Forget Easter eggs, this is The Big Bra Hunt...

I own a horrific amount of bras. I just can’t help myself. I’m a sucker for all things prettily laced, ribbons and bows, polka dots and stripes, chiffons and candy colours... I know, I’m such a girl. I think it may be something to do with the fact that my first ever job was working on the lingerie department at Debenhams, and was probably ‘bra-washed’ from spending far too many hours with undergarments. My friend has told me before that I have shouted out absurd things like ‘Hannah - I need a stick-on 32B, and a pair of chicken fillets...’ in my sleep, but I chose not to believe her. Just the other week I bravely ventured into Primark, seeking a rain mac, and ONLY a rain mac (for a one-off weekend in the mountainous Peak District) and I left through the exit with a pair of floral wedges, a cute vintage style cropped tank top, a block on my student credit card, and no less than FOUR sets of underwear. And I can confirm there was no rain mac to be found in my shamefully large brown paper bag. I have no words for how this repeatedly occurs. I’m beginning to think I have a little bit of a problem.

So if this situation sounds familiar, then The Big Bra Hunt is perfect for you to do your bit for charity!

This is how it works:

• Ladies – dig out all those long forgotten bras that don’t fit/you don’t like/are quite old/looked better in the shop and you’ve never worn once...

• Take all of these gems down to your local Oxfam shop.

• And that’s it. Your good deed for the day is done. High fives all around. Bravo!

(AND just so you're clued in: As part of the ongoing M&S/Oxfam clothes exchange, any bra hunters donating an M&S bra will kindly receive a £5 voucher *ts and cs apply, obvs.)

But where will all of these bras go, I hear you say?

Well, they will either be re-sold in Oxfam shops up and down the country, or sent to Wastesaver (a recycling facility in Huddersfield). From here, the bras, along with many other clothes etc. are sent off to Senegal, where they are then sorted and sold at Frip Ethique (it means 'ethical second-hand clothes'). This is an Oxfam-run social enterprise, where workers (mostly women) are employed to sort and sell all of the donations you guys have kindly made to Oxfam. All of the workers earn themselves a good living AND more profits are made from the selling of the goods. And here’s a little fact of the day for you just in case you haven’t had your one a day yet – Frip turned over £1.5 million in 2011, and they sell over 2000 tonnes of clothing each year. Wow. That’s a lot of elephants. 

“Now I work for Frip Ethique, not only am I able to take care of more people but also my parents and my sister who are in the village.“
Dieynaba Coly, staff association representative and clothes sorter

The profits are also invested in Oxfam’s work fighting poverty in Senegal. And British bras are seriously sought after in Senegal, as few businesses have the complex technology needed to make good-quality bras like our home stock. Well done Team GB. Good effort on the bras. 

Helen Mirren, Zoe Ball and Miquita Oliver have already donated their bras.

JOIN THEM IN THE BIG BRA HUNT TODAY.