CHARITABLE RESTORE MARKS 30 YEARS OF THRIFTING
Affordable, sustainable goods a winning retail model, writes Vicky Sanderson.
Canadians went on a renovation/redesign spree in February, spending more than $4 billion on home building and garden supplies, according to Statistics Canada estimates.
All that activity, which is not slowing down, acts as a stimulant to a COVID-challenged economy, and that's a good thing. But there is an environmental downside and it's that the building, reno, and decor industries create a lot of waste.
One of the most elegant and sensible responses to that reality began 30 years ago, when the Winnipeg affiliate of Habitat for Humanity — the international charitable organization that advocates for safe and affordable housing — opened the first ReStore, a home and building supply retail outlet that accepted and resold surplus new and used building materials. Funds generated supported homebuilding projects.
The concept was executed with impressive speed once the local Habitat team connected with Rick Penner, freshly graduated from university with an environmental/economics degree and an interest in community economic development and environmental issues.
Soon after reading an article in 1990 about the idea, Penner became a lead volunteer for a process that included developing the retail model and working with the Habitat board, community volunteers, donors, government grant partners and potential suppliers of material, to get the enterprise off the ground.
Penner turned his full-time attention to the project after being offered a stipend to drive it. Habitat made a wise investment here. By 1991, the store was up and running.
Thirty years later, and ReStore has long established itself as an extremely effective retail model, and as a trusted brand for homeowners looking for affordable and sustainable materials, furniture, appliances and decor. Designers appreciate having a reliable place to which they can donate fixtures that still have lots of life, but don't fit their style direction. DIYers and makers, along with props stylists and film folk, are also frequent shoppers there. Home shows and celeb contractors always seem happy to promote the stores.
While managing the Winnipeg location for three years, Penner also helped tackle a second objective — to share with other communities how to replicate the model.
“That was written into the business plan, and was very much a goal from the get-go,” he says.
Penner laid a solid foundation for that, too. There are now more than 100 stores nationally. Some pair with other waste containment services — like battery or old paint collection. Many are partly staffed by volunteers, who gain solid retail/administration/ trade skills.
The chain's growth is tied to an increasing comfort level with recycling among Canadians.
“That,” says Penner, “takes education, and it takes time.”
Jim Waechter, ReStore success/product support director, hopes the uptick in renovation will see more good quality, usable home goods directed to a ReStore.
“We do want to drive awareness about the larger items,” he says, because while Canadians do well at recycling smaller items, their habits don't translate to household items and building supplies.
According to a Habitat-commissioned study, 82 per cent of Canadians nearly always recycle items like cans, bottles, cardboard and paper. That compares with 42 per cent who recycle household furniture such as chairs, couches or lamps.
To encourage people to reuse when they can, and to celebrate the milestone 30th birthday, Habitat ReStores have launched a campaign that challenges Canadians to keep one billion pounds out of the landfill by May 2022 — either by shopping at or donating to one of their stores.
Over the past three decades, ReStores have diverted nearly half a million tonnes of waste from landfills. Penner says while that makes it “a perfect example of harnessing the market to achieve social and environmental objectives,” there's a larger context of waste.
Penner thinks it's time to address society's surpluses with big ideas, like a truly circular economy.
“Resource constraints, plastic pollution, all the more obvious signs show that rampant material use and wastage is not sustainable,” he says. “I think that's getting noticed now, and not just as a fringe thing.”