Richard E Grant fronts Oxfam’s Second Hand September
Howard Lake | 17 September 2026 | News
Oxfam has launched this year’s Second Hand September campaign with the actor Richard E Grant as its face, and has published its first ‘State of Style’ report into British clothes buying habits.
The campaign, which Oxfam first ran in 2019, asks people to choose second hand over fast fashion for the month. This year its theme is “Be An Original”, and Grant appears on posters in more than 500 Oxfam shops across the UK.
New research on the water cost of unworn clothes
Alongside the launch, Oxfam has published its first ‘State of Style’ report. It states that the clothes Britons own but do not wear represent enough water to supply one million people for life, and that one in five people still put unwanted clothes in the bin.
Advertisement
Richard E Grant and a second-hand Burberry trench coat
Grant was styled by Bay Garnett in clothes donated to Oxfam, and photographed by Sane Seven. He traces his own career to a charity shop purchase.
“My life-changing career break happened because I was wearing a second-hand coat I bought in an Oxfam shop,” he said. “It was 1986 and I arrived for my ‘Withnail & I’ audition soaking wet and in a second hand Burberry trench coat. Turned out I’d nailed the look for the part without even trying.”
Why September matters to charity retail
Oxfam has sold second-hand clothing since 1947, and the campaign is as much about donated stock as it is about sales.
Rachel Cosgrove-Pearce, Oxfam’s Head of Retail Operations, said:
“September is a particularly important time for our shops. We’re looking for plenty of good-quality clothes to help keep the rails full and give local shoppers a great choice of pre-loved fashion.”
For charity retailers watching Oxfam’s lead, the campaign’s strength lies in its combination: a recognisable supporter, an original piece of research, and a clear ask for donated stock rather than simply for sales. And of course each year the charity appropriately recycles its campaign.
Details of how to take part are on the Second Hand September pages of Oxfam’s website.
- Oxfam launches Second Hand September with new research on environmental benefits of preloved fashion (30 August 2023)
- #SecondHandSeptember returns to encourage people to buy pre-loved clothing (2 September 2020)
- Oxfam announces retail strategy overhaul to boost online focus (11 March 2022)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.