Current Events > Berlin opens secondhand department store that only sell things stores throw away

(+) Yeah! (+)

In an effort to topple the throw away culture, and promote re-use and repair, the city of Berlin has taken the unique step of opening its own secondhand department store.

It resells perfectly good items from retail outlets that would otherwise be thrown away.

A pun on the German words for department store and conserving house, B-Wa(h)renhaus sells a wide variety of products, including clothing, furniture, cell phones and other electronics.

Far from simply selling old junk as is, the electronic goods have been fixed by expert technicians and come with a one year warranty.

And, to reach beyond the normal demographic of secondhand shoppers, the store was erected right in the middle of the famous Karstadt department store.

With the success of its initial six-month trial run on the third floor of that store, the city plans to open four more similar operations in other parts of Berlin. By 2030, it hopes to have at least one location in each of Berlins 12 boroughs.

These stores are just the latest addition to Berlins impressive sustainability resume. Since 2008, city policies and educational campaigns have reduced average annual household waste by about 25 pounds (11kg) per resident. It also recycles about 49% of its mineral construction wastesuch as brick and concrete.

Currently, the city estimates that 8% of discarded electronic goods and 6% of bulky items thrown away can actually be re-used. The goal is to expand the market for these items beyond the usual bargain hunters and eco-conscious consumers.

Three years ago, we started collecting all kinds of used goods that people have in their cellars or attics, city spokesperson Dorothee Winden told Bloomberg CityLab. Things that are well-preserved and functioning but arent being used anymore. The goal is to give these things a new life with somebody who can use them.

The stores also include an education center inside the store to encourage more sustainable lifestylesand also gave an award (pictured above) to a project that recycled school uniforms, so that parents dont have to buy new ones every year.

The green enterprise has also connected the Berlin City Homeless Mission with online apparel retailers that provide clothing which has been returned to them and cannot be re-sold.


Full Article: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/berlin-now-runs-a-department-store-that-sells-all-recycled-goods/

https://i.imgur.com/bdqhoKY.jpg

Not even Covid will stop Germans trying to be efficient.
---

Germany finally catching on to what America already had since 1902.

That's p cool
And a great business model

---

HiddenRoar posted...

Germany finally catching on to what America already had since 1902.

You arent illiterate; why pretend?

---