# Oxfam shops using QR codes for story of donated objects - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/10/15/oxfam-shops-using-qr-codes-story-donated-objects/ - Published: 2010-10-15T09:03:03+01:00 - Author: Howard Lake **RememberMe, part of FutureEverything 2010 in Manchester, has been kitted out with RFID iPhones and Bluetooth devices to ‘replay’ the memories of objects for sale in an Oxfam shop.** According to [Springwise.com](http://www.springwise.com/retail/totem/), “people donating items at an Oxfam store in Manchester were asked to tell a story about the object into a microphone, including when and where they acquired it and any personal stories associated with it. “The audio clips were linked to an RFID tag and QR code and items tagged with a story were added to the shop’s stock as part of the in-store exhibition. Visitors to the shop used their own smart phone or a bespoke RFID reader to listen to the stories through speakers in the shop, and were invited to purchase the story-tagged objects.” ## Advertisement [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/) In this way Oxfam was able to personalise and bring storytelling to individual items in its charity shop. The era of mass production can, it seems, still yield individual stories about objects, when overlaid with people’s memories of that object – who used it, who bought it, how it was used, what it meant to someone. This could prove a powerful new tool not just in differentiating charity shops from other for-profit shops but in underlining the importance of recycling and reusing items. **_Editor’s note, 20 September 2022_** Twelve years later, here is [IKEA taking a very similar approach](https://designtaxi.com/news/420430/IKEA-Resells-Old-Items-With-Reasons-They-Were-Abandoned-From-Divorce-To-Death/), recognising the value of the history of an individual item for sale in its second- hand furniture shops. * **[QR codes plus bit.ly equals more email signups](https://fundraising.co.uk/2010/11/01/qr-codes-plus-bitly-equals-more-email-signups/)**( 1 November 2010) * **[JAGTAG offers wider mobile audience to charities than QR codes](https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/01/27/jagtag-offers-wider-mobile-audience-charities-qr-codes/)**( 27 January 2011) * **[Yes we scan: how about an app that reports brands’ support for causes?](https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/09/15/yes-scan-app-reports-brands-support-causes/)**( 15 September 2014)