ReFunk, a Dublin-headquartered marketplace for upcyled furniture, has launched in the U.K., according to its LinkedIn Post. Upcycled pieces of furniture are discarded objects that are reused to create a product of higher quality or value.
The company was co-founded by Ellie Walters, Anna Sheehan, Ellen Ryall and Meredith Davis in 2020.
“The U.K. is the second-largest furniture market in Europe, with a market size of £3.2 billion [$4.0 million U.S.]. Yet each year, 22 million pieces of furniture are discarded across the country. Interest in a more #sustainable and circular approach to furniture is gaining momentum, however, evidenced by the 171% increase in searches for ‘sustainable furniture’ reported by EBay UK.,” ReFunk noted in the post.
In an interview earlier this year, CEO Walters told the AIM Group that upcycling was more established in the U.K. than in Ireland, with nearly 8,000 upcyclers to work with.
She added furniture upcycling grew in popularity during the pandemic, as locked-down consumers sought out new hobbies, with some posting ‘before and after’ videos to social media like TikTok.
Walters noted that ReFunk was seeking to collaborate with high-profile upcyclers like Chris Billinghurt, who founded the House of Upcycling in 2014.