Circular economy accelerates as two circular economy companies, Emmy and Inrego, initiate collaboration. The goal is to turn used goods into an actual payment methods and unlock dormant capital in the closets. This collaboration is the first of its kind in Finland.
According to research, over 60% of the clothes in people's closets “sleeps” without a future purpose. Additionally, there are more than 7.1 million smartphones without use in people’s homes. Circular economy pioneers Emmy and Inrego want to demonstrate the potential of unused products and introduce a completely new concept to the market, where customers can, for the first time, exchange their unused clothes for refurbished electronics. It's a modern barter system.
"We are at the brink of a payment method change. Centuries ago, squirrel pelts were an important means of payment. A squirrel pelt could be exchanged for another needed product. The same logic returns now in the circular economy, as people's closets hold a significant amount of money in the form of goods. The goal of our collaboration is to circulate these, where used clothes act as a means of payment for used electronics," says Sienna Kruk, Emmy's operational director.
For the first time in Finland, a used product can be used as a means of payment for another used product. The collaboration started on May 8th. In practice, customers can give their unnecessary clothes to Emmy for sale and exchange the earnings for a gift card to Inrego's webshop. Customers receive a 10% better return on the gift card, which they can use to purchase used and refurbished electronics.
In the circular economy collaboration between companies, the value to the national economy multiplies, as dormant capital is released simultaneously, and the customer's purchasing power improves as they acquire a quality product at a lower cost. The multiplier effect can be calculated, for example, with a €300 annual clothing sale, from which the customer can acquire a well-maintained used smartphone, tablet, or even a computer.
"The collaboration with Emmy proves that circular economy works across industry boundaries. By going through our own wardrobes, we can quite possibly gather funds for the purchase of a smartphone or laptop. We are excited that together we can offer people trusted barter model. I believe that with such collaborative concepts, we can gradually shift people's consumption habits towards a more sustainable direction," says Heini Kettunen, Inrego's marketing manager.
Further information:
COO Sienna Kruk, Emmy Clothing Company Oy
+358 50 598 9619, sienna@emmy.fi.
Marketing Manager Heini Kettunen, Inrego Oy
+358 40 676 2232, heini.kettunen@inrego.fi
Company info:
Emmy: Emmy is a leading Nordic marketplace for pre-owned premium clothing. Every week, we add thousands of hand-inspected, authenticity-checked items from hundreds of high-quality brands. All items have been manually assessed, flaw-checked, photographed and carefully stored by us.
Inrego: For over 28 years, Inrego has been at the center of the circular economy. Our experience has made us experts in reused IT, which means that we can help you as a customer regardless of whether it is about getting rid of your used IT or buying refurbished.
