag* and donating items to  Oxfam shops across the country.  Cardholders are then able to collect two Nectar points for every £1 their donated items raise when sold in Oxfam shops**, along with 100 Nectar points for simply signing up to the initiative.

Will Shuckburgh, Nectar Managing Director, added: “Nectar collectors are always savvy but this is a great example of savviness that can help to change and save lives. We are really excited to have seen such great support from Nectar collectors and to have raised such a significant amount in our first year.”  

Oxfam processes all donations, adding a unique code to each item to ensure that sales can be tracked back to the individual donor, allowing points to be rewarded if and / or when an item is sold in store or through Oxfam’s online shop.  Customers can sign up to Tag Your Bag in an Oxfam shop or by visiting www.oxfam.org.uk/tagyourbag.

The partnership with Oxfam also allows Nectar collectors to spend their points on gifts through Oxfam Unwrapped - Oxfam’s poverty busting gift ideas that help to change lives around the world.

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For more information please contact the Nectar PR team on:

e: nectar.team@clarioncomms.co.uk t: 0207 479 0910 or

Sophie Bowell in the Oxfam Press Office

e: sbowell@oxfam.org.uk t: 01865 472254 / 07810 814 980

*Oxfam’s Gift Aid scheme allowing the charity to reclaim the 25% tax on donations by UK taxpayers

** Two points for every £1 raised on sales of items (including gift aid) is collected. Only items that sell, either in an Oxfam shop or through Oxfam’s online shop, are eligible to collect Nectar points. UK tax payers only are able to sign up to the scheme.

Notes to Editors:

About Oxfam

Oxfam is a global humanitarian, development and campaigning organisation working with others to overcome poverty and suffering.  Since its Oxford-based beginnings in 1942, it has grown into a worldwide force.  Oxfam is now working in nearly 60 countries on a diverse range of projects, from providing emergency water sources to supporting community health projects.

Oxfam has nearly 700 high street shops across the UK selling donated fashion, books, music, homewares and new ethical products.  It is supported by a workforce of 22,000 volunteers.  Oxfam also launched the UK’s first online charity shop in 2007. 

www.oxfam.org.uk

About Oxfam Tag Your Bag

The Tag your Bag initiative (known as Gift Aid on donated items) ensures Oxfam can claim additional funds on all individual items donated and then sold in its stores.

Oxfam's Tag your Bag scheme means that every time we sell something Oxfam can raise 25% more from the government through Gift Aid.

Gift Aid is a scheme run by HM Revenue and Customs that allows charities like Oxfam to reclaim the tax on donations by UK taxpayers.

There are 22 stores in the Oxfam shop network that are unfortunately not able to take part in the Tag Your Bag scheme. 

For more information please visit www.oxfam.org.uk/tagyourbag