Best Buy, one of the largest retail collectors of e-waste in the U.S., is partnering with Microsoft on a new activation designed to inspire consumers to recycle their unwanted laptops and tablets.
During Earth Month in April, customers can bring in any eligible laptop or tablet to a Best Buy store for recycling and save $50 on a Surface device. These recycled devices will then be used for an innovative contest powered by Junk Kouture, a youth-focused sustainable fashion competition.
Junk Kouture aims to “inspire the next generation to leverage their creativity and innovative spirit to create avant-garde designs with recycled materials and old tech,” according to a press release. Together the companies will host a contest for which NYC-area students will use recycled laptops and tablets to create high-fashion items. Students also will be given Microsoft Surface Pro 9 devices and Microsoft 365 applications to support every stage of the creative design process, including team collaboration.
“Our initiative is rooted in championing the creative minds who possess the instinct and imagination to forge real change,” said Emilie Bridon, Microsoft’s Americas Channel Marketing Director in a statement. “By providing them with the tools and platforms necessary to further their message, we generate the capacity for them to make a lasting impact, while setting new benchmarks for how we all can partake in the action of shaping the future.”
While the collaboration is a fun and creative spin on the traditional Earth Day campaign, it also helps Best Buy reaffirm its commitment to sustainability across the organization, according to Tim Dunn, the retailer’s Head of Environmental Sustainability.
“Sustainability has been at the core of what we do at Best Buy for decades and a large part of that is our commitment to working with our customers to help them make a positive impact on the planet,” said Dunn in a statement. “We’re proud to join forces with Microsoft and Junk Kouture to raise awareness about how easy it is to responsibly recycle your old tech, create positive change and leave a lasting, beneficial impact on the planet.”
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