Sweden has a聽reputation聽for having one of the best recycling rates worldwide, so it should not be surprising that the Nordic country is home to the world鈥檚 first mall that only sells recycled, upcycled and repaired goods.聽ReTuna 脜terbruksgalleria, which is about 75 miles west of Stockholm, opened in August 2015 in the city of Eskilstuna.
Its name may sound like the latest Ikea light fixture or nightstand, but ReTuna鈥檚 founders want this center to challenge the norms of retail. Suggesting that ReTuna is not only the first shopping center to sell recycled and reclaimed goods in Sweden, but also in the world, the聽goal of the complex is to 鈥渁chieve more with what we already have.鈥�
Functioning as part recycling depot, part shopping experience and part education center, ReTuna features 15聽stores, a restaurant and a conference facilities. The mall includes retail shops for聽home decor and furniture, refurbished聽computers and electronics,聽housewares, sporting goods, and outdoor plants.
Several of these stores also function as 鈥渄o-it-yourself鈥� showrooms, where customers can learn tasks such as how to repair household items or make their own lamps. DIY-ers and sustainable living mavens can also take a break in ReTuna鈥檚聽caf茅, which offers organic and sustainable fare.
ReTuna鈥檚 management is keen to expand and is now聽seeking more designers, a furniture upholsterer and someone who can run an ecologically-minded salon or beauty products store. The center is also open to ideas for businesses that can contribute to the local聽sharing economy, with one example being a tool-sharing business. Such entrepreneurs must heed ReTuna鈥檚 ethos: 鈥淪ustainability is not about to hold back and live less, but to achieve more with the resources we already have.鈥�
According to the shopping center鈥檚 manager, the customer experience at ReTuna is more than about shopping with an ecological conscience. The idea is that visitors show up, bringing items such as furniture or clothing that are no longer needed. A 鈥渄rive-thru鈥� recycling depot run by a local聽social enterprise accepts those items, and then local workers sort through them and decide what can be distributed to stores within the mall.
Those same shoppers can then browse through the stores, where they may find something for the living room, or a new jacket, and perhaps score some flowers for the garden as well. In addition, visitors can enroll in a one-year Design-Recycle-Reuse program. ReTuna also offers聽study visits during which attendees can learn about the inner workings of the mall. These visits cost about $136 and are held once a week.
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