EVER the leader when it comes to the charity business, Oxfam is opening the first of three new-style fashion boutiques that will stock recycled clothing reworked by young designers.

The first one of the rebranded shops opens in Westbourne Grove, London, tomorrow. Two more will open in the capital this summer and more will
criss-cross the country from next year, in hand-picked spots where customers already show a taste for design-led items.

The exercise is masterminded by former Topshop director
Jane Shepherdson, a long-term supporter of Oxfam, who has donated her time in helping the charity to develop and broaden the appeal of its retail outlets, which already generate £20m profit a year.

The stores will sell pieces created by young designers who work with materials recycled from clothing donated to Oxfam shops. Items not suitable for immediate use in a particular shop are sent to the Oxfam Wastesaver warehouse in Huddersfield. The 150 tonnes of goods received there each week are sifted and go to various destinations – including supplies of clothing sent elsewhere in the world, or to industry
where it is recycled for uses as diverse as carpet underlay or sound insulation.

As part of this new project, a team of young designers from London College of Fashion – including Huddersfield-born Laura Queening, who graduated from LCF with first class honours last summer – have been selecting the best quality items from Wastesaver to unpick and rework into fresh new pieces in their own 2008 designs.

An embroidered linen tablecloth may be reborn as a circular skirt; a ball gown could be transformed into three tops with a high-fashion look; a leather jacket may well see a new lease of life as a capacious handbag. Recycled leather bags priced from £35 to £45 will be a big feature of the new-look Oxfam shops.

The fleet of new stores will also sell Fairtrade and organic clothing, and accessories made by volunteers from recycled materials. The launch of the new line of Oxfam activity is being celebrated by the auction on the eBay website of seven one-off designer garments, which can be viewed from tomorrow for 10 days. As with profits from Oxfam's other retail activities, the money raised will be used in Third World aid projects. Profits from retail are 26 per cent of the charity's total fundraising.

The new wave of shops that include designer clothes made from reworked material will not mean the bargain woolly pullover for £2.99 is being edged out, says Anna Thorne, Oxfam's retail development manager.

"We've been listening to customers and they've told us they would like a more contemporary look to the shops and in the choice of clothing. We're aiming to change a few ideas among shoppers who don't already shop with us, as well as those who already love what we do with clothes that are 'Loved for Longer'."

"Saving a leather jacket from landfill and reinventing it as a handbag in a great new design is the kind of thing that will appeal to shoppers who love fashion but also think about where things come from and don't want to add more than they have to, to the waste we generate," says Ms Thorne. "We won't be losing any shops, but rebranding some of the outlets and what they sell."

Retail is cut-throat at the best of times, and even more so when the economy is slow. The charity sector is just as competitive. Oxfam is the leading charity retailer in the UK, and part of
the success seems to be down
to the way the business has diversified over the decades – including the creation of 127 specialist second-hand bookshops, making it the
second largest second-hand book chain in Europe.

If Oxfam has felt any profit "hit" from auction sites on the internet, it also profits from them, says Anna Thorne.

"A few people might now sell things on eBay instead of bringing them to us, but we
use eBay to sell stuff, too. It's
very useful.

"Looking at different ways to broaden what we do is positive and invigorating, and it's great to help create wider awareness of sustainability by working with creative people.

"For shoppers, we'll be offering something 'new' out of the old in a new kind of shop. They'll find contemporary clothing in a modern setting that is affordable, sustainable and helps to fight poverty."