One rainy afternoon in west London, I spotted a picture in the window of my local Oxfam store.
I’d just moved into a new home and this green-and-black art deco image was the finishing touch I’d been looking for. Naturally, I went in and bought it.
Ten years later, it’s still with me. But where did it come from? And what possessed someone to no longer want such a striking piece of art?
Now, thanks to a new app from Oxfam, people in the same situation can get the back-story on the bargains they pick up, while helping the charity raise much-needed funds for good causes across the world.
The Oxfam Shelflife app, available on iPhone, intends to make donating items and shopping more personal and interactive experiences.
The project, being trialled in 10 shops in the Manchester areas, invites people to tell the story of the item they want to donate. It starts by popping into the Oxfam store to collect a label with a QR code.
Then, you scan the QR code and upload the history and an image of the thing you’re donating, before fixing it to the item and dropping it back at the shop.
The item then goes on sale, where potential buyers can scan the QR code and find out how the item they’re interested in ended up there.
Find out more at http://shelflife.oxfam.org.uk/
Oxfam (www.oxfam.org.uk) is an international confederation of 15 organisations working together in over 90 countries and with partners and allies around the world to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice.
The charity works directly with communities and seeks to influence the powerful to ensure that poor people can improve their lives and livelihoods and have a say in decisions that affect them.
