Walking through the swinging doors, customers are immersed in an expansive outdoor shopping experience. The space is in an industrial building without any internal walls, and there is a section for every household item such as gold-crested doorknobs and various-sized metal nails. The vintage wooden dressers and leathered chests in the store have a quality that cannot be reproduced by modern manufacturers. As one goes deeper into the shop, an array of warm light fixtures with scalloped lamp shades cast a beam over a foggy, rainy day.
Quality matters when it comes to buying home repair items and decorations. People with a passion for DIY and unique products should check out BRING, or Begin Recycling In Neighborhood Groups, located on East 19th Avenue and Franklin Boulevard. BRING is a used material shop, recycling site and education center for Eugene-Springfield community members interested in environmentally-friendly practices. Many homeowners and student apartment renters appreciate their vintage sink valves or floating shelves for both functionality and aesthetics.
Whisper Sperry, a customer of BRING for over 10 years and resident of Springfield, said she shops there because it is “way better than buying brand new.” Sperry visits BRING for household items before looking at big name stores. She searches for products that are both affordable and recyclable. Sperry also likes the “creative” layout of the shop.
“I buy all sorts of things here,” Sperry said. “I come here when I need things specifically like yard staples. Items here would be absurdly expensive at places like Jerry’s. I have never bought anything here that has been in bad condition.”
Carolyn Stein, the executive director and CEO of BRING, said she “loves the culture of her work environment.” BRING was formed in 1971 as one of the first plastic recycling organizations in Eugene. The center’s mission is to respond to environmental concerns such as pollution and over-consumption. Stein said BRING staff members opened the reuse store after collecting household recycling waste.
“In those days household recycling was dropped off at collection sites that were scattered throughout the community and often located at elementary schools,” Stein said. “BRING collected and processed those materials and sold them as commodities. Somewhere along the way, someone had the great idea that, ‘if you can recycle a metal can, what about a metal sink? If you can recycle a glass jar, what about glass windows?’”
Stein said BRING reaches over 65,000 Lane County residents per year and offers 10% discounts to students, veterans and seniors over the age of 55. The shop takes in second-hand products such as toilets, tiles, cabinets and used paints as some of their merchandise for sale. The store assesses products by their “condition, what it is made out of and if there’s enough storage space.”
Community members are able to take pictures of their materials through a virtual donations portal to allow employees to decide if they can accept the donation or redirect the person to other disposal facilities. BRING only takes in items for reuse and turns down products such as electronics, chemically treated materials and unframed glass.
The store saves natural resources by salvaging long-lasting materials for new purposes. Stein believes waste prevention, such as reusing and recycling, impacts our environment by removing the “extraction and production” value of materials. The products are evaluated based on age, demand and local competition.
“BRING takes all kinds of furniture and cabinetry,” Stein said. “You can easily find really worn dressers made of wood or plywood in our store. Older wood and plywood furniture are much more durable than a lot of the flatpack furniture from big box stores. So quality — even if it’s in rough shape — is important to us.”
BRING offers programs for local businesses and community members to learn about conservation efforts, Stein said. K-12 schools and community organizations are invited to the facility to learn about waste reduction. The curriculum includes how to apply the four R’s — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rethink — into one’s consumption habits. BRING’s partnership with Lane County Waste Management, The Rethink Business program, transfers local businesses sustainable practices such as pollution prevention and energy reduction. The organization also has a certification called EcoBiz Eco-Logical Business Program that helps repair, landscape and auto wash companies to minimize hazardous air and water pollution.
“Businesses across Lane County have access to our Rethink Business program, EcoBiz certification, Love Food Not Waste technical assistance and the Construction Materials Recovery and Reuse program for contractors and folks in the building trades,” Stein said. “Our store serves hundreds of customers per day, and BRING’s educational and informative newsletter is read by over 10,000 members of our community.”
Bob Clark, a retired resident from Springfield, appreciates the large variety BRING offers customers. Clark visits the shop frequently to buy “cheap repair parts for projects at home.” He came to the store to buy a sink and cabinet drawers to “personalize” the interior of his new teardrop camper.
“It is all reused stuff, and it makes me feel good inside,” Clark said. “You don’t come in here with what you are after or what you can use it for. I come to this store with one idea, and then I look at something and my brain just starts going in other directions. You never know what you are going to see.”
BRING is open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.