Kringwinkels are thrift shops that put the environment and social employment center stage. The result is twofold: Kringwinkels sell reusables (like clothes, toys, books, furniture …) to save them from the landfill, but they also offer jobs, training and a future to people with fewer chances on the regular labor market.

Kringwinkels have several separate projects going on as well, like the ‘KiloMeet’ and the ‘Kringmaker’.

The ‘KiloMeet’ is a separate store (only available in Merksem, Diest and Aalst at the moment) where you can buy per kilo or per meter. Clothes, toys, books and multimedia are sold per kilo, furniture is sold per meter. For example, one kilo of textile costs you €2, while chairs go for €1 per meter.

The ‘Kringmaker’ keeps items from the thrift stores in the loop, thereby reducing the waste stream. The ‘Kringmaker’ consists of three parts: ‘KringMAAK mee’, ‘Rent’ and ‘Buy in Bulk’.

• ‘KringMAAK mee’ upcycles what others no longer use, also offering free workshop space, tips and tricks (like this idea by FFI colleague Agnes Wené) and much more.
• At ‘Kringmaker’ you can rent furniture for events or even mobile repair studios. The latter are trunks filled with treasures (both repair tools and spare parts) that come in handy when fixing clothes, bikes, electronics, furniture and books.
• Lastly, ‘Buy in Bulk’ allows you to buy several items, well, in bulk, like T-shirts, cds, lps, furniture, maps etc.