Diss Oxfam branch wins shop front award for Second Hand September

The Oxfam Charity Shop in Diss has been recognised out of 750 others across the country for having the most impressive shop front.

The store, in Mere Street, was given the ‘Long Live Fashion’ award by bosses at the charity after putting on a window display throughout the month of September.

The display featured a variety of vintage clothes to promote ‘Second Hand September’ – an Oxfam campaign urging people to only buy pre-owned clothes for the entire month.

Sarah Bigley, who works as deputy manager at the store, said: “We are absolutely thrilled. To be selected is just amazing.

“We got such a great response from people, but we had to keep refreshing the window display because people kept buying stuff out of it.

“We just wanted to celebrate the joy of second hand things.

“It’s to make people aware of where their clothes are made and the process that goes into it.”

“We just want people to remember that, if you’re buying something cheap, someone somewhere is paying for that.

“Whether it’s the environment or a person not being paid – it’s incredibly important to think before you buy things.”

Despite their impressive window display, the shop is still in desperate need of volunteers, Ms Bigley added.

“At the moment we are getting loads of donations but we are desperately short of volunteers. We have all of these donations here, but are are struggling to process them.

We have a wonderful team here but we really, really need people to give their time, even if it’s only two hours a week.”