Free store

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A free store is a shop where people exchange goods without a pricing system: items that are no longer wanted are put on one table, and items available to be taken are put on another. Although the roots of the "free store" lie in the anarchist movement, hippies of the 1960s ran a few initially successful free stores across North America. Today the idea is kept alive by the new generations of environmentalists who view the idea as an intriguing way to promote the reusing of products, and as a project with positive social impacts. However, outside certain North American environmental circles, free stores are very rare in modern North American society.

In the UK Free Shops (sometimes called Swap Shops) are held sporadically around the country. An example of a more regular one is in Norwich where a Free Shop has happened on the 8th of the Month in Norwich city centre from 10AM til 4PM since June 2004. It is organised by the local anarchist group.