Cashless fashion boutique only accepts organ donor pledges

Chocolatier Anthon Berg’s The Generous Store has already provided one example of a retail experience where no money is exchanged – only a good deed. Following a similar model, The Exchange is a new pop-up fashion store in South Africa that enables customers to take home items as long as they register as an organ donor. Created by digital agency NATIVE, The Exchange was designed to encourage more people to sign up with the Organ Donor Foundation of SA. The store is currently based in Cavendish Square, Cape Town, and invites customers to browse its selection of fashion items, made by some of the country’s top designers. Rather than exchange monetary currency for the goods, the store only accepts registration as an organ donor in order to help those in need of a transplant as well as aid doctors in their research. Numerous shoppers have already taken advantage of the pop-up store, helping the charity on the way to its target of 50,000 registrations in 2013. Samantha Volschenk, Executive Director of the Organ Donor Foundation SA, said: “It’s not often that we come across such a compelling piece of work that will undoubtedly make such a big impact on our organisation. Each donor registration can hopefully save seven lives and with over 500 items in the boutique, we hope to reach a target of over 3500 possible lives saved. This will be an incredible result for us.” The Exchange turns the idea of fashion consumerism as a selfish pursuit on its head by encouraging customers to help save lives while they fill out their wardrobe. Could this model work for your charity or social cause?