Shwopping

Campaign: Shwopping
Company: Marks and Spencer (UK)
Nonprofit Partner: Oxfam 
Launch Date: April 30, 2012

Campaign Description:  

In a new cause marketing effort, British clothing store Marks and Spencer is asking customers to “shwop” – to give an unwanted piece of clothing every time they buy a new one.  All Marks and Spencer clothing stores will now accept unwanted clothing of any brand, all year round. Through Oxfam, the clothes will be resold, reused or recycled and the money raised will go to help people living in poverty.

Our Take:  

Our friends across the pond are wise to ask consumers to associate a good deed (donating unwanted clothing) with clothes shopping at Marks and Spencer.  Coining a new word to accompany this year-round effort provides a memorable point of recall for consumers and adds fuel to M&S’s effort to become the world’s most sustainable major retailer.  The retailer would be well-advised to layer additional incentives on top of “shwopping” to encourage consumer participation such as a matching donation to Oxfam.