ReFunk, a Dublin-headquartered marketplace for upcyled furniture, has announced its launch in the UK.
ReFunk is a female-led start-up that connects consumers and businesses with furniture upcyclers to commission sustainable furniture for their homes and offices. The business has also partnered with transport company AnyVan to provide delivery services.
Commenting on the launch, the business said: “At ReFunk, we believe that upcycling offers us the opportunity to completely transform how we view furniture. The furniture industry, in its current form, is destroying our environment.
“Within the UK for example, statistics show that up to 69.9 million homeware items are dumped each year – that equals an estimated £2.17 billion. These figures are unsustainable in every sense of the word. We’re setting out to address them: upcycling a piece of furniture with ReFunk, instead of dumping it, diverts on average 30.54 kg of CO2 equivalents from landfill.
“The upcycling revolution was ignited during the pandemic, when we all spent too much time in our homes looking for ways to improve them, while also wanting to get our hands stuck into a creative project to pass the time. We started ReFunk to empower this upcycling community to turn their hobby into a business, and offer consumers a more sustainable alternative than poor-quality, short-lived furniture.
“What sets ReFunk apart from traditional furniture resale platforms is that we facilitate both the purchase of pre-upcycled furniture, and the commission of a bespoke upcycled piece, completely unique to the customer’s personal style and preferences.
“On our platform upcyclers have shopfronts which they can populate with their finished furniture. Customers can also browse upcyclers, find one with a style they like, and reach out to them about transforming a piece.
“We are so excited to expand our wonderful community of upcyclers across the UK, and to help fuel the circular economy here.”
ReFunk Team Photo (L-R): Founders Ellen Ryall, Meredith Davis, Anna Sheehan & Ellie Walters
