Oxfam plea as donations fall 12%

The charity has a chain of more than 130 books-only shops

Donations to Oxfam's network of 714 UK shops have fallen by 12% so far this year - the first drop in eight years.

The charity said the recession meant families bought less, replaced less and therefore had less to give away.

Furniture donations fell by 13%, crockery, china and glass by 7%, and clothes would have dipped 8% if Marks & Spencer had not provided 900,000 items.

It comes after research showed a rise in the number of people cancelling direct debits to charities.

Average monthly cancellations rose from 3.32% in 2007/08 to 4.64% in 2008/09, said Rapidata, which handles payments for charities.

Oxfam, which relies on donations for 80% of its income, said 2009 could see a total fall of 1.2 million items donated.

Director of trading, David McCullough, said: "We can't sell fresh air... without continued donations of everything from clothing to cookware, Oxfam shops could not continue to play such a key role in communities across the UK."

The fall in donations also varied by region, Oxfam said.

Our fear is not about customers coming in but whether we keep getting the donations through, which is our life blood Thomas Brindle Oxfam manager, Nottingham

Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire were among the areas with the biggest falls, while shops in Tyneside and South Wales were among the least affected.

Caroline Jackson, who manages 24 shops in Nottingham and Lincolnshire, said donations of furniture, bric-a-brac and vinyl records were all badly hit.

"Music is down about 15% across the board. It accounts for about 8% of all sales, but you can get valuable stuff," she told the BBC.

"Vinyl is one of the things that brings people in to the shops... but people are selling it at car boots and on eBay."

She said furniture donations were down by half because people were not moving house, and bric-a-brac had shrunk by between 25% and 35%.

The charity said demand nationally remained high - at the same level as last year - with sales up 5% on 2008.

AREAS WITH BIGGEST FALLS North Yorkshire North London Nottinghamshire Devon and Cornwall Source: Oxfam

Thomas Brindle, manager of a newly-opened Oxfam bookshop in Nottingham, said: "Our fear is not about customers coming in but whether we keep getting the donations through, which is our life blood."

Oxfam has a chain of 130 bookshops and plans to open more fashion boutiques across England, Scotland and Wales.

It has been running a successful clothes exchange programme with high street retailer Marks & Spencer for a year.

The last time donations fell was in the economic downturn of 1999/2000.

Mr McCullough said last year's £20m profit could fund a year's work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia.

"They of course rely on the generosity of the public for their stock," he added.

"The effects of the credit crunch are being felt all over the world - whether it's on the high street in the UK or rising food prices across Africa, few are left untouched."