Tent Back, Cash Back.
Decathlon To Offer Customers Cash Refunds For Returning Tents After Festival Season
June 3, 2026
- Popular ‘Festival Tent Pledge’ now allows customers to buy a Decathlon tent before their event, use it, and return it for a cash refund
- Up to 50% of the original value can be claimed in cash, dependent on the tent’s condition for all UK based customers. The offer runs until 6 September, ensure the full festival season is covered
- UK festivals generate around 25,800 tonnes of waste annually, with 52% of attendees viewing tents as single-use.
Decathlon is continuing its fight against festival waste by expanding its popular Festival Tent Pledge to now offer customers a cash refund of up to 50% of the original purchase price when they return their product after the event. Meaning this year, customers can either receive either 100% of the value back as a gift card, or 50% back as cash.
The initiative allows customers to purchase a Decathlon tent ahead of their festival*, use it across the weekend, and return it to a participating store in exchange for a cash refund or gift card. The amount customers will receive in return is dependent on the condition of the tent upon return and with the offer running until 6 September, all of this summer’s events are covered.
UK festivals continue to have a significant environmental impact both during and after their event, generating approximately 25,800 tonnes of waste every year. More than half (52%) of festival-goers admit to viewing their tent as a disposable item, resulting in up to 250,000 being abandoned in fields after events.
With Download, Reading & Leeds, and dozens of other major events drawing millions of attendees each summer, Decathlon hopes the pledge will shift consumer behaviour at scale and reduce the volume of tents ending up in landfill.
Returned tents in good condition will be assessed, cleaned, and re-sold through Decathlon's Second Life offering, giving each tent the opportunity to be loved and used again and promoting the circularity of products.
Iconic Broadcaster Edith Bowman is supporting this year’s campaign. Best known for her work across BBC radio and television, including festival coverage such as Glastonbury, Edith brings a passion for culture, storytelling and adventure that reflects the spirit of the Pledge.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Buy & Enjoy
Purchase any Decathlon brand tent online or in-store between May 23rd and September 6th, 2026. Then, head out and enjoy your summer adventures!
Step 2: Bring it Back
Return your tent to any Decathlon store with proof of purchase before September 6th, 2026.
Step 3: Get Rewarded
To receive the full purchase value of your tent back as a Decathlon gift card, or up to 50% in cash, you'll need to be a Decathlon Member at the time of return (it's free to sign up!). As a Member, your receipt is also conveniently saved digitally in the app.
Step 4: Your Next Adventure Awaits
Use your gift card or cash on your next adventure or gear!
For more information on Decathlon Membership, please visit: https://membership.decathlon.com/en-GB
This innovative buyback scheme ensures tents stay out of landfill, while also supporting Decathlon’s Second Life programme, providing hundreds more campers with the opportunity to acquire quality gear for their first outdoor experiences or to upgrade their current setup at a more accessible price point.
“Our No Tent Life Behind scheme goes from strength to strength each year,” says Chris Allen, Sustainability Leader at Decathlon UK.
“What started as a small-scale initiative has become an important part of how we approach camping and festivals more broadly - encouraging customers to return used equipment, keep valuable materials in circulation, and give more products a second chapter through our Second Life programme. This year, we’re helping customers’ pockets as well as our planet. With our new one-hour bank transfer service, we’re providing the flexibility and value needed to turn unused gear into new adventures."
“From festival fields to family camping trips, great gear should be used and enjoyed again and again,” says iconic radio broadcaster, Edith Bowman. “Decathlon’s Tent Pledge makes it easy for people to pass tents on, give them a second life, and help keep the spirit of adventure going long after the weekend ends!”
For full details and Festival Tent Pledge Terms and Conditions, visit: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/lp/c/no-tent-left-behind-2026
To find your closest Decathlon store, please visit: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/store-locator.
*Exclusions apply: The Pledge applies only to Quechua brand tents. It does not apply to any other tent brands, nor does it include rooftop, trekking tents or polycotton tents of any kind.
ENDS
About Decathlon UK:
DECATHLON is the world’s largest sporting goods retailer, with over 1,700 stores and 105,000 teammates in more than 70 countries. With its integrated business model, DECATHLON specialises in the creation and production of innovative sporting goods designed to delight and move people through the wonders of sport all around the world.
