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A customer walks into Kitchen Kaboodle carrying their KitchenAid mixer. The same one that has sat on their counter for twenty-odd years, made birthday cakes and holiday bread, and wears its finish honestly. Most stores would tell you to replace it.
Not this Portland, Oregon retailer. Instead, Kitchen Kaboodle hosts “Mixer Fixer” events, where a KitchenAid-certified technician sets up in-store and gets to work cleaning, servicing, and repairing beloved mixers. Each one leaves in better shape than it arrived in.
For over 20 years, Kitchen Kaboodle customers have also been able to trade in used appliances for credit, with those items then donated to families in need. Even shipping boxes get a second life as outgoing orders are packed in reused vendor boxes with a note explaining why.
As Justin Horner, Creative Director at Kitchen Kaboodle, puts it: “We’re not just reducing waste — we’re building a community of customers who believe in what we do and come back again and again.”
This focus on sustainability and community-building extends beyond Portland to other companies throughout the Lynx portfolio.
At Of Things Past, reuse is the business model. As Toronto’s largest consignment showroom for luxury furniture and home décor, the company operates a 22,000-square-foot space filled with high-quality, carefully curated, pre-owned pieces. Here, everything from sofas and dining tables to art and lighting fixtures move from one fine home to another.
At Day2 Interiors, an office furniture and design firm based in London, England, existing furniture is the starting point. Pieces that can be saved are refurbished, while the rest are redirected to schools and charities.
At Kalmeijer Bakkerijmachines, a Dutch bakery equipment manufacturer, used machines are taken back, refurbished, and returned to market—reducing nearly a quarter of the company’s total CO₂ impact1.
At Henry’s, Canada’s largest independent photography retailer, cameras and lenses move from one owner to the next through a trade-in program that keeps quality gear in circulation.
At Resource 4 Floors, commercial flooring is reclaimed and reused through its Certified Preowned Program instead of being sent directly to landfill.
Different industries. Different countries. All with a focus on sustainable practices to extend asset life, deepen customer relationships, and compound value over time.
Sources
(1) Kalmeijer Bakkerijmachines. (n.d.). Sustainability. Kalmeijer Bakkerijmachines. Retrieved from https://www.kalmeijer.com/en/sustainability/
