In Denmark, as in many other countries, consumers pay a refundable deposit on bottles. When they return them through a retailer's collection machine, it prints out a slip of paper that states how much they'll receive at the cash register. Generally, these aren't large amounts, but they're enough to get people to return their containers.
One of Denmark 's largest consumer goods retailers has now added a charitable twist to the process, adding a button that lets customers instantly donate their bottle money to charity instead of collecting it for themselves. A partnership between Coop Denmark, UNICEF Denmark and DanChurchAid, the 'push to donate' system was launched in September 2007 in 14 of Coop's Kvickly xtra stores. In the first three months, customers donated over DKK 120,000 (USD 25,750), proving that tiny donations add up to significant amounts. This year, Coop will be adding the option to 1,200 bottle collection machines in its other supermarket chains.
If you want to entice consumers to be charitable, make it easy for them. One for other retailers to be inspired by? (Related: Reverse vending.)
Website: www.coop.dk
Spotted by: Frida Berglund
(This donation feature has been available in Sweden for years. Glad more are doing the same thing...)
Even though this feature might have been available for years, it's nice for the good folks at Springwise.com to feature this philanthropic effort for those of us on this side of the pond who might not otherwise have found out about it. I linked to this post in my blog entry today at the Innovators-Network.org as being of interest to entrepreneurs, especially those with a social/ethical slant in their business workings.
Does anyone know if this has been tried in the US or Canada?
We have this in some shops in Germany as well:
http://www.pfandtastisch-helfen.de