As part of an ongoing commitment to sustainability, Officeworks has acquired a stake in Brisbane-based social enterprise, World’s Biggest Garage Sale.

The WBGS started in 2013 in a garage and is now a multi-billion dollar enterprise that repairs, repurposes and resells imperfect and unwanted products. The company wants to build a circular economy that impacts both people and the planet in the process. 

Officeworks has acquired 21 per cent of WBGS’s shares and plans on helping the company expand the business into a new brand of national repair and recovery service called Circonomy. The new venture will create 70 jobs at its various precincts and will include the repair of furniture and office supplies and implementing a solution to products that would otherwise go to landfills. 

Officeworks MD Sarah Hunter said WBGS helps the company achieve its vision of a zero-waste business. 

“We believe that, in time, this can be a solution that is much more widely adopted across the retail sector as a way to divert waste from landfills, extend product lifecycles, and ultimately build domestic repair and manufacturing capability,” said Hunter. 

“We know that consumers want to see a more sustainable retail industry, including the reuse and repair of everyday products, rather than their disposal into the waste stream,” said WBGS Founder and CEO, Yasmin Grigaliunas. 

Circonomy will create a national network of circular economy precincts that will cater to both businesses and consumers. These centres will encourage conscious consumerism through the resale of dormant or second-hand goods and will also provide Officeworks and other retailers with responsible waste management practices for its products.