Ryan McManus, ECD at Native, conceived the concept for The Exchange (outlined at www.facebook.com/organdonorfan).
"Fashion has typically been synonymous with consumerism. We were looking for a way in which we could change the currency of meaningless consumerism and shift it to the currency of life by purchasing fashion with organ donor registration. We partnered with the Organ Donor Foundation and came up with the idea of opening a fashion boutique where, in exchange for a garment, the consumer registers as an organ donor to potentially save lives," he explains.
Samantha Volschenk, executive director of the Organ Donor Foundation SA says, "It's not often that we come across such a compelling piece of work that will undoubtedly make such a big impact on our organisation. Each donor registration can hopefully save seven lives and, with over 500 items in the boutique, we hope to reach a target of over 3500 possible lives saved. This will be an incredible result for us."
The pop-up boutique will remain open until all the clothing and accessories have been 'exchanged'. This means fashion conscious Capetonians with big hearts had better move fast.
