Our environmental mission

The environmental mission has two main objectives.

The first environmental objective is to promote a circular transition. We want it to be easy to both shop sustainably and donate to second-hand shops. We also want to share our knowledge and inspire more people to become circulators. The second environmental goal is about minimizing the negative advocacy our own business on the environment.

We believe that people are motivated to adopt more sustainable habits through both knowledge and simplicity. To promote the circular transition and get more consumers to become circulators, we therefore need to spread both knowledge and inspiration, and make it so easy to donate gifts and shop second hand that it becomes the obvious first choice.

We make it easy to choose second-hand in the first place by having many stores in good locations, generous opening hours and with inclusive and inspiring communication. By opening more stores in new locations, and constantly developing our concept, more people will have the opportunity to buy reused products. It is important to share our knowledge and get more people involved in the circular transition. That's why we also collaborate on research projects, take part in debates, run a podcast on second-hand and have a strong social media presence.

How our sales contribute to sustainable development

Reusing and recycling existing resources minimizes emissions from our consumption. Therefore, the transition to a circular economy is crucial for a sustainable society. In the circular economy, there is no waste. Instead, resources are recycled and used efficiently for as long as possible, unlike in today's linear economy, which is based on extract-manufacture-use-and-dispose.

By accepting and sorting donations so that they can be reused, we contribute to a more sustainable use of the Earth's resources. We aim to reuse as much as possible of what is collected. In 2024, our reuse rate in Sweden was 23% and if we include what we donated for reuse abroad, it was 69%!

How we work with knowledge and inspiration

With inspiring communication and by sharing our experience, we want to raise awareness and strengthen interest in second hand in all parts of society. In our stores and on social media, we are active with both inspiration and educational material. We participate in arenas such as Almedalsveckan and Järvaveckan, write debate articles, give lectures and participate in panel discussions to help improve the conditions for the circular economy in Sweden. We collaborate with others through research projects that shed light on important future issues for the circular economy, and we share our experiences through our sustainability report, among other things. It is important to us that our entire organization is engaged and has a basic understanding of environmental issues, which is why we regularly provide training and lectures to all our employees.

If we encourage more people to buy second-hand instead of new products and at the same time reduce the negative environmental impact of our operations, the positive impact of second-hand sales will be even greater. We strive to be an environmentally conscious organization and reduce the harmful emissions generated by our operations. We work to ensure that our activities do not contribute to environmental impacts that ultimately affect those we serve - children.

We work to reduce the environmental impact of our operations in the following areas

• Sustainable and safe products - all gifts donated to our stores are carefully sorted and goods with potentially harmful content or that are offensive from an ethical perspective are discarded.
• Chemicals and consumables- chemicals, cleaning products and consumables used in our operations are eco-labeled and used restrictively.
• Recycling and waste -we work according to the waste hierarchy and ensure that as much as possible of the collected material is reused. What is not suitable for reuse is sorted for recycling.
• Transport -we aim to reduce the environmental impact of our transport and business travel through a more environmentally friendly choice of vehicles and fuels, efficient logistics, training and a digital approach to avoid travel.
• Electricity consumption -we buy renewable electricity and aim to reduce our consumption through efficiency improvements in our premises.
• Responsible sourcing - our suppliers are located in Sweden, certified and subject to environmental requirements.
• Environmentally certified office -our head office has been environmentally certified since 2022 according to Svensk Miljöbas (SUSA).
• Climate impact -we calculated the climate impact of our operations for the first time in 2021. We are continuously working to reduce our climate impact across our operations.

Transport’s impact on environment and climate

The largest share of our operations' emissions comes from transportation. At the same time, the collection of donations, sales and profits are dependent on a functioning transport operation. Since transportation has such a large impact on the environment and climate, it is important to us that it is managed in the best possible way. We strive to reduce our emissions annually by, for example, replacing vehicles and fuels with more environmentally friendly alternatives, training our drivers in eco-driving and car care, and developing our logistics to work more efficiently. Our goal is for all our transportation to be fossil-free by 2035 (target revised in 2024).