Over the past few years, swapping clothing, books, music and movies has taken off around the world, with groups meeting for swaps offline and online. Now, flat-pack behemoth IKEA is organizing a furniture swap at its Amsterdam store: a husselmarkt. The swap, which will take place on February 9th, will let up to 250 people bring in furniture—which doesn't have to be made by IKEA—and swap it for items brought in by others. IKEA will also add 12.000 euros worth of furniture to the mix.

The event is part of a marketing campaign that encourages customers to think like designers, which includes experimenting by rearranging furniture they already have (roughly translated, husselen means to shuffle, or move around). To help people redesign their living spaces, IKEA offers a tool on husselen.nl that lets users draw a room as it's currently arranged, and then move around pieces on-screen. Any furniture that no longer fits their rearranged room can be brought to the husselmarkt.

It might seem contradictory from a business point of view: if people swap, they'll buy less. But IKEA knows that once a consumer rearranges a room, or gets a new couch (even if it isn't strictly new), they're likely to want a new rug, lamp or table to complete the makeover. What's next? How about H&M organizing a clothing swap? (Related: Swapping marketplace.)

Website: www.husselen.nl

Spotted by: Aylsa van den Broek

It's no secret that many public schools are underfunded and lack supplies, but the enormity of the problem can easily overwhelm those interested in helping. DonorsChoose.org aims to divide and conquer that challenge with a crowdfunding approach that matches potential donors with specific classroom needs.

Created by a group of Bronx, N.Y., teachers in 2000, DonorsChoose.org is designed to engage everyday citizens in an online marketplace where teachers describe and individuals can fund specific student projects. It begins when teachers submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need in order to learn. Volunteers at the not-for-profit site screen each project proposal and verify that the teacher and project meet set eligibility requirements. Citizen philanthropists can then fund the student projects of their choice—in whole or in part—and are emailed immediate acknowledgements for tax deduction purposes. DonorsChoose.org purchases the student materials and ships them directly to the school along with a disposable camera; the teacher then photographs the students participating in the project and writes an impact letter to the donor, while students write their own thank-you notes. DonorsChoose.org sends all that feedback to donors who completely funded or contributed at least USD 100 toward the project.

DonorsChoose.org is sustained by an optional fulfilment fee of between 15 percent and 25 percent of the cost of each student project, depending on school need. Ninety percent of donors choose to include the fee, the site says, and the rest is made up by grants and contributions. The site's impact, meanwhile, has been to facilitate the contribution of almost USD 19 million to fund more than 43,000 projects for more than 986,000 students, tapping more than 57,000 donors across all 50 states.

We've already covered crowdfunding models for recording artists, software development and athletic teams, but between DonorsChoose.org and community-focused CrowdFunder, among others, it's becoming clear that the collective spending power of the Internet masses may also be the key to filling in the gaps for chronically cash-poor social services. One to bring to other parts of the world? (Related: Peer-to-peer micro lending.)

Website: www.donorschoose.org
Contact: cbest@donorschoose.org

Spotted by: HL Tay

In December and earlier this month we wrote about four US companies selling what we called eco starter kits. Like gift baskets filled with cheese and fruit, the kits contain an assortment of items, all with a ‘green’ twist: reusable water bottles and grocery bags, energy-saving light bulbs and eco-friendly cleaning products. All of the kits carry an implied message, namely that a few changes in our individual buying habits can make a significant difference in our impact on the earth. Ideally, the kits’ users will continue to buy the eco-friendly products they contain, nicely multiplying the planet-saving impact.

We spotted one in the United Kingdom, too, and by a brand we’ve covered before. Back in March 2006, we wrote about greentomatocars, an earth-friendly car service that exclusively uses fuel-miserly Toyota Prius hybrids, brightly decorated with green tomato designs. The firm’s greentomato eco kits sell for GBP 9.99, in keeping with the founders’ philosophy that green products should be competitive in price and quality with similar products on the market.

Is greentomato building a multi-product, Virgin Group-like brand around its catchy name and eco-friendly philosophy? Perhaps! But there’s still plenty of time (and room) for others to enter the space.

Website: www.greentomato.org
Contact: mail@greentomato.org

Spotted by: Chris Hodges

Anyone who's ever travelled knows that it can be hell, particularly when long layovers and multiple time zones are involved. Thanks to the Aéroports de Paris, however, those travelling through the City of Lights can now experience light therapy to recharge their stamina during a trip.

Light therapy, or exposure to full-spectrum light mimicking sunlight, has been found to be beneficial for both jet lag and the "winter blues," or seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Making the most of both purposes, the Paris-Orly and Paris-Charles de Gaulle airports offered travellers complimentary light therapy sessions during the 2007 holiday travel season. Large, igloo-shaped stations in select airport terminals were equipped with specialized therapeutic lamps from Philips Energy Light along with relaxation chairs and calming music; massages were also available. "Express" sessions, meanwhile, were available from roving light therapists elsewhere in the airports. In addition to offering consumers a brief respite during a busy season, the service was also a promotion for Be Relax, a new airport boutique opening this month that offers light therapy and more year-round.

Instead of bombarding consumers with multi-million dollar, one-way advertising campaigns, some smart brands are aiming to help potential and existing customers in relevant ways. Without pushing them to buy. Our sister-site trendwatching.com has dubbed these initiatives brand butlers, and offering travellers a little comfort while also promoting a new service is a classic example. With its benefits for travellers, meanwhile, light therapy is a natural fit for many travel contexts. British Airways was reportedly experimenting with light-therapy visors for passengers back in 2005. Other airlines, airports, hotels—what about you? (Related: Baby brand space at Schiphol Airport.)

Website: www.aeroportsdeparis.fr

Spotted by: RK

Photos by Gwan W.S.

Springwise’s daily servings of new business ideas wouldn’t be possible without our network of 8,000 Springspotters who send us news of new business ideas whenever they spot them. Little wonder then, that we’re especially attuned to developments in the area of citizen journalism. We first reported on back in June 2003. The South Korean online newspaper has—by recent count—60,000 reporters who receive about USD 20 per published story, plus the glory of having their story appear on a website that’s read by millions.

Now comes word that OhmyNews is opening a school to help citizen journalists better hone their craft. Located in a remodelled elementary school 90 minutes outside Seoul, the facility will teach skills such as camcorder and digital photo use. Additional classes are designed to re-educate mainstream journalists on best practices in citizen journalism, and others are aimed at businesses and NGOs.

The OhmyNews Citizen Journalism School is significant for a number of reasons. First off, it further legitimizes citizen reports. And it does so on its own terms: the practitioners—and not old-school academics—are behind the effort. And the school will undoubtedly create a strong face-to-face community alongside the online newspaper’s massive online community.

Equally important from an entrepreneurial standpoint is the school’s location. Korea is perhaps the most internet-focused nation on the planet, where broadband connections are nearly as common as electrical wires. Bottom line: what happens in Korea isn’t likely to stay in Korea, which means there’s a ripe opportunity to start similar ventures elsewhere. As more and more citizen journalists emerge, readers and viewers will inevitably seek out the most prescient and finest reports. Which means that those who want to stand out as citizen journalists will seek training.

Website: english.ohmynews.com
Contact: internews@ohmynews.com

Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen