Case study · Agri-business · Argentina

What they saw changed what they bought.

COFCO International turned a corporate merch brief into a circular design challenge. They did not merely repurpose their own waste. They looked across their ecosystem and saw materials, relationships and possibilities that were not conventionally connected.

200.5 m²Silobags

126.9 m²Old welcome kits

70.5 m²Automotive upholstery

88.5 m²Burlap

01 · Challenge

Look beyond what you already have.

They had a merchandising need and an opportunity to rethink where the materials could come from. The challenge was to look beyond the obvious, across their wider agricultural and operational ecosystem, and identify materials with enough character, quality and potential to become products with a story worth carrying.

COFCO International is the overseas agriculture platform of COFCO Corporation, China's largest food company, trading and processing grains and oilseeds worldwide.

02 · Strategy

Keep each material’s story intact.

Every stream was identified, measured and traced separately, so its origin, quantity and journey remained visible. The result is not simply material diverted from disposal, but a measurable record of resources kept in use and given a new purpose.

01 · RECOVER

Four intakes, four counts

Every stream measured separately: +200.5 m² of silobag recovered from Argentine farms, +88.5 m² of plastic burlap recovered from breweries, +126.9 m² of textiles recovered from their old welcome kits, +70.5 m² of upholstery recovered from the automotive industry.

02 · REDESIGN

The kit that came back as the kit

Their own retired welcome kits returned as new welcome kits — the same company, the same material, a second round.

03 · REPORT

It is not just about metrics

It is about changing the story of both the material and the people behind it: four materials connected by COFCO transformed into useful gifts with a story worth carrying.

03 · Process

Materials with a past. Gifts with a future.

It is not about hiding the material or recycling it until it becomes unrecognisable. The material is the value. With creativity, innovation and a trained eye, what others see as waste can be recognised for what it still has to offer, then redesigned around a new purpose without losing the story of where it came from.

Used silobag in a field in Chaco, Argentina

Sewing silobag accessories at a social impact workshop

Material and production for COFCO International

Finished pink pouch from upcycled backpacks — COFCO International

Finished red pouch from upcycled backpacks — COFCO International

Finished pouch from upcycled upholstery — COFCO International

04 · Evidence

Making Impact Traceable, Transparent & Verifiable.

486.4 m² recovered across four streams, transformed into mate sets, bags, backpacks, tote bags, travel kits and pouches.

The figures in this case are checked and the record is managed by REZET Hub.

Four streams, four decisions

Silobags, retired welcome kits, upholstery and burlap, each material collected from a different stream.

Never merged into one number

200.5, 126.9, 70.5 and 88.5 m², quantified apart. A single combined figure would be easier to publish and impossible to audit.

Each material where it performs

Silobag for what must stay dry, textile for the soft parts, upholstery for wear, burlap for texture. The product is specified around what each stream can take.

Four origins still attributable

Every finished item traces back to the stream it came from. Procurement can report by material, not just by total.

Behind each of these figures there are families. The people who cut and sew in these workshops are not a line in our metrics: they are heads of family who have come through hard circumstances, and paid, skilled work is what lets them be the ones who provide.

05 · Outcome

Four origins. New purposes.

Through their purchases, COFCO enabled the recovery of 200.5 m² of silobags, 126.9 m² of textile from old welcome kits, 70.5 m² of automotive upholstery and 88.5 m² of burlap, turned into mate sets, bags, backpacks, tote bags, travel kits and pouches. Made by 8 people in social impact workshops.

Why repurpose

If you are going to spend money, spend it well.

Be smart about where you put your budget. Instead of buying the same merch everyone replicates, invest in merch with a true impact story.
And instead of taking the easy, often costly route of recycling by destroying the material, repurpose it. Preserve its value. Give it a second chance.