When most travelers think of Sweden, thoughts turn to fjords, Scandinavian design, or Stockholm’s museums. But just outside the quiet city of Eskilstuna, about 100 km west of Stockholm, lies a truly unique travel experience: a mall where absolutely nothing new is sold. Instead, every product has lived a previous life.
ReTuna Återbruksgalleria is not a thrift store tucked away in a basement. It’s the world’s first shopping mall fully dedicated to reused, recycled, refurbished, or upcycled goods. Opened in 2015 and operated by the municipality, it spans about 3,000 square meters and houses 14 specialty shops. Each store offers a different class of second-hand items — from fashion and furniture to electronics and gardening tools.
What sets ReTuna apart is its circular retail ecosystem. The mall sits right next to the town’s recycling centre. Locals and visitors alike can drop off unwanted furniture, clothes, toys, or electronics. Instead of being discarded as waste, these items are sorted and sent to shops inside ReTuna where skilled staff repair, restore, repurpose or upcycle them before selling.
The interior feels strikingly modern and welcoming. Bright displays and clean spaces make it easy to forget you’re browsing pre-owned goods. Many travelers report that the experience feels more like visiting a design gallery than a second-hand shop.
ReTuna also goes beyond retail. The mall doubles as a public education hub where workshops, lectures, and events focus on sustainability, design, and circular economy concepts. Local schools even run programs within the mall to teach students how to transform waste into usable products.
Economically, ReTuna has proved that sustainable shopping can work commercially. According to reports, it averages over 700 visitors a day and generates around $1.8 million in annual turnover — all from goods that once would have ended up in landfills.
For travelers who want more than a typical tourist stop, ReTuna offers a cultural insight into Sweden’s environmental values. Instead of collecting souvenirs like magnets or postcards, visitors leave with items that tell a story — revealing both Swedish design sensibility and an optimistic vision for how retail might evolve globally.
With sustainability rising on many travelers’ priority lists, ReTuna is more than a mall— it’s a living experiment in conscious consumption. It shows that a shopping experience can be both meaningful and stylish, proving that reused goods can be desirable, quality products with personality.
