What will the marketplace of the future look like?
During Advent we enjoy Christmas markets and it becomes clear that there is much more to it than just buying goods. It's about the atmosphere, the opportunities to meet friends, the access to information, about memories, stories, and about culture. With the online marketplace Faircustomer, we explored the question of how a modern, sustainable marketplace can meet these needs - online and offline... Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
The marketplace as a meeting place | Faircustomer is a network of around 300 vendors of sustainable products and tries to create as many opportunities as possible for customers and producers to meet. «Info-apéros» take place approximately once a month in the showroom. On the Facebook page you will find information on Christmas markets and other events. Several groups use our showroom for meetings. In our partner shops of the Boutique ungewohnt in Richterswil and Seconda Vita in Ascona there are «Pick-Up Points» in the centre of the town where you can get advice, look at and pick up products. The goal is to expand the network by about a dozen shops in larger towns that share our philosophy.
One of the best-attended events was the "Plastic Free July" aperitif, where alternatives to plastic such as glass bottles, cork leather, plastic-free detergents, elasthane-free clothes, wax cloths and much more were discussed. In cooperation with the Zero Waste Switzerland association we would like to organise the original Australian campaign "Plastic Free July" in Switzerland on foot almost and in July 2020 in many places throughout Switzerland.
Join us! Here you can find ideas for Plastic Free July 2020
The market, a place where cycles close | In the spirit of circular economy, we regard waste as "resources in the wrong place" and launched a project in 2019 that enables customers to reuse the package they received from online purchases and fill it with selected "waste" that they send for upcycling to our producers. You can send jeans for example to Atelier 9aa in Münsingen, where Regina Bircher makes phone cases out of them. Old Bed linen and T-shirts are transformed into wonderful Finish-inspired carpets by Maya in Winterthur. The workshop Recyclingart turns old light bulbs and fuses into pretty vases. Old laptops are refurbished by our partner Labdoo and sent to educational projects worldwide.
In this way, customers become material suppliers and can directly contribute to closing material cycles with an added value. More than 90% of the customers surveyed stated that they would take part and are even largely willing to pay the postage and the effort to bring the parcel to the post office.
Here are the upcycling products and producers
The market as a source of information and a place to learn | New is the section "Do it yourself" in which many of our dealers share their experience and skills. In 2019, Faircustomer again offered 8 internships for career changers and graduates. In addition, the Faircustomer team - usually together with 2 - 3 vendors, offer workshops for schools, companies and communities - especially on the topics:
- Green IT and Urban Mining
- Circular economy & upcycling design
- Sustainable textiles - from production, design to washing, care and repair
- Zero Waste - Tips for a life style with less resources and more time
- Energy efficiency, Swiss solar products, climate-positive products
Meet us at the Advent-Apéro on 15.12. at Schiffbaustrasse 9A, Zürich with mulled wine and a Pecha Kucha «picture rain» of some traders
