IMPACT Furniture is part of Oxfam Belgium. Through its Upcycle Your Office project, it is in the process of developing a catalogue of upcycled office furniture. Available for pre-order, the items are sold at fair prices (in line with Oxfam's values) to local businesses.

The plywood panels are recovered from old office furniture thrown away by local businesses and organisations. They are subsequently used as a raw material for making new furniture items - upcycling, in short!

In this way, IMPACT Furniture is actively participating in the circular economy, endeavouring to reduce its recycling rate of recovered materials from 27% to 15%. The profits are ploughed back into Oxfam Belgium and help finance projects to fight poverty. 

What does the process involve? 

• The catalogue is created with a designer in order to have a recognisable design line. Partnerships will be considered later on with a view to creating collections.
• The recovered desks are dismantled at the warehouse by employees who are breaking (back) into the labour market. The components are then added to a materials library.
• Once an order comes in (8 weeks leadtime), the panels are sent to the production partners (including a carpenter's shop with a strong focus on training and inclusion). 
• The final order is sent directly to the customer or stored in the warehouse for collection.

In order to create an identity and position the IMPACT Furniture brand, they will start by offering a basic catalogue of six products.

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