International No Shop Day back in 1997 was marked by the 'grand opening' of No Shop – the shop that promised everything but sold nothing. The No Shop, an installation by designers Thomas/Matthews in collaboration with Friends of the Earth's Art and Nature Programme and the Royal College of...
From France to Fiji, bottled water brands rely on spring-based provenance to lure customers. And now a newcomer is focusing on a different kind of message: positivity. A Bottle Of, which claims to be Australia's first Naturally Positive spring water, currently comes in three varieties: wellbeing...
Hint Mint was founded on the idea that simple objects (like a tin of mints) can also be beautiful lifestyle accessories. Calling themselves the original designer mint, Hint Mint turn a commodity product associated with bad breath into a ‘designer breath accessory’, and describe their mints as a ‘gesture...
How can you help shoppers feel less guilty when shopping for luxury? One of the hottest new stores in Paris, Merci, is fusing fashion with philanthropy. The store's light, loft-like space is as trendy as any other concept store, and stocks brands such as Stella McCartney, special versions of Annick...
The real world meets the virtual in this inspired fundraising effort. Miravete de la Sierra is a Spanish village with just 12 inhabitants and they’re appealing to the wider world to help keep their community going. You can book yourself in at one of the newly refurbished buildings, sponsor your own new...
Nike, the Livestrong organisation (the ‘global movement to end cancer’), Standard Robot and Deeplocal all got together to build Chalkbot. The device was towed by a truck at the Tour de France, leaving Livestrong’s inspirational messages chalked on the roads of the cycle route for all the world to see...
There have been a myriad ‘faux’ trends for accessories and home furnishing: faux-wood, faux-leather, faux-fur, you name it. Now Dutch copywriter, Peggy van Neer, has created a faux-cardboard bed linen design, which you can buy online. Forty per cent of the sales proceeds of the ‘Le Clochard’ duvet cover...
Think like ‘Mary Queen Of Charity Shops’, which has recently hit our TV screens. The idea is to get shoppers into the habit of donating something old every time they buy something new, hence the phrase ‘shopping neutral’. By convincing people that charity shopping means environmentally friendly recycling...
It’s not always easy to be cheerful. The extent to which ‘bad news' dominates the headlines may – on the face of it – leave few reasons to be cheerful. So think like Optimistworld.com, the new site dedicated to taking a daily look on the bright side. If you’re one of life's optimists – or aspire...
This week I received an email from Virgin Wines with the subject line "help out our mates down under". I immediately thought this must be some form of appeal for victims of the terrible fires, many of which have hit wine growing regions. But no. It was an honest, but ill-timed, plea to buy...
