Celebrities auction handbags for Cancer Research UK

by Jacquie Bowser, Brand Republic 08-Oct-08, 11:15

LONDON - Women's lifestyle website Handbag.com has teamed up with Cancer Research UK to raise money for breast cancer by auctioning designer handbags donated by celebrities including Sienna Miller, Scarlett Johansson and Dame Judy Dench.

The handbags, which have previously all been owned by some of the world's most famous celebrities, will be up for auction on eBay until Sunday October 14.

Donors include the following celebrities: Mischa Barton, Fearne Cotton, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dame Shirley Bassey, Annie Lennox, Tracey Boyd, Sophie Ellis Bexter, Rachel Stevens, Kiera Knightley, Erin O' Connor, Barbara Hulanicki, Beverley Knight, America Ferrera, Tamzin Outhwaite, Kelly Osborne, Duffy, Trinny Woodall, Heidi Montag, Lauren Conran and Gerri Halliwell.

The Handbag Amnesty campaign is being promoted through online ads across the entire Hearst digital network, including Allaboutyou.com and Cosmopolitan as well as external websites such as MSN.

Claire Higgins, head of marketing at Hearst digital, which publishes Handbag.com, said: "About 44,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK so we are very proud to be working with Cancer Research UK to help make a difference - not only by raising a lot of money to fund research into preventing breast cancer, but also by helping to raise much needed awareness of the illness."

Users will be encouraged to donate their own favourite handbag to their local Cancer Research UK shop to raise additional funds.

Paul Farthing, director of high-value relationships at Cancer Research UK, said: "The auction of celebrity handbags will be an exciting way to raise funds for our vital research into breast cancer."

Hearst Digital is a division of the National Magazine Company.