"If you really want to be sustainable," he says, "you really just have to buy less." It's an uncomfortable message, especially at an e-commerce fair. But that's precisely why it sticks.
'Not a sustainable business'
Geels begins with a statement that chafes, namely, "retail and sustainability do not naturally go together. Whoever sells products uses raw materials, produces and transports them. By definition, that means a negative impact.
"Without a carbon footprint, you can't actually run this business model," he states. That's why Dille & Kamille is taking a different approach. Not a perfect promise, but an honest search for improvement.
"We are trying to do it more sustainably. But we're not there." That transparency is intentional. Customer research shows that the very word "sustainability" often evokes distrust. Too many promises, too little proof.
Back to the essence
To understand this choice, Geels takes the audience back to the origins of the original Dutch brand. More than fifty years ago, founder Freek Kamerling started from a clear frustration: the rise of plastic and, with it, disposable products and devices that break down quickly.
His answer was simple - and radical: back to natural materials. Back to simplicity. "Ancient wisdom for modern times," Geels calls it. You can still see this philosophy today in the assortment of Dille & Kamille. Glassware, pottery, kitchen stuff: products that are not trend-sensitive, but are meant to last.
If you really want to be sustainable, you really just have to buy less."
Conscious consumption as a starting point
Dille & Kamille does not try to entice customers to buy more, but to choose better. According to Geels, the question "Do I really need this?" is central. Not only in the assortment, but also in the way the brand communicates.
Geels outlines a broader context for clarification: a society in which we have more freedom than ever, but at the same time are constantly distracted and hunted. "We are trying to get people to engage with their heads, hearts and hands again." That translates into small, almost nostalgic moments: cooking, baking, making something together. Not as a marketing ploy, but as part of the brand philosophy.
Sustainability is also social
At Dille & Kamille, sustainability is a concept that goes beyond materials or CO₂: it is also about people. To this end, Geels cites an example of felt products from Nepal. "On paper, this may not be a perfectly sustainable product - after all, the raw materials travel all over the world - but it does provide work for more than a hundred women with a distance to the labor market." It typifies the way the company looks at sustainability: not black and white, but in trade-offs.
Against the current
That same philosophy is reflected in the company's e-commerce strategy. Where the market bets on speed and convenience, Dille & Kamille opts for delay. No next-day delivery as standard. No free shipping. Instead, the company actively targets longer delivery times. Meanwhile, more than 80 percent of customers choose delivery within three days or later. A small change in behavior, with a big impact on logistics and sustainability.
On paper, this may not be a perfectly sustainable product - after all, the raw materials travel all over the world - but it does provide work for more than a hundred women distanced from the labor market."
Friction as a conscious choice
On other points, too, Dille & Kamille consciously chooses friction. Free shipping was abolished. Shipping costs are passed on fairly. And for small orders, customers are sometimes even sent back to the store. "It doesn't make much sense to send two bags across the Netherlands. These are choices that go against everything e-commerce has taught for years. But that is precisely where the power lies: not everything that can be done is necessary.
The day the webshop closes
Perhaps the most striking example is Green Friday: where other retailers go all out to maximize Black Friday, Dille & Kamille does the opposite. The stores close and the webshop goes offline. Instead, it invests in awareness and initiatives such as tree-planting campaigns. "Yes, this is marketing," says Geels. "But in a way that suits us."
Growth through delay
Despite - or perhaps because of - this business philosophy, Dille & Kamille is growing solidly. Under Geels' leadership, the number of stores expanded from 19 to more than 50 and the company grew to a turnover of more than 100 million euros. This growth shows that slowing down does not equal standing still. On the contrary.
Hans Geels' keynote feels like a welcome dissenting voice in a sector that often revolves around speed, volume and optimization. No blueprint, no quick wins, but a fundamental question: what if we weren't trying to sell more, but better? Slow e-commerce may sound like a paradox. But at Dille & Kamille it turns out to be a conscious choice. And perhaps, precisely because of that, a surprisingly effective strategy.
