We’re halfway through enjoying fika on a roof terrace in the sleepy Swedish town of Eskilstuna when Anna Bergström receives a message from the International Council of Shopping Centers. They want her to speak at their annual forum in London.

“Wow,” she enthuses. “The world is really starting to take us seriously.”

It is good news for Anna – and, perhaps, for the entire planet.

The 45-year-old is the manager of the entirely unique building we are currently taking coffee on.

ReTuna, below us, is a 3,000m2 mall where pretty much everything sold in every single shop is recycled, reused, repurposed or just plain second-hand.

It is thought to be the world’s first shopping centre where each store – including a sports emporium, electronics outlet, clothes boutique, garden centre and toy shop – deals exclusively in pre-loved goods. Even this roof terrace, attached to a sweeping upper-floor café, is fitted only with upcycled tables and chairs.

Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Show all 46 1 /46 Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Canary Wharf A protester gives a thumbs up as he stalls a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in London Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London City of London Protesters hold up traffic on Upper Thames Street in the City of London Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Canary Wharf Protesters hold a banner as they hold up a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in London Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Officers remove plants that were placed in the occupation of Waterloo Bridge PA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus Police officers arrive at Oxford Circus as they prepare to remove protesters during the fifth day of a coordinated protest by the Extinction Rebellion group, April 19 Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge An activist waters the plants at the occupation on Waterloo Bridge PA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Heathrow airport Undeterred by over 400 arrests, climate change activists continued their demonstration into a fifth day in London with a small protest at the country's main Heathrow Airport, along with the ongoing protest camps at other iconic locations around the British capital Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus Protesters with the words 'glued on' written on their hands hold hands as police officers arrive at Oxford Circus Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Officers circle the lorry that serves as the central stage to the Waterloo Bridge occupation, repeating their tactic from a earlier at the Oxford Circus occupation Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus Oxford Circus reopens after being closed for days due to occupation AFP/Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Officers prepare to move in on the occupation of Waterloo Bridge PA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Activists relax on a sofa at the occupation on Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus British actress Emma Thompson talks to members of the media from atop the pink boat after police officers surrounded the boat being used as a stage as climate change activists occupy the road junction at Oxford Circus in central London during the fifth day of environmental protesst by the Extinction Rebellion group AFP Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge An Extinction Rebellion demonstrator is carried away by police on Waterloo Bridge PA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Activists on Waterloo Bridge have made a garden for their occupation site, April 20 Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus Demonstrators began blocking off a bridge and major central road junctions on April 15 at the start of a civil disobedience campaign calling for governments to declare an ecological emergency over climate change, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025, halt biodiversity loss and be led by new "citizens' assemblies on climate and ecological justice" Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus Emma Thompson joins the Extinction Rebellion protest at Oxford Circus. Thompson spoke from the pink boat at the centre of the occupation AFP/Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Heathrow airport Extinction Rebellion protesters sit outside Heathrow Airport on April 19 Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Heathrow airport Climate protestors hold a demo outside Heathrow Airport Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Police officers detain a climate change activist at Waterloo Bridge Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Marble Arch Protesters prepare for another day at Marble Arch as the Extinction Rebellion protests enter their fifth day Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus British actress Emma Thompson gives an address from the stage atop the pink boat AFP/Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus Actress Emma Thompson takes a photo with a Extinction Rebellion demonstrator PA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus Climate change activists blockade Oxford Circus on the third day of an environmental protest by the Extinction Rebellion group AFP/Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Climate change activists stand atop a bus shelter as they take part in a blockade of Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Canary Wharf Police is seen as climate change activists demonstrate during the Extinction Rebellion protest, at Canary Wharf DLR station in London Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Police speak to climate change activists blockading Waterloo bridge AFP/Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge epa07511673 A demonstrator gestures the hand heart as protesters from the Extinction Rebellion campaign group block Waterloo Bridge in central London, Britain, 17 April 2019. The Extinction Rebellion are holding a number of protests across London to draw attention to climate change. EPA/NEIL HALL NEIL HALL EPA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Climate change activists, one (right) with her hand glued to the underside of a truck parked across Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus Environmental campaigners protest in the centre of Oxford Circus Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Jeremy Corbyn's Home Climate change activists from Extinction Rebellion protest sit after glueing themselves to the front fence of Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn's house Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Marble Arch Dozens of tents have been pitched at Marble Arch in a large scale occupation Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Canary Wharf station Police remove climate activists who glued themselves on top of a train at Canary Wharf station EPA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus Police forces carry a protester AP Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Canary Wharf station A climate change protestor who glued his hand to a window halts a DLR train AFP/Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Extinction Rebellion demonstrators on Waterloo Bridge, London, after police issued a Section 14 Public Order Act 1986 warning. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2019. See PA story ENVIRONMENT Climate. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire Jonathan Brady PA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge epa07512336 Extinction Rebellion climate change demonstrators protest on Waterloo Bridge during climate change protests in London, Britain, 17 April 2019. The Extinction Rebellion are holding a number of protests across London to draw attention to climate change. EPA/ANDY RAIN ANDY RAIN EPA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge epa07512368 Extinction Rebellion climate change demonstrators protest on Waterloo Bridge during climate change protests in London, Britain, 17 April 2019. Waterloo Bridge remains closed as protests continue. EPA/ANDY RAIN ANDY RAIN EPA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus Extinction Rebellion demonstrators in Oxford Circus, London, as more than 200 people have been arrested as police deal with ongoing climate change protests. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2019. See PA story ENVIRONMENT Climate. Photo credit should read: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire Kirsty O'Connor PA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 17: An Environmental campaigner is carried by police officers at Oxford Circus during the third day of a coordinated protest by the Extinction Rebellion group on April 17, 2019 in London, England. More than 100 arrests have been made, with demonstrations blocking a number of locations across the capital. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Leon Neal Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Pedestrians and a cyclist pass graffiti drawn by protestors who blocked Waterloo Bridge AP Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Climate change protestors practice yoga on Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge A climate change activist gestures while being detained by police officers Reuters Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Protestors sit on the road AP Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Waterloo Bridge Extinction Rebellion demonstrators on Waterloo Bridge, London, as more than 200 people have been arrested as police deal with ongoing climate change protests. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday April 17, 2019. See PA story ENVIRONMENT Climate. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire Yui Mok PA Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Oxford Circus Police forces carry a protestor to arrest him at Oxford Circus in London, Wednesday, April 17, 2019. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) Frank Augstein AP

The whole place has been set up by the local council as part of an ambitious initiative to reduce the town’s waste and create a cleaner, greener, circular commercial economy here. The region’s 100,000 residents are incentivised to drop off unwanted items which they would otherwise throw out (or sell online), and then stop to browse their neighbours’ equivalent contributions.

“You see people bringing in a dining room table or old computer, then walking out an hour later with a good-as-new bike or a camcorder from the Eighties,” says Anna. “Which is just what we want.

“The aim is to make this a unique shopping experience so people don’t just come here because, ethically, it’s the right thing to do, but because they want to; because they know they’ll find wonderful things in a beautiful building; so, what we do here is show that a town can reduce its waste without sacrificing its love of retail therapy. These two things can co-exist.”

Now, as ReTuna approaches its fifth year, it seems the world is paying attention.

A centre modelled on it is to open in Hamar in Norway early next year, while local authorities from Germany, Japan and Switzerland have all sent representatives here over the last 18 months to consider the viability of doing something similar.

Significantly, what Anna calls “a handful” of businesses, entrepreneurs and charity officials, though no councils, have also been in touch from the UK, apparently with a view to opening such a centre here.

“I cannot say more, because these things are confidential,” she says. “But I am sure this will happen in Britain within two or three years. I think people are beginning to understand it is important: if you are not sustainable in the future – I mean either as a community or business – you will not survive.”

ReTuna, it is worth making clear, remains a relatively small-scale experiment.

There are just 12 shops here, while visitor numbers have stayed stubbornly plateaued at about 255,000 a year since it first opened in August 2015. Total sales are good – some £2.8m worth of goods have been bought since day one – but still fall slightly short of what was hoped for. A plan to expand the centre to more than 5,000 square metres remains on hold until those figures pick up.

“It’s a difficult retail environment competing against the convenience of online, and we feel that as much as any other mall,” says Anna.

All the same, visiting ReTuna is undoubtedly an experience.

Anna Bergström, manager of ReTuna

Set opposite a nature reserve in a repurposed DHL building 10 minutes from Eskilstuna’s town centre, its high sliding doors reveal an inside that is all glass, polished concrete and exposed industrial piping. An art installation and communal seating (all made of repurposed materials, of course) welcome visitors, while a glass roof and mezzanine upper floor mean natural light floods through the mall. Perfume fills the air. The café does a mean baked potato with salad.

“People in Sweden love the idea of sustainability, but they sometimes associate second-hand shopping with flea markets,” says Anna, who has more than 15 years’ experience managing shopping centres. “We wanted to get as far from that image as possible. This is about making pre-loved high-end and desirable.”

She mentions the Mall of Scandinavia, a 171-store, 42-restaurant megaplex, which opened an hour away in Stockholm just three months after ReTuna.

“But I think we’re the real Mall of Scandinavia,” the mother-of-four says. “That’s just a big version of any other shopping centre in the world. This is an attempt to show the world a new way.”

Spenders here today, it seems, agree.

One I speak to, Drew Nissen, is an American tourist who has popped in while visiting family in the area.

“It’s an incredible place,” the 33-year-old photographer from Atlanta says. “It’s all so visually enticing. It makes you want to spend money. I’d love to see something like it in the States. Second-hand shops there are so depressing. Change that image, emphasise the green credentials, and I think you have a success story waiting to happen.”

Inside ReTuna (ReTuna)

Logistically, ReTuna – named because the town’s nickname is Tuna – is an ode to Swedish efficiency.

Based next door to one of two municipal recycling centres, townsfolk are encouraged to sort and dispose of their rubbish at that facility before bringing items which might be resold or reused to a drop-off point at the back of the mall.

There, in a vast warehouse space, a specialist team sorts these donated goods so that the centre’s shop owners – who all run their stores as independent businesses – can come along and choose what they can fix, convert, refine and, ultimately, put up for sale.

“So, all these items are given a new lease of life,” explains Anna, as we walk through this backstage storage space, a veritable Santa’s grotto of indoor and outdoor furniture, electronics, clothes, games, pictures, plant pots, lamps, lights, books, bags, crockery and pottery.

Some items here are all but antiques – there’s a stunning Seventies record player nestled next to a Nineties Sega Mega Drive – but others are, quite literally, brand new. I see a mirror still in original packaging and point it out. “I’m afraid some Swedes do have a habit of throwing out very quickly,” winces Anna. “We’ll get TVs from the last year. Laptops also. Or settees that just need a reupholster. But this is good for our shops because it means they get a reputation for stocking high-quality goods.”

Why don’t people sell such stuff online instead of donating it here, I ask? “Some will, of course,” says Anna. “But giving it to the centre like this is good for the community. It keeps money here, helps local people and businesses, boosts our economy. And what is good for a community is, in the end, good for the individual too. This is what we say.”

Perhaps the best items received so far has been a brooch dating back to 1848. “This we have not put on sale yet,” says Anna. “We think we will get it valued first.”

The whole idea was the brainchild of a local Green Party councillor back in the early Noughties. “Perhaps he was what you call a hippy,” says Anna. “But he was a hippy who was very good at lobbying, and he made the municipality see the value of this, both as a waste management strategy and a commercial enterprise.”

ReTuna cafe (ReTuna)

Plans for the mall and next door’s recycling centre became a flagship strand in a raft of environmentally friendly proposals – including running local buses on biogas and giving residents seven different bins – designed to make the former steel town’s economy one of the greenest in Sweden.

The idea was then rubber-stamped in 2012 and the building converted with a £1.6m subsidy from the council, which is led by the country’s Social Democrats. Three aims were identified and remain key today: increasing local sustainability, job creation (a dozen people work here, along with roughly 30 shop owners and staff), and offering environmental education.

That latter one is fulfilled by an onsite classroom and conference facilities. An oil company was one recent organisation to hire both out for a senior staff awayday. “Kind of ironic,” nods Anna.

She herself came on board as manager just before opening.

To take what she says is her dream job, she rented a flat in the town, while her family continue to live 50 miles away in Nyköping. “Almost my whole apartment is furnished with things I bought from the mall,” she says. “I love it. My only problem is making sure I don’t spend all my wages here.”

Shop owners are just as enthusiastic about the project – although keen to emphasise it has not been easy to establish their stores.

Eva Meden quit a high-flying job as a prison boss to set up ReModa, a chic homeware store, with sister Anita Patterssun.

“Which was harder work?” the 55-year-old ponders, stood among candles, cake stands and teacups. “I think dealing with prisoners is easy compared to running your own business. But this is so rewarding. You take things, you are creative, fix them up, try and improve them, then sell them on. This is a lovely way to make a living.”

Their sales curve, the pair say, is on the “right trajectory”: they moved into a bigger unit in April after more than two years here. “I think some people in Sweden still need persuading that second-hand can be beautiful, but we say ‘Come to our shop and see’,” says 51-year-old Anita.

A little way along the mezzanine floor is Amjad Al Chamaa, manager of Re:Compute:IT.

Amjad Al Chamaa (The Independent) (Independent)

Here, in a Steptoe’s Yard of electronics, he stocks everything from battered guitar amps and VHS video recorders (popular with people wanting to watch mum and dad’s old wedding footage, apparently) to state-of-the-art laptops and smart TVs. One, currently on sale at £1,200, is a 2018 Philips model.

“Nice TV,” nods the 35-year-old. “Although the funny things is people come here looking for something as new as possible but they see the older stuff, see how great it looks and that it still works – things was built to last back then – and end up buying that instead.”

He shrugs. “A Seventies TV – you don’t find this in a regular mall.”

His shop, he adds, is especially popular with Eskilstuna’s 5,000-strong immigrant population. “I’m from Syria myself so I know this,” he says. “When you’re new to a place, you need bargains.”

Bargains, indeed, are something ReTuna, as a whole, is hoping will keep attracting shoppers.

Events such as a semi-regular Crazy Monday, when all prices are reduced, opening hours increased and entertainment put on, have attracted thousands through the doors.

Yet more perhaps does still need to be done to prove this concept can become a long-term success.

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Back on the roof terrace with Anna, she reveals she is looking to have a supermarket onsite as an anchor tenant.

“Obviously you can’t sell pre-loved food,” she smiles. “But there’s no reason you couldn’t strike a deal with Aldi, for instance, to have a supermarket here specialising in sustainable goods. For them, it is an experiment of something they might do more widely in the future. For us, it brings people onto site.”

A salon and an ethical shoe shop are also tenants she is specifically aiming for next. “The key is to keep being imaginative and thinking big,” she says.

Talking of which, I ask her about that possible speaking engagement for the International Council of Shopping Centers. Will she do it, I wonder?