R.M. Williams is offering customers a $100 voucher to trade in pre-loved pairs of the brand’s boots until this Sunday, October 15.
The exchange is part of the brand’s plan to increase product circularity, with traded-in boots either being repaired at the R.M. Williams workshop in Adelaide and then entered into its Re.Made program, or recycled via TreadLightly.
“We’re hoping to see our Trade-In program go from strength to strength, diverting as many boots as possible from landfill or other waste points,” an RM Williams spokesperson told Ragtrader. “We’re incredibly proud to craft products with such a long and reliable lifespan, but the inevitable reality is that some boots may be damaged through misadventure, or customers may opt to update to a different style."
According to the spokesperson, the primary catalyst for the launch was its commitment to take responsibility for all of its products' full life cycle as part of the brand's 'Crafted for Life' initiative.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to have the support of our Repairs team, based on-site at our Adelaide workshop, who work to meticulously restore and refresh well-loved R.M.Williams boots and give them a new life.
“This service is always available to customers who are looking to get their boots resoled or mended, but in recent years has also allowed us to offer the Re.Made collection, a range of good-as-new R.M. Williams boots offered at slightly discounted prices.
“Our more recent partnership with TreadLightly also provides us with a solution for boots that are unable to be repaired, instead recycling them into other purposeful products. With these systems in place, we’re excited to bring the Trade In program to our customers, keep products out of landfill and honour the craftsmanship goes into our boots.”
The Re.Made program was launched two years ago. The spokesperson said the program continues to grow, with more of its new and existing customers opting to shop the range.
The repairs team had begun working on its first intake of boots in May 2021. By November 2021, almost 600 pairs of boots have been restored and made available for purchase, the spokesperson said.
“The Re.Made collection has found a natural retail environment at The Hut, our travelling craft workshop and pop-up product showroom that appears at royal shows and other major events.
“Re.Made boots have also been sold online on the R.M.Williams website in small releases. Each release of Re.Made boots has sold out very quickly – we continued to be pleasantly surprised by the fantastic response to this program within our community.”
Speaking on its TreadLightly partnership, the spokesperson said R.M. Williams channelled almost 1,000 pairs of boots through the recycling facility, which are then repurposed into other materials or products.
“This equates to 1279kg of waste diverted from landfill – a fantastic start to the program,” they said. “We’re excited to continue working with TreadLightly to close the loop on our product lifecycle and offer a positive solution for boots that are damaged beyond repair.”
Vouchers will be valid until the end of 2023.