Decathlon tackles music festival waste by offering full refunds for returned tents

In the UK, around 250,000 tents are left behind on music festival grounds every summer, with most ending up in landfills. Addressing that colossal amount of waste, sporting goods retailer Decathlon has relaunched No Tent Left Behind, a campaign incentivizing customers to buy one of its tents and return it for a full refund.

Festival-goers who purchase a tent from the retailer's MH100 range and return it before 13 September 2024 will get their money back in the form of a digital gift card. They can use the tent as often as they like, as long as they don't damage it. The buy-back expands on a scheme initiated by Decathlon in 2023, which only applied to a GBP 29.99 tent.

While eco-friendlier choices often come with higher price tags, Decathlon's initiative aims to make a sustainable option not just accessible but more or less free of charge. The brand is also solving a problem it helped cause — with prices as low as GBP 29.99, consumers are inclined to view cheap tents as single-use items. As for the returned tents? They'll be refurbished and resold through Decathlon's Second Life program.