H2H, a charity store on the campus of University of Nottingham, Ningbo has gained much exposure since its opening. It sells used products without fixed prices and customers can decide how much they want to pay. All its income will go to charities.

The store's co-founder, Carla, is a French student. She got the idea of opening the charity store when she found a fully functional hairdryer in a trash bin two months ago. Later, five students from Italy, France, Russia and Cote d'Ivoire decided to turn her idea into reality.

"Many graduates and some faculties discard unused appliances and household articles when they leave the university," said Sherin, the store manager. "In Europe, especially in the UK, we have charity stores to collect unused products and sell them at lower prices. All proceeds are then donated to charities."

The new store is open daily from 5pm to 8pm. Five Chinese students work as volunteers by shift. During its trial operation in the past four weeks, the store received about 200 donations. Many items were sold at higher prices than their original prices.

The store already donated 1,505 yuan (US$232) to Life Cycle 5, a charity organization that supports education in rural Gansu Province.

Carla and Sherin have decided to stay in China to start their own businesses and will continue to support the store after graduation next year.

"We hope to promote the idea of waste recycling and make contributions to environmental protection and charity," said Sherin.