Case study · Education · Argentina

5 materials that had nothing in common.

Banners, flags, upholstery, silobags and seat belts each had a life across different industries. Brought together, they became one collection that carries a little of every story.

121.5 m²Roll-up banners

18.6 m²Automotive upholstery

9.7 m²Flags and textiles

4.2 m²Silobags

01 · Challenge

Five streams, five behaviours, one set, one collection.

Banner vinyl, school flags, upholstery, silobag film and seat belt do not cut the same way, do not sew the same way and do not age the same way.

Combining them is harder than using one material well — and it is the only way a school with small quantities of many things gets a collection at all.

Founded in 1897, the Goethe-Schule Buenos Aires is a non-profit German international school offering a trilingual education.

02 · Strategy

Let each material do the part it is best at.

The Goethe-Schule 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

Small quantities, counted anyway

Each stream was measured separately, down to the last 2.8 metres of seat belt: 121.5 m² of roll-up banners, 18.6 m² of automotive upholstery, 9.7 m² of flags and textiles, and 4.2 m² of silobags.

02 · REDESIGN

Combined by property and by looks

Materials were assigned by what they withstand: the handle carries weight, the panel takes wear.

03 · REPORT

It is not just about metrics

It is about changing the story of the material and the people behind it: five materials from different industries, and every piece carrying a traceable mix of their stories.

03 · Process

Five materials, each doing the part it is best at.

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 — Goethe-Schule

Work at the social workshop — Goethe-Schule

04 · Evidence

Making Impact Traceable, Transparent & Verifiable.

Five streams quantified separately and combined into tote bags, notebook sleeves and pouches.

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

A little of everything

Five streams collected across several industries — the hardest kind of supply, because no single one is enough to plan with.

Down to 2.8 metres

Each quantified in its own unit, including the seat belt. Small quantities are exactly the ones that usually go unrecorded.

Assigned by what each withstands

Seat belt for handles, banner for structure, upholstery for the face, silobag for what has to stay dry. The mix is engineered, not decorative.

A traceable mix per piece

Each finished item carries the combination it was made from, so a collection built out of five origins can still be reported as five origins.

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 a little of everything to one collection.

Flags, banners, silobags, seat belts and automotive upholstery became tote bags, notebook sleeves and pouches. Each waste stream has a distinct texture, history and technical property, and each piece carries more than one of them. Made by 5 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.