Shop appeals for donations as stock hits critical level

An urgent appeal for donations of quality saleable items has been made by Oxfam in Navan as its stock falls to critically low levels. The recession has not only meant that donations to Oxfam's charity stores have fallen off, but has also led to increased demand from customers for quality clothing, books and other items. The main items that Oxfam's Navan store is seeking include women's clothing, children's clothing, designer clothing, jewellery, household ornaments, books, music CDs and DVDs and small items of furniture. The Oxfam Navan shop is located at 31 Trimgate Street. Shop manager Bridget Walsh said: “We have always received tremendous support from the people of Navan and County Meath. In recent times, we have found many more people are visiting our shop to buy items but, unfortunately, it has come at a time when people are less able to donate stock, so it has made the situation very difficult for us. If people can spare any item that is of decent quality, we would be delighted to see you drop in and delighted for you to be someone who is part of Oxfam Ireland's efforts to change lives for the better.†She explained that they are also running a 'black and white campaign' at the store where customers are asked to place good quality saleable clothing in a white bag. Clothing, towels or linen that are not of saleable quality can be recycled by placing these items in black bags. This means they will go straight for recycling. Overall, Ms Walsh said the number of new customers to Oxfam's store is increasing but that customer spend is down. Much of Oxfam Ireland's work is built on the foundations laid by its shops and helps its ability to respond to disasters such as the Haiti earthquake and Pakistan floods of 2010, the ongoing programme work in countries in southern and eastern Africa. According to Oxfam, the volume of donations of stock to its shops has fallen dramatically in the past couple of years and it has left stock in Oxfam shops at acutely low levels. Oxfam Ireland says it can raise, on average, around €35 from a donated bag of clothes in good condition; a paperback book sells for around €3 and DVDs of feature films also fetch an average of about €3. Designer shirts for men that retail new for €80 to €120 will allow Oxfam to raise from €12 to €20. Designer jeans that retail for €90 can be sold for €18 to €20 and high street fashion brands will tend to retail at 25 per cent to 33 per cent of the original sale price in an Oxfam Ireland shop, depending on their condition. Five books to an Oxfam Ireland shop allows Oxfam to provide schoolbooks to a child in Tanzania for an entire year. A donation of one vase to an Oxfam Ireland shop will turn it into three water buckets specifically designed to keep water clean and safe to drink. Trevor Anderson, Oxfam's head of retail, said: “The money raised by Oxfam Ireland shops is absolutely vital in allowing Oxfam to continue working to improve the lives of people in developing countries. For example, the amount of money raised last year by sales of clothing and books alone in our stores helped to support our entire Livelihoods, HIV AIDS and Gender Programme work in eastern and southern Africa.†Oxfam Ireland has thanked the public for its support to date.