July 30, 2010
Keywords: Non-manufacturing industry Reduce / Reuse / Recycle
TiCTAC, a watch shop chain in Japan whose slogan is "Let's Appreciate Watches," conducted a "watch rescue" campaign from May 14 through June 30, 2010, at all 58 of its stores. During the campaign its stores accepted both fixable and unfixable watches from customers.
For watches that just needed new batteries, the stores charged 525 yen (about U.S.$5.65) over the counter. For other repairs such as replacing watchstraps at the factory, it charged 20 percent less than usual.
For unwanted watches, stores offered a coupon worth 2,000 yen (about $21.50) for watches that could be either reused or recycled. Reusable watches were sold at "Mottainai" (meaning "don't waste" in Japanese) flea markets after maintenance and repair. Unfixable watches were disposed of after sorting to recover metals such as processed mercury, iron, and zinc contained in the batteries of quartz watches. The proceeds will be used for a tree-planting project named the "Green Belt Campaign."
[Sustainability College] Businesses Based on the Concept of 'Mottai-nai' ('Waste Not Want Not')
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/022682.html
Posted: 2010/07/30 06:00:15 AM