Oxfam's bras without borders

2 May 2012

In the latest drive to save Africans from the perils of life on the ever-dark continent, British charity Oxfam has launched the Big Bra Hunt campaign. No, they are not hunting down Blighty's biggest bras. Instead, Oxfam is calling on British women to donate their unwanted bras to charity - for the betterment of Africa.

On Sunday, Oxfam revealed it had peeked into the underwear draws of British women and found a surplus of bras. British women, the NGO found, are hoarding nearly £1.2-billion worth of "unwanted" bras. Oxfam found the average British woman has nine bras in her collection and spends about £16 per item, but then proceeds to leave three of these unused in her closet.

Armed with this knowledge, Oxfam has launched a campaign to persuade British women to part ways with their surplus bras. The aim is to collect one million unwanted bras this month. Many of the bras will be sold in Oxfam's UK high-street shops, while the remainder will be shipped off to their ethical second-hand clothing project in Senegal, Frip Ethique.

Oxfam describes Frip Ethique as a social enterprise in Senegal that employs women, who sort and sell clothes donated to the NGO - including bras - to local market traders. "It's a great way of making sure donations make the most money possible. And it's also a great way of enabling people to earn a living," Oxfam says in promotions for Frip Ethique.

According to them, Frip Ethique employs 40 people and last year sold a total of 2 000 tonnes of used clothing, translating to £1.5-million in turnover, a 35% increase in profits from the previous year.

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