Moomin marvellous: Brand raises £1m for Oxfam with Sort Of Books and Waterstones

A special edition of The Invisible Child (Sort Of Books), featuring two short stories from the collection Tales from Moominvalley, has helped to raise £1m for Oxfam's projects supporting women and girls around the world.

According to Moomin Characters Ltd, more than 60,000 copies of the book were sold by key partner Waterstones and Oxfam stores across the UK, with at least £4 from each sale being donated to the charity. The title is also available at dedicated Moomin shops in London and Finland, and online at Moomin.com.

In the £4.99 special edition published by independent Sort Of Books, Tove Jansson's short story "The Invisible Child", an important reminder of the power of caring, is paired with a second short story, the Moomins' unselfish take on Christmas, "The Fir Tree". It was launched by Moomin, with the support of Oxfam ambassador, broadcaster and author Gemma Cairney (pictured), back in September 2017, reaching the £1m milestone in just over three years.

In addition to copies of The Invisible Child, Oxfam has been selling a range of Moomin products including stationery, tote bags, kitchenware and other Moomin books. Other partners—including Macmillan Children’s Books and Finnish brands Fiskars and Finlayson—have supported the campaign by contributing a proportion of sales from their Moomin products.

Roleff Kråkström, managing director of Moomin Characters, said: “We are delighted to have been able to use Tove Jansson’s moving short story to raise such a wonderful sum for Oxfam, and to highlight the importance of ensuring all women and girls have a voice. In The Invisible Child, a little girl who has become invisible because of mistreatment slowly becomes herself again after being shown kindness from the Moomin family. We hope that many women and girls around the world will be able to do the same with the help of the Oxfam initiatives this fundraising supports. We owe an enormous thank-you to our partners, most importantly Waterstones and Sort Of Books, who have been so generous, and without whom we would not have been able to achieve this incredible result.”

Waterstones' managing director James Daunt said: “The world of the Moomins is such a precious one, with a special resonance now. We are so proud to have helped introduce more readers to the magic of Tove Jansson, and could not be more pleased in the process to support Oxfam’s important work.”

Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive of Oxfam Great Britain, said: “We are incredibly proud of our partnership with Moomin Characters and grateful to everyone who supported this fantastic campaign and, in turn, Oxfam’s work for a kinder and radically better world. Values found in Tove Jansson’s wonderful stories of Moominvalley, such as inclusiveness and having the courage to speak out for what is right, also underpin Oxfam’s work. The money raised through this partnership has helped Oxfam to support women and girls who face discrimination, violence and poverty.”

Mark Ellingham and Nat Jansz of Sort Of Books commented: “The initial idea was to try to raise £100,000 for Oxfam’s crucial work supporting women and girls around the world, but the combination of Moomin Characters, Oxfam and Waterstones has been extraordinary. We couldn’t be more delighted to see this campaign pass the £1m mark.”