According to the company, it is about integrating circularity into the business model. Each year, the chain repairs approximately 280,000 electronic products in the Nordic countries via its service center Elcare. The salvaged products are sold online, but the revenue from this particular collection goes to Hands2Ocean’s continued work cleaning Swedish waters.
Products with traces from the sea
What distinguishes this e-commerce initiative is that the repaired products are now available for purchase on the site’s platform with clear traces of having been in the sea. The water-damaged but fully functional products stand out in the range. Among the salvaged goods put up for sale are various models of Apple iPhone, a MacBook Pro, digital watches, and a radio from the 1980s. The fact that the products retain their worn exterior serves as proof that even seemingly unusable electronics can be saved.
Many of the products we pick up are beyond saving, but we find surprisingly much that can actually be repaired. It’s amazing to see a mobile phone that has been on the seabed get a new life with a new owner,” says Fredrik Johansson, founder and diver at Hands2Ocean.
Gap between self-image and reality
The decision to highlight scrapped products is based on a survey from Verian, commissioned by Elgiganten, which highlights consumer behavior regarding electronics. The statistics show that 78 percent of Swedes believe they handle their old electronics in a good way. At the same time, 85 percent state that they have old home electronics lying around at home that are not used.
None of the respondents state that they throw electronic waste into nature. Despite this, Hands2Ocean has so far collected 65 tons of electronic products as well as hundreds of tons of batteries and other waste from Swedish waters.
Extended responsibility for the life cycle
For Elgiganten, the goal is to make it as easy to recycle or repair technology as it is to buy new. The company’s head of operations and sustainability, Tony Winkler, believes that retailers need to take a broader approach to the entire value chain and life cycle of products.
Our most important task is not just about selling new products, but also about taking responsibility for the life cycles of products. It must be easy to do the right thing. By informing and showing that even gadgets that have been on the seabed can get a new life, we hope to inspire more people to clear out their drawers at home and hand in what they are not using,” says Tony Winkler.