What trigger is the company responding to?

The cost of most consumer products has dropped significantly in today’s markets, ensuring that little value is attached to the products, allowing them to become disposable (repair being unavailable or uneconomic). Trends in fashions also increase the disposability of consumer items, leading to significant amounts of wasted resources.

What was the response?

Vitsœ's differentiated position has been to ignore high fashion, creating timeless, robust products that favour simplicity and flexibility. Vitsœ creates furniture that lasts longer and concentrates on reuse not disposal. All new components are designed and manufactured to be compatible with the original system. The designs use non toxic material and create very little waste during production. Vitsœ has invested in reusable packaging for its suppliers and for shipping products to its customers. By pursuing this position, Vitsœ has minimised the impact of its activities on the environment.

Bottom line benefits

By encouraging the user to buy only what is needed, the customer relationship is established on the principle of long-term value. More than half of Vitsœ's customers are existing customers who are adding to, rearranging or reinstalling their furniture, which may have been bought as long ago as 1960. Customers buy Vitsœ's furniture because they can reuse it, rearrange it and take it with them; they understand that they are making a genuine lifelong investment.

Wider lessons

Vitsœ has not received any incentives, tax breaks, grants or loans to support its desire to take a longer-term view of the design and support for its products; and yet they have survived almost 50 years in the market.

Case study sources

Conducting Product Service System (PSS) design process in the private sector: single case study at Vitsoe (Thesis Chapter), Manuel Gonzalez Ortega, Cranfield University, 2008 Science & technology committee Sub-committee I: waste reduction: A response by Vitsœ to the request for evidence, 29 January 2008
http://www.vitsoe.com/