The first store dedicated to helping the homeless
In the run up to Christmas most retailers are launching campaigns designed to get you to buy the latest gadgets, beauty products or fashion accessories.

Crack + Cider, a pop-up store at One Good Deed Today, is doing the complete opposite. Customers who visit the store are encouraged to buy an item, like a fleece or military-grade waterproof jacket, for one of London's thousands of rough sleepers.

The founders of the store, Charley Cramer, a former Creative Strategist at Protein, and Scarlett Montanaro, a creative at Analogfolk, were originally inspired by a homeless person who said; “People don’t give me money because they just think I’ll spend it on crack and cider”.

“Even local councils reinforce that giving to rough sleepers contributes to their early death,” say Cramer and Montanaro. “We knew there must be a better way.”

The store, set to launch on Wednesday 04 November, will host talks about London's homeless problem by Stephen Robertson of the Big Issue and award-winning architect James Furzer, who recently created sleeping pods for the homeless. After the store is closed people will also be able to continue buying items for the homeless at the online store.

The Crack + Cider concept highlights the importance of bricks and mortar retail stores as places of education and community engagement. Earlier this year we saw a shop in Amsterdam dedicated to tackling issues around ecstasy usage, and Selfridges continually uses its spaces to educate consumers on everything from gender equality to sustainability.