According to the prestigious Japanese dictionary Kojien, the word mottainai (pronounced moat-tie-nigh) is most commonly used to express a feeling of regret when something is put to waste without deriving its value.
Kola Project Reinvention Program takes back any item you purchase from us when you don’t want it anymore. Since every item we sell comes with an unconditional lifetime buyback guarantee you can send any item you’ve purchased back.
Every Kola Project item is tagged with NFC. NFC, which stands for Near-Field Communication, is a technology that allows you to get more information about an item by holding your smartphone closer to it. You can read more about NFC here.
The scan will redirect you to your Kola Project account. You will need to log in if needed, after which you will see the option to submit the scanned item for reinvention.
You can login to your Kola Project account, search for the item in your order history and submit it for reinvention.
Our reinvention team will email you shipping instructions and mail you return packaging (if needed). We also offer free collections for larger items and large quantities of items. Items will arrive at our reinvention facility, and once processed, we will refund you the buyback value as points or as cash. Cash refunds come without obligation of spending at the website or to shop additional products.
Through The Reinvention Program, we collect your discarded items and put them back into the system so they can be used again and again…and again.
Kola Project defines reusing as using an item for its original purpose repeatedly. Reusing requires no processing – just cleaning and sanitizing – thus saves time, money, energy, and resources.
Kola Project repairs and refurbishes items that are still reusable but have suffered minor damages. Our products are dematerialized with modular designs. Dematerialized products maximize resource effectiveness by reducing the mass of material types in the product. Many of our products are designed with about two or three raw materials, allowing us to repair or refurbish easily.
Modular design creates products with easily replaceable parts as opposed to having to replace the whole product. For example, if a modular designed couch breaks, you can simply replace the broken seat or the leg instead of the entire couch.
Remanufacture is the process of recovering, disassembling, repairing and sanitizing components for resale. We use remanufacturing methods on products that are not salvageable via reuse or refurbishment.
For example, a broken ceramic dish can turn into a lovely new dish designed using the Kintsugi method.
A shattered pile of glass can become beautiful crushed glass wall art.
Used napkins, tablecloths, shower curtains, rugs, pillows, and bedding can become stuffing for ottomans and throw pillows. Used wooden spoons and other unusable wooden items can be firewood or kindling.
Kola Project recycles products that have completely broken down. Through recycling, we can extract the original raw materials that created these products and use them to create new products. Recycling is the last step our products go through during the circular process. Although recycling can be emissions and energy-intensive, it still helps us not exploit virgin raw material resources on earth unnecessarily.
To participate in the Reinvention Program, you must meet a few conditions:
Return an eligible product
Live in the UK
Have purchased your products on kolaproject.com
If you do not meet these conditions but have an item, email us at rp@kolaproject.com for a case by case analysis.
Organic waste.
Compressed, flammable, or toxic items
Corrosives and oxidisers
Radioactive materials
Lithium Batteries
Please rinse and dry any broken item pieces before returning them.
i.e. if you break a glass item, wear safety gloves and collect all the large to medium pieces. If the pieces contain any organic materials such as food, place them in a bowl of water and rinse until the material comes off. Then place the glass items on a flat surface or a plate until they are thoroughly dry. Then you can package them for return.
Organic materials can contain harmful contaminants and also poses a hazardous risk to our treatment facility team. Therefore, your corporation is much appreciated.
After your submission has been processed, we will email you a return shipping label to print and attach to your package. You can also arrange a collection for any large items or multiple returns. You can drop it off smaller packages at the chosen shipping partner relay point closest to your location.
To package your return, you can use the packaging of your choice (cardboard, a bag, paper wrap, etc.). You can also request packing materials through the submission.
Your reward is a refund which is redeemed into your account after the return item is processed. Refunds are redeemable for on your next Kola Project or participating vendor purchase.
An NFC tag is a small integrated circuit consisting of a copper coil and some amount of storage. Data can be read or written to this tag only when another NFC device is brought near it because it doesn’t have a power source. The proximity of the NFC device induces power in the tag and enables data transmission.
If you own a recent iPhone (from 2015 or later), it definitely has the requisite hardware for NFC. On Android, you can delve into the Settings app and then look for NFC under the “Connected Devices” or “Network and Sharing” sub-menus. Most recent Android phones support NFC.
NFC stands for Near Field Communication. It is a technology that allows wireless data transmission over short distances using radio waves.
You don’t have to turn on NFC on an iPhone. iOS will automatically toggle NFC on when at close proximity to a tag.
Head into the Settings app and then look for NFC under the “Connected Devices” or “Network and Sharing” sub-menus. Alternatively, you can use the search function in your settings.
