Who would say that everything you see is reused...?
"Everything sold here has been recycled, reused or produced organically and sustainably ", they explain from ** ReTuna .** In fact, they are the own clients who, voluntarily, abandon in some containers of the center what they don't want (from toys to electronic devices, through decoration elements) . After the city Hall, to which the gallery belongs, is in charge of making a first selection for discard items that cannot be given a second life, and distributes those that can among the stores. Once in them, the staff dedicates itself to repair, fix, convert, refine and sell the finds.
Thanks to this process, during 2016, in its first year of life, ReTuna has generated sales worth SEK 8.1 (about €830,000 ), but it has also become a meeting point for the community, and not just because the locals love to taste the cakes and organic lunch of the Returama Coffee . The center organizes events, workshops, conferences and theme days dedicated to sustainability, and even the institute Eskilstuna Folkhögskola conducts an annual study program recycled objects design in ReTuna itself.
organic delicacies
Among the premises of ReTuna you can find clothing stores, pet products , sale of elements of building (doors, windows, screws, etc), articles of leisure and sport (tents, bicycles, gardening tools...), items related to babies and children (strollers, toys, maternity clothes...) , high quality furniture and decoration (sofas, desks, lamps...) ; nurseries , kitchen elements... That is to say, practically, anything you need. In fact, some of these items can be purchased **directly through the internet.**
But what is most successful, according to Anna Bergström, director of the center , to Traveler, are the technological products: "It is difficult to choose, but if I had to, I would say that the ones that sell the most are re: Compute-IT, that repair and put on sale all kinds of computers and electronic devices ".
A commercial center... and social
HOW WAS THE IDEA BORN?
Eskilstuna City Council is known for its efforts to turn its municipality into a an eco-efficiency model, something not unusual in a country, Sweden, that recycles more than 90% of its garbage and that even imported from other parts of the world to generate power with it. In addition, it has reduced taxes on repairs , in order to promote them and extend the life of the objects we use.
For all this, when 2014, the municipal government team came up with the idea of starting up this center, they did not hesitate, and in August 2015 was already opening. "It was very difficult to find the stores that would form part of the gallery, because there weren't that many of that kind back then, and the ones that were, had just opened at the same time as us," Anna tells us. "For example, Ecoflor It is a 'sister' store to another that already exists in the city, Decoflor. ours is one 'better' version, with plants grown without chemicals and sold in recycled pots".
Having lunch at Cafe Returama
The director also remembers that the first place they opened was the second-hand store Stockholm Stadsmission , a string that I already had ten locations in Stockholm "and which is, moreover, the only non-profit organization from the center", adds Anna. In fact, the objective of the establishment is to sell "furniture, clothes and gadgets" to those who give a second life, and at the same time, " contribute to a sustainable society where things are reused and used, at the same time that they are created opportunities for people to grow through job training, training and jobs ", they detail. "The surplus of our business is used to obtain a more humane city for all".
ReBuyke , another local store, also dedicates part of its surplus to " help unemployed people in Eskilstuna to get a job." In fact, ReTuna has already generated, directly alone, more than 50 jobs , but, above all, it has fulfilled its main mission: educate the population about sustainability and circular economy r, and serve as an example for other projects worldwide.