House of Baukjen partners with Oxfam for Second Hand September

House of Baukjen, home of the Isabella Oliver and the Baukjen brands, has teamed up with charity Oxfam for its Second Hand September initiative to encourage shoppers to buy secondhand and donate pre-loved clothing.

In support of the initiative, the House of Baukjen has launched a take back scheme for womenswear brand Baukjen and relaunched maternity brand Isabella Oliver’s "Pre-Loved" scheme.

Customers can donate items they no longer wear to either brand to be "re-loved", repurposed or recycled. 50% of the net proceeds from sales of both brands will be donated to Oxfam to support its vital work to beat poverty worldwide.

The goal of the partnership is to radically reduce the amount of clothing sent to landfill each year. In addition for every donation received House of Baukjen will plant a tree from Eden Reforestation Projects on behalf of their customers.

“Our Pre-Loved scheme helps to extend the lifespan of our garments with the aim to lower the impact on the environment and improve the rate of reuse and recycling. By shopping our Pre-Loved collections you will not only be helping to protect our planet, but you will be helping many communities too, as the proceeds will aid Oxfam’s meaningful projects,” said Founder & Creative Director Baukjen De Swaan Arons.

“As champions of slow fashion, we stand for circularity and are proud to have launched Pre-Loved and rental initiatives, helping to provide practical steps towards a circular fashion business model," she added.

The House of Baukjen brands are already recognised by B Corp as an "Impact Business Model". Their collections are comprised of 90% responsible fibres, they offer rental schemes run purely in house to ensure they are powered by low-impact energy, and all emissions from logistics are offset.

The brands have also launched a Sustainability Index, providing "ultimate transparency" to their customer base. Customers are now able to access the environmental and social impact of new products, which are split into seven impact categories, in a bit to educate consumers on the footprint of their clothing.

Oxfam retail director Lorna Fallon said: “We’re excited to be partnering with Baukjen and Isabella Oliver to encourage people to buy second-hand clothing and raise as much money as possible for our work fighting poverty around the world. Buying second hand and donating to Oxfam helps to reduce the impact of clothing on the environment by giving garments a new lease of life.”

Yesterday, British fashion giant Superdry also announced that it too would be staging a "Give Back" scheme in support of the Oxfam initiative.