Collaborative Project of the year – Circular Economy: A Reference Case from Sweden Retuna Mall

HKGSA Award strive to foster stronger collaboration between shopping mall operators and shop tenants, promoting the creation of a greener shopping environment in our city. This year, a new award category, Collaborative Project of the year – Circular Economy, has been introduced to encourage retail partners to adopt a more circular flow of resources. To enable a better understanding on the requirements of the award, we will introduce the following successful overseas case as reference.

In August 2015, the Eskilstuna municipality in Sweden established the world's first recycling retail mall, ReTuna terbruksgalleria. This unique mall primarily sells locally sourced upcycled goods and is strategically located next to a large recycling center, ReTuna Återvinningscentral, creating a local circular ecosystem. Local residents bring their household waste to the recycling center, which is then sorted by staff and selected by the mall's shops based on their brand concepts and the redesign potential of the items. This ensures the upcycled products meet the specific requirements of the shops, thus giving new life to the waste.

Additionally, ReTuna Mall offers a variety of goods, including sportswear, furniture, fashion accessories, and toys. This enables customers to engage in one-stop circular shopping, making sustainable consumption simpler and more convenient.

Apart from its environmental impact, the mall also extends its influence to the community. Its circular economy business model has created numerous employment opportunities, and the mall offers a 1-year course to teach upcycling design skills to the wider community through collaborating with local schools. As such, more local waste can be transformed into useful new products.