The Used Kitchen Company (TUKC) – which resells kitchens from both showrooms and consumers – says retailers spring cleaning their stores need to think sustainably and not just chuck unwanted displays in a skip.
TUKC’s CEO, Looeeze Grossman (pictured) says she’s worried that the first impulse of showrooms would be dispose of displays or unwanted furniture rather than seeing if they can generate a further sale.
“Our message to the trade is to please not skip anything unnecessarily, whether it is a kitchen, dresser, island, light fitting, bathtub or something else,” Grossman said. “We can find buyers for all of these items and more, so just get in touch, list your unwanted stock and see what money we can bring in for you.”
Retailers need to consider the environmental impact of landfill more and think sustainably, Grossman believes, by understanding that a kitchen ripped out of a customer’s home when a new one is put in, also has both a monetary value and environmental impact and steps should be taken to recycle it.
At kbb Birmingham in March, TUKC launched its ‘Kitchen Passport’, which, the company says, focuses on extending the cradle to grave lifespan of a kitchen. A TUKC Kitchen Passport travels with the kitchen throughout its life, carrying key details that promote its recyclability.
“We have come so far on our green journey with showrooms that we want to continue to encourage everyone to skip the skip and give us a call,” says Grossman. “Climate change and the lack of landfill capacity are not issues that have gone away. They have just been out of sight and out of mind.”