Case study · Banking · Argentina

Galicia: A case about the importance of taking care of the materials

The banners carried Banco Galicia’s message at Expoagro. They arrived worn by the take-down, and with care and recovery work they returned as notebook sleeves: proof that how a material is handled decides how much of its value survives.

202 m²Banners recovered

250Notebook sleeves

7People in the process

01 · Challenge

Material integrity is decided at the moment of discard.

The banners were dismantled without care: crumpled, wet and heavily soiled. None of that was inevitable — it is what happens when taking down a stand is treated as clearing, not as recovering.

Restoring them took significant work, and some value was lost for good. Without disciplined handling, a material's potential is reduced irreversibly.

Founded in 1905, Banco Galicia is one of Argentina's largest private-sector commercial banks, part of Grupo Financiero Galicia.

02 · Strategy

Recover what can be recovered.

Banco Galicia invested in transforming the material rather than paying for its disposal, putting the budget into craftsmanship, durability and a product with genuine material value.

01 · RECOVER

Recover from a bad dismantling

More than 202 m² of banner recovered from the Expoagro stand, in the condition it was left in.

02 · REDESIGN

Clean, then decide

Significant recovery work was needed to restore lost value before any cutting could start.

03 · REPORT

It is not just about metrics

It is about changing the story of the material and the people behind it: banners that carried the bank’s message at Expoagro, recovered with care and turned into something used every day.

03 · Process

From a soiled banner to a notebook sleeve.

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.

Recovered banner material — Banco Galicia

04 · Evidence

Making Impact Traceable, Transparent & Verifiable.

More than 202 m² of banners recovered from the Expoagro stand and transformed into notebook sleeves.

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

Recovered in the state it was left

Banners collected after a dismantling that treated them as clearance, not as material: crumpled, wet, heavily soiled.

Value recovered, and value lost

Cleaning and reconditioning brought part of it back. Part did not come back, and that is recorded too — a loss that is declared is worth more than a total that hides it.

Cut around the damage

The pattern was drawn to work around stained and creased areas, so the sleeve is specified by what the surviving surface allows.

250 sleeves, each one traceable

Every piece can be followed back to the 202 m² that came in. The point of this case is that the number could have been larger, and why.

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

From event banners to everyday notebook sleeves.

More than 202 m² of banners from Banco Galicia's Expoagro stand were transformed into notebook sleeves. The material arrived crumpled, wet and heavily soiled: material integrity is determined at the point of discard, and without disciplined handling its potential is irreversibly reduced. Made by 7 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.