Case study · Automotive · Argentina

Three leftovers. Three departments. One shared purpose, reconnected into something new.

Seat belts from manufacturing, banners from marketing and overstock from events each came from a different part of Volkswagen. Brought together in one programme, they returned as bags and accessories that tell a shared story.

1,320 mSeat belts

925 m²Banners recovered

236 m²Merchandise overstock

4Product types

01 · Challenge

Three streams that never meet inside the company.

Seat belts come from manufacturing, banners from marketing, and overstock from events. They are managed by different areas, budgeted separately and discarded on different calendars.

Nobody sees them as one material problem, which is exactly why each one leaves quietly.

Volkswagen employs around 4,200 people in Argentina and operates two major specialised manufacturing plants in the country.

02 · Strategy

One programme across three departments.

Volkswagen 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

Collect across areas

330 seat belts, more than 500 banners and the merchandise overstock, each measured in its own unit.

02 · REDESIGN

Straps that were already straps

Seat belts needs no reinforcement to carry a bag: it was engineered to carry a person.

03 · REPORT

It is not just about metrics

It is about changing the story of the material and the people behind it: three streams from three departments, including 236 m² of merchandise that never reached a user, brought back into production.

03 · Process

It was never just waste. Waste is a matter of perspective.

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.

Sewing the recovered textile at the social workshop

Seat belts and banners sorted before cutting

Banner material opened out before it is cut

In-car rubbish bag made from recovered banner

04 · Evidence

Making Impact Traceable, Transparent & Verifiable.

1,320 metres of seat belts, 925 m² of banners and 236 m² of merchandise overstock, transformed into sling bags, car bags, tote bags and pouches.

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

Three departments, three calendars

330 seat belts, more than 500 banners and unissued merchandise overstock, collected across manufacturing, marketing and events — areas that never saw themselves as one waste stream.

1,320 m and 925 m²

Each recorded in its own unit, plus 236 m² of overstock: merchandise that never reached a user is waste too, and it is counted as such.

Straps that were already straps

Seat belts carries a bag without reinforcement because it was engineered to carry a person. Banner gives structure, jersey gives the soft parts.

One programme, three budgets

Output reconciled against all three recorded inputs, which lets three separate departments report a single material outcome instead of three untracked disposals.

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

What three departments left behind, brought together.

330 seat belts — 1,320 metres — more than 500 banners representing 925 m², and 236 m² of merchandise overstock were given a second life as sling bags, car rubbish bags, pouches and other functional accessories. 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.