New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Concept category

Identify the award category for which this concept is being submitted
Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking

Email user
danielalika1996@gmail.com

Basic information
Concept title
Recro Thrift Store

Full Concept Title
A thrift store that curates used products to new condition for the customer, online & offline.

Please provide a short, catchy description of your concept to be used in communication towards the public
A sustainable thrift shop that handpicks used products and curates them to new condition for the customer. All this by washing, ironing & repairing, branded under our label. So in a few words, we recreate, restore & revive online, physically and through pop up events.

What was the geographical scope of your concept?
National

Where was your concept implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Albania

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
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Does your concept address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban

Does your concept refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your concept benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your concept won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As an individual
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniela-lika/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): likadaniela
- URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/recrothrift/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): _recro_
In case my concept is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my concept in the channels of the European Commission
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
Social Media

Description of the concept
Please provide a summary of your concept.
3 out of 5 fast fashion items end up in a landfill and it takes more than 200 years to decompose the fiber.
But what is recro? We are a sustainable thrift store that handpicks used products and curates them to new condition for the customer. All this by washing, ironing & repairing, branded under our label. So in a few words, we recreate, restore & revive.
Our studies have shown that there are more than 100 online thrift stores in the Balkans and none of them is leader in the second hand market. People like to buy second hand, MOSTLY EARLY GEN Z & LATE MILLENIALLS, but they don’t like the places products are sold, the smell, the noise, or they simply don’t have time to shop physically or don’t trust the current online thrift stores.
But we are not the best because of our aesthetic, or our taste to select amazing products, but because we offer used garments that look and feel like new. We educate and give amazing experiences through events. We are currently working in a showroom so you can even come and visit us daily in Tirana.
Our mission is to change peoples behaviour on their garment purchase decisions by finding used gems and bringing them in a new home so they can live longer and not enter as a new season piece. Our business is based in sustainability and 6 SDG goals (8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15) and we plan on keeping it that way.

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with 5 key words.
Sustainability

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Reducing Fashion Waste

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Changing peoples behaviour

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Creativity

Please indicate the main themes of your concept with key words
Experience

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept in terms of sustainability and how these have been met. Please highlight how the concept can be exemplary in this context.
Our main objective is reducing fashion waste first in Albania and than the balkans, we are currently doing this by handpicking and curating each product branded under our label. The customer takes it as "new" by giving its contribute to the environment.
Our second objective are workers right that are constantly violated, through this start up we are contributing on educating our costumer for the damage fast fashion is causing every minute and why second hand is the best choice they can make.
Our third objective is changing peoples behaviour on garment purchase decisions, by offering them the "feeling of new" but educating them through sustainability and second hand fashion.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the concept can be exemplary in this context.
We are based on simple designs and colours. White, black & red are our identity. White stands for the simplicity and cleanness of our brand. Black is for the firm position that we make on our goals and red is for our bold character on presenting everything. We showcase our products through real life people of different marginal groups. We aspire for our customer to feel comfortable wearing our products and make that decision instantly through the persona. Through pop up events and our showroom we don't want to only sell, we want to give an experience. A thrifting experience like no other. This happens through music, by supporting new artists. Through homemade food, by supporting local cooks that don't have a business but make delicious finger food. Through different games that include logic and fun, like chess. Through impeccable design that educates on fast fashion and thrifting being present online and offline. We are trying to build a family and for this family to be conscious about the decisions they are making. We are trying to educate a generation on the responsibilities they have for the environment through fund educative experiences.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the concept can be exemplary in this context.
Our brand is accessible easily online and offline. We showcase our products through real life people of different marginal group, and not putting labels on a product. In our showroom and events we don't divide them by sex, so that everyone feels included and chooses on their preference. Our products get delivered wherever you are so you don't need to come physically at us and that is even easier through our website where we showcase everything. Social media is also one of our biggest supporters on these levels. We want everyone to feel included and we aim for that every day. Customers and numbers have shown that people support us no matter their preferences and this has been our goal.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the concept and civil society have been / will be involved in the concept and what has been / will be the impact of this involvement on the concept.
As we mentioned we want to make everyone feel included no matter what their preferences are. Our brand is a safe space and they feel safe here. Our goal is to include more marginalised groups so they can be more included in the purpose of this brand. Fast fashion is our "enemy " at the moment and we all need to be together in this. Educating people and kids from a younger age helps on their decisions for the future.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and development of the concept. Please highlight what the added value of their engagement was
We have been part of an accelerator in Albania (UpLift) that has helped us grow and understand our business even more. We won the competition but that wasn't the biggest value we got from it, but the experience from different trainers was. How to make the business function, how to scale it and what impact are we making. UpLift helped us understand our own brand and what it stands for.

Please explain which disciplines and / or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and development of your concept. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
Our team is made of 2 people, me with a marketing and strategy background for 8 years & my partner in visual arts for around 12 years. This helped us build a brand strategically well and visually impeccable. Our experience combined helped us understand the market and its needs. Helped us include everybody and make the brand humane.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the concept.
Thrifting market has existed for years now, Europe and Nordic countries are ahead of us, but what makes us differentiate from them is the ability to curate the products, not only by handpicking them, but also by bringing them back as new and giving them a new life. We focus on 4 pillars
- Our handpicked collections in a dedicated website
- Pop up Events/ Showroom
- Declutter your closet and we pay you for it
- You become a seller in our platform
3 of these goals have been implemented and we plan on implementing the fourth by the end of this year.

Please which elements of your concept could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
Everything can be replicated and transferred, this is why our business has so much potential on scaling. It needs the right support and education and the growth is there,

Please explain what kind of global challenges the concept addresses by providing local solutions
We are based on 6 SDG goals (8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15).
8- Is helping on supporting Roma community in Albania and their economy. We work on a small team of to and mos of our products are purchased at their community. This also has an impact on workers right.
10 - We support every marginalised group through our communication strategy and products.
12- We encourage reusing your garments and reducing fashion waste
13, 14, 15- We are taking an action on climate change by giving our contribute on reducing fashion waste

Please attach the development plan of your concept. This plan should detail the plans you have for the further development and implementation of your concept, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application. The plan should also include envisaged results and benefits from the concept for direct and indirect beneficiaries. The results and benefits should be specified in relation to the objectives of the concept, and to what is expected in the context of the respective category

RECRO_PITCHDECK_growthplan.pdf
Please attach at least one high resolution image or visual representation of your concept to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below
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By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed concept has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the concept, initiative, and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary.
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their concepts, concepts, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted concept, concept is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes