Word: oxfam
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...revolution is long overdue, say advocacy groups. Organizations such as Oxfam and the London-based think tank Overseas Development Institute are critical of traditional food aid programs because they depend so heavily on western agricultural producers, such as the U.S. and Europe, and fail to help farmers in poor countries. When a crisis hits, as it did in Ethiopia this summer, the WFP typically asks governments to donate millions in emergency funds to feed people. That help comes either in food supplies or in cash, which the organization then uses to buy huge quantities of rice, maize and other staples...
...food donated yearly by the United States - the world's biggest food donor - must be grown by American farmers and shipped on U.S.-flagged vessels, despite costing billions of dollars. "Congress has been very protectionist about its food-aid program," says Gawain Kripke, policy director of Oxfam America, which has pushed hard for changes in the U.S. laws. "The U.S. is a massive contributor of food aid, but a very inefficient...
...Oxfam is hoping its flight to fashion will boost sagging sales. In 1999, its profits hit a high-water mark of $54 million but have been sliding since, down to $20 million last year. The slump is largely due to increased competition - not only from rival charity shops, but also from discount retailers like Primark and Peacock, which sell trendy new clothes at prices nearly as low as those found in secondhand shops. Says Sarah Farquhar, Oxfam's retailing head: "We realized we needed a different clothing-business model...
...Creating specialty shops dedicated to high fashion was the natural answer. Some Oxfam regulars already knew they could often find real gems buried within the jumble of dull duds packed into ordinary shops. Oxfam had already had good success with other types of specialty stores: it has 120 used-book shops in the U.K. and recently opened five shops dedicated to selling used vinyl LPs and CDs. Farquhar says the Notting Hill shop's makeover should increase that site's revenues 100%. The boutique's average sale is $40, four times the average sale at a regular outlet. The other...
...There is no shortage of stock, and nothing goes to waste. Oxfam receives around 150 tons of clothes each week, which are typically sold at the shops that receive the donations. That's why the designer boutiques are expected to work best in posh areas. "Like attracts like," Farquhar explains. Clothes deemed unsuitable for sale at individual shops end up at Oxfam's "wastesaver" operation in Huddersfield, north England. From there, some are sold via Oxfam's online shop, while others are sold in bulk to dealers in developing countries. Clothes that are completely unwearable are shredded and sold...