If there is an unavoidable molecule to structure any form of life, that is ADN (in French; DNA, in English). In France, it is also a structure that can provide a people-centered and inclusive dimension: the Agence du Don en Nature (the Agency for gifts in kind) is an association, which wants to make a link between companies and the associations that combat social exclusion, after a motto, “"ess waste, more sharing".
Every year in France, more than € 400 million of non-food products are destroyed. More than 8.6 million people live below the poverty line. This finding led to the birth of the ADN. The Agence du Don en Nature is an association recognized as a public interest association by the French tax regulation. Established in 2009, it has designed a kind of platform between the manufacturers and the associations that combat exclusion. Within this frame, it gathers the brand-new unsold non-food items (outmoded products, unsold promotions, packaging changes, promotional items …) and redistributes them to its associations' network.
At the end of 2012, the association will have made available more than € 20 million of non-food brand-new products to the circa 330 associations network throughout France. These associations are carefully selected to assure of the charitable use of these gifts. They do have in common they combat exclusion, with different recipients: children, women, homeless people, disabled people, elderly people, etc. The large associations work along with neighbourhood ones: Salvation Army, Restos du Coeur (a renowned French charity), SOS Villages d’Enfants (SOS Villages for Children), Red Cross, etc…
“The needs of these associations for personal-care and well-being products are very high, …
