Ok, of all the stuff you own, how much do you actually use, how much do you actually need? It's probably fair to say we all hold on to many material things we no longer use. What's worse is that we sometimes throw these away while they're still in perfect working condition. Maybe because the second hand store is a too far drive, or we don't bother putting it on Ebay because we expect too little in return. Even still; one man's trash is another man's treasure.
From a sustainability point of view, these unwanted goods should be re-used as much as possible. From a social point of view, these items offer an enormous potential for positive social behaviour; sharing.  

Goedzak is the simplest, most sustainable and social way to get rid of these excess products.

Fill up the bag and place it in the designated spot; this can be anywhere from your local mall, to the pavement in front of your house, to your local gym, depending on the set-up in your neighbourhood. Others (neighbours, passers-by) can take whatever they find valuable from the Goedzak, and are directly confronted by your good deed and awesomeness. 

Goedzak exists always in collaboration and is an adaptable concept; the perfect implementation is always context-specific.  Waarmakers has collaborated with the city of Amsterdam and Eindhoven, and more recently Albert Heijn. And; we're always on the lookout for new allies.

Scroll down to learn more on previous collaborations and how Goedzak works in different environments.

The achievable level of innovation and sustainable impact is directly influenced by how you frame a problem. ‘Just’ setting out to use a new material, will get you only so far.

Yet, a product is more than merely material, form and function; products mediate our interaction with the world. Products influence our behaviour, and with that our environment. A rather powerful insight, which in our opinion could be put to use a lot more.

We decided to flip around the cause and effect, and start from how we wanted the product to influence us, its’ users.

Without a specific product, or product domain, in mind we started off defining a desirable positive human characteristic; altruistic behaviour.

Is it possible to design a product that brings out and stimulates a positive human behaviour? And to make things a bit more complex;  is this possible when this particular behaviour does not serve the user's direct needs. In this case; altruism.

Understanding the principles and mechanics of a specific human trait is essential when translating these abstract values into tangible form. 

This specific project was deliberately pushing the envelope by setting a very abstract goal, without setting a defined domain for the product at the start.

From a service based perspective the insights gained in this project have proven extremely relevant;  in designing for a specific brand it is crucial to be able to translate brand values into user-experience.

Ok, right, so how does it work...?

From a municipalities point of view, Goedzak is a carrier of a sustainable message. But perhaps even more importantly; It offers a very visual stage to social deeds. Imagine seeing the street lightened up by bright yellow bags, and your neighbours taking the time and making the effort to fill up a bag and offer their surplus stuff to the neighbourhood, and to you.

So far, we’ve set up pilot-projects together with the city of Eindhoven, and a larger scale project with the city of Amsterdam.

So how is Goedzak actually set-up in this context? 
Collaborating parties ideally are; the municipality and a local second hand store, or a local  non-profit initiative who benefits from the left-over products.

Goedzakken (the bags) are distributed in a specific area. With the bag people also receive information and an explanation on how to use Goedzak. People can then fill up the bag and place it outside on the pavement, no different from taking out the trash. The bright yellow colour will attract attention, while the transparent side of the bag will reveal the content without the need for rummaging through the bag. Passers-by can then take from the bag anything to their liking. 

The remainder of the goods are at the end of the day collected by the second hand store (or service from the city) to be either sold or recycled. Goedzak creates a new waste-stream that precedes recycling and eventually discarding, keeping the integrity of the products in tact an maximising the lifecycle.

Waarmakers teamed up with Albert Heijn to bring Goedzak to an even larger audience. 

Albert Heijn is the first commercial partner to adopt Goedzak. In this collaboration we adapted Goedzak, together with Albert Heijn, to the specific context of their stores, and the time of the season. 

"Geef je oude speelgoed, maak een ander blij" - the payoff reads. Translated this means; share your old toys, make someone else happy. 

In november and december of 2015 and 2016 Albert Heijn is spreading Goedzakken in their stores, a lot of Goedzakken.

The AH+Goedzak bags are aimed at parents and kids. Encouraging them to take a good look at the toys they have lying around the house, and fill up a AH-Goedzak with toys the kids are ready to part with. The collected toys are then to be donated to less fortunate children through local initiatives chosen by the AH franchise, where the full bags can be dropped off.

Click to learn more about this collaboration: