History of
the
White Shirt Campaign
Witchery has been supporting the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation since 2000. This enduring partnership is driven by a shared commitment to improving survival for this devastating cancer, through raising awareness and investing in vital medical research.
Donations to Date
0
The Partnership
Over the past 17 years, Witchery via the White Shirt Campaign has donated over $17 million to the OCRF, contributing to invaluable ovarian cancer research projects and medical advancements that aim to save women's lives.
Donations from White Shirt purchases like yours, have been instrumental in enabling the OCRF to fund promising research projects across Australia, raise awareness and advocate with government on behalf of future generations of women and girls.
In 2025, the OCRF is proud to support 26 projects across 10 medical research institutions.
The Witchery White Shirt Campaign has played a key role in OCRF’s impact. This includes:
- Funding of one of the world's leading early detection projects - the Active Ratio Test which entered clinical trials in 2018 and has since progressed into expanded clinical trials. We hope that the success of these trials leads to a readily available, early detection test in coming years.
- Distributing close to $30 million across 60+ ovarian cancer research projects since 2000
- Keeping dedicated and specialised medical research scientists, as well as attract new scientists to the field
- Forging international relationships with world leaders in ovarian cancer research to collaboratively accelerate solutions
Groundbreaking research discoveries take time and require years of continued funding, with each project adding to the cumulative knowledge. Some recent OCRF-funded research developments include:
- Funding of one of the world's leading early detection projects - the Active Ratio Test which entered clinical trials in 2018 and has since progressed into expanded clinical trials. We hope that the success of these trials leads to a readily available, early detection test in coming years.
- Published results of the discovery of ‘leader cells’, which provides groundbreaking insights into how some ovarian cancers spread, and presents promising approaches to treatment
- Leveraging a $1.46 million National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant by the Australian Government to an OCRF-funded early detection research project, and plans for clinical trials to start in late 2025
- The expansion of promising early detection research from the laboratory into product development and commercialisation
WHY OVARIAN CANCER?
- Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynaecological cancer – investing in research is the answer to increasing the survival rate.
- The average five-year survival rate for ovarian cancer is 49 per cent. Less than half of the women diagnosed with ovarian cancer today, will survive the next five years.
- Ovarian cancer can affect women, girls and people with ovaries at any age – around 40% of cases diagnosed in Australia are patients under 60 years old.
- There is promising research in the pipeline, but right now there is no early detection test, treatment options are limited, and the disease more than often recurs.
- Ovarian cancer is a women’s health, funding inequity, and gender disparity issue that for too long has been overlooked and underfunded. This needs to end.
- Donations from White Shirt purchases like yours, have been instrumental in enabling the OCRF to fund promising research projects across Australia, raise awareness and advocate with government on behalf of future generations of women and girls.
- The White Shirt Campaign has played a key role in OCRF’s impact. This is more than a shirt. It’s a longstanding commitment by Witchery, raising over $17 million for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.
2024 Donation
$792,936
2023 Donation
$1,228,284
2022 Donation
$677,832
2021 Donation
$537,772
2020 Donation
$335,600
2019 Donation
$1,400,000
2018 Donation
$1,700,000
2017 Donation
$950,578
2016 Donation
$1,650,000
2015 Donation
$1,600,000
2014 Donation
$1,200,000
2013 Donation
$1,130,000
2012 Donation
$1,070,000
2011 Donation
$700,000
2010 Donation
$500,000
2009 Donation
$600,000
2008 Donation
$1,000,000
THE EARLY YEARS 2000–2007
The partnership between Witchery and the OCRF was established well before the first White Shirt Campaign.
In 2000, Witchery joined the OCRF's mission to develop an early detection test that ultimately becomes as readily available and habitual as a pap test is for cervical cancer. Witchery begins to raise funds for the OCRF through the sale of Silver Ribbons, the Exposure Book and Exposure lip gloss. 2007 sees the launch of the 'Every Cloud' initiative with a collection of silver gifts and a unique OCRF desk diary. 100% of gross proceeds from the sale of the diary were donated to the OCRF.