Last year, Manchester Arndale participated in a fascinating charity event: The Empty Shop. The concept, as covered in our sister publication Tactics Magazine, is simple: it’s a shop that begins each day empty, and fills up only with the help of donations from shoppers.

Last year’s event was a huge success, bringing in over 2 metric tons of clothing and winning Gold at the BCSC’s Purple Apple Marketing Awards.

So it’s no surprise that the center is bringing it back for the new year. Starting tomorrow and continuing for ten days, the Empty Shop will be available for shoppers to deliver their pre-loved clothes. It’s become something of a media event, with designers, stylists and fashion bloggers transforming the store with seasonal looks put together from the donated items.

The charitable results are tallied at the end of each day. First, the shop is cleared out by homelessness charity The Mustard Tree. They take some of the pieces to sell in their charity stores to raise money for programs that help local homeless individuals. Many are donated directly to people in need.

Adrian Nottingham, CEO of Mustard Tree said, “Mustard Tree is delighted to be participating in this innovative project. We are proud that Manchester is taking a lead in seeking to broker practical solutions and raise awareness of the plight of the increasing number of its residents facing homelessness and marginalization.”

While speaking to Manchester Evening News, Helen Seed, the center’s PR and social media manager, revealed that there’s a plan in place to raise even more money for the cause at this year’s event:

“One thing different about this year is the drive to get as much cash as possible for the designer donations. Corrie’s Brooke Vincent has thrown her support behind the event again, while Phil and Julie Neville have pulled out some garments from their own wardrobes.

‘In the Mustard Tree store in Eccles, items are sold at a lower cost to support its clients,’ says Helen, ‘so to raise a bit more money for the charity the newer and branded items will be sold at a sale in mid-February at the new Cafe Ziferblat, on Edge Street in the northern quarter.’

‘We are definitely hoping to get more big brands and businesses involved, too. We’ve approached brands around Manchester and obviously in the shopping centre for ex-display or sales items which will otherwise be going to waste.'”

Check out a breakdown of the original Empty Shop concept here:

Just a few more days are between us and the Olympics, and it’s hard to believe it’s finally here. Ticket-holders must be getting excited, but The Exchange Shopping Centre is making sure its shoppers get all the fun of the Games, too.

That’s why it’s sponsoring the Lacy Road 2012 Street Party, a weekend event filled with food, music and fun. Oh yeah, and did we mention a front-row view of the Olympic Cycling Road Races?

The free show may feature the world’s top cyclists as they pass down the street, but there will be plenty of other fun to be found. For one thing, visitors will have a chance to compete themselves – think Giant Jenga, Giant Connect-4, and the best Olympic-inspired outfit.

The center will show of its Best of British Fashion Show, with preview of the Autumn collections of many of its retailers. An Olympic pop-up shop will give shoppers a chance to get into the spirit. And, of course, a giant flatscreen TV will show every minute of the Games.

The Street Party will raise funds for The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability.

Sherway Gardens is ahead of the game when it comes to pop-up shops: it’s been bringing in an ultra-exclusive one-day-only retailer for six years now, and each year it’s a Mother’s Day hit.

Talk about a gift with heart. Eat My Words uses the big day to give moms a tasty treat and to bring in funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which in turn funds community level projects that provide care and support to women, grandmothers, orphans and others living with HIV or AIDS in Africa.

“Eat My Words delicious treats satisfy any mother’s sweet tooth while showing support for the Stephen Lewis Foundation,” states Marnie Bonnett, marketing manager at Sherway Gardens. “Last year we sold out of cupcakes by 2pm.”

This year’s selection includes cupcakes, topped with buttercream icing and crowned with an elaborate royal icing spring flower or butterfly. There will also be delectable daisy shaped brownies, shoe-shaped cookies and gift box shaped cakes that are made with love.

For folks who want to give a gift that supports a good cause but have more to show for it than a certificate, this is a great way to make Mom feel loved.

Fashion’s Night Out has a limited time to reach out to its audience, and even Fashion Week has to stay pretty focused. Australia’s 30 Days of Fashion and Beauty, on the other hand, has time to get more expansive, reaching out to shoppers who live and breathe fashion and those who can only dabble. Every fashionista wannabe is a potential future fashion diva, after all.

For the latter, events have popped up at all manner of shopping centers. Priceline and Woman’s Day offered Instant Makeover workshops. For the fashion fan without much time, Mary Zavaglia, Beauty Editor for Woman’s Day, shared ideas for simple ways to update a day-to-day look, with perfect eye makeup and quick and easy up-dos ideal for work or the weekend.

Next week, Martin Place shoppers will be treated to the pop-up Pamper Parlour. Priceline Princesses will treat shoppers to manicures, make-up fixes or blow-dries while offering up beauty tips and tricks from the experts. They’ll also be giving away Priceline goody bags filled with the latest beauty must-haves and gift vouchers.

This weekend, Macquarie Centre hosts madison mile’s Fashion and Health workshop. Fashion editors will present summer’s hottest new styles, showing shoppers how to create the looks straight from the center’s stores. At the end of the evening, workshop attendees will get exclusive discounts on some of the looks that are shown off.

Westfield Australia’s Give Ability initiative has grown since we saw it last. What was a single day event at centers across the country has evolved into a much more comprehensive program.

Westfield teamed up with WHO magazine to put together the Give Ability Store, a pop-up shop with serious style. The Give Ability Store shows up at Westfield centers stocked with pre-loved designer fashion and accessories. These have been sought out and generously donated by celebrities, designers, fashionistas and retailers. Each day the shop opens, it’s replenished with new and exciting finds. It’s just completed a week at Westfield Bondi Junction, where shoppers could splurge on fashionable treats while knowing that 100% of sales would be donated to the Cerebral Palsy Alliance.

The very best of the donated items were snagged in advance by Westfield. But they weren’t hogging the good stuff. Rather, the most tempting finds were set aside for the Give Ability online auction. Shoppers can bid on a signed t-shirt from Kylie Minogue, a ring worn by Drew Barrymore, or Torah Bright’s snowboarding suit and Roxy snowboard from winning the gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, amongst other items. That last item is going for over $1000 currently, and there’s still a few days to go before the auction closes.