Pass it on: Furniture retailer Dunelm trials homeware take-back scheme
Customers encouraged to recycle pre-owned homewares from any brand by bringing items to Dunelm stores for redistribution to local charities
Furniture retailer Dunelm is piloting a new waste-busting service across a number of its stores, enabling customers to bring in pre-owned homeware items to be redistributed by local charities rather than sent to landfill.
Dubbed ‘Home To Home’, the scheme is currently being trialled in 18 stores across north west England, and if successful could be extended to all 178 of Dunelm stores nationwide, it announced yesterday.
Dunelm said the initiative, which has been developed in collaboration with environmental charity Hubbub, was designed to bring circulatory attitudes to the high street by enabling people to reduce their household clutter without sending items to the landfill, while at the same time benefitting local people who may otherwise go without essential homewares and furniture.
“Our Home To Home trial offers customers in the north west a meaningful way of passing on unwanted household items,” said Dunelm chief executive Nick Wilkinson. “At Dunelm we believe in the joy of being at home and by building this into our commitment to product circularity, we hope to help create more homely environments for people that may be struggling to afford essential items, while also reducing unnecessary waste and landfill.”
The stores trialling the scheme are currently accepting donations of a number of pre-loved homewares from any retailer, including kitchenware, home décor items such as clocks, vases, throws, curtains, cushions and small storage items, it explained.
Charities involved in helping to re-purpose and recycle the donated items include Chester Aid to the Homeless, HomeAid, Stepping Stone Projects and First Steps Family Wellbeing Centre.
The move builds on a number of existing waste-cutting initiatives led by Dunelm, including its textile takeback scheme, which since launching last year has seen over 400 tonnes of fabric donated by customers, of which it said 65 per cent has been reused, 20 per cent repurposed, and 15 per cent recycled.
Saskia Restorick, director of impact at Hubbub, said the new new homeware takeback scheme “just makes sense”. “Home to Home is supporting people in the community, avoiding good things going to waste, and helping customers declutter,” she said.
