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Media releases > Give a little this Christmas
Give a little this Christmas
(29 November 2004)
Christmas shopping this year can be a little bit more charitable as www.giveasyouget.net makes giving to charity a part of shopping online. This year international development charity VSO has been named as www.giveasyouget.net's Christmas Charity of the year.
The innovative website allows customers to purchase goods from major retailers for the normal price, the retailer will then donate between 2-20% of the purchase price to VSO. Through the website a mini iPod from the Apple Store will cost £179.00 and £2.69 will go to VSO, while top children’s present a Bratz Wintertime Ski Lodge costs £78.99 with £3.16 going to the charity. Even a pair of Jimmy Choos from Yoox.com will donate between £15-£25.
The website was created by Jonny Platt, a student of Development Studies at Sussex University, as a reaction to the imbalance between consumer lifestyles and the poor quality of life faced by the majority of the world's population.
Jonny says:
When I was travelling and seeing how little people have, I decided I needed to do something. When I got back I was really aware of how much people spent on consumer stuff, and that got me thinking that there must be a way of shopping that could help balance the inequality. I started looking at how people shop on the Internet. In November 2002, £1.2 billion was spent by online shoppers. If I could get just one per cent of that, I would make on average about half a million in a month for charity.
Money raised during November and December will go to VSO, the international development charity that sends people to share their skills and experience with some of the poorest communities in the world.
There is a range of over 800,000 products available on www.giveasyouget.net from toys, electrical items, books and CDs, clothes, food, wine and jewellery to the more bizarre such as toothpaste and trips in hot air balloons. Retailers include Marks and Spencer, John Lewis, Empire, WHSmith, PC World, Oddbins, Majestic Wines, Avon, Index, and the Early Learning Centre.
Editors' notes
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