This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Corporate uniforms, advertising banners and industrial technical fabrics almost always end up in landfills at the end of their "life cycles," even when they are still in good condition. To address this issue, Ciclou, a startup based in São Paulo, Brazil, has developed a system that transforms environmental liabilities into economic opportunities.
The system connects major waste generators, such as industries and corporations in sectors like events and infrastructure, with artisans from the outskirts of the city. These artisans form a decentralized network of local seamstresses, designers and artists who often work informally and seek economic inclusion. This solution addresses one of the greatest challenges of the circular economy: not just collecting waste, but also finding someone to transform it.
In practice, this mechanism takes shape in initiatives such as Ciclou's partnership with Acciona, a multinational infrastructure company responsible for construction on Line 6 (Orange) of the São Paulo subway. Rather than discarding the old technical uniforms from its construction sites, Acciona donated the textile waste to Ciclou. The material was delivered to a team of six artisans and seamstresses from the Ciclou network who collaborated with a São Paulo–based nongovernmental organization (NGO) that provides social support.
Together, they cleaned, cut and repurposed the heavy-duty fabrics, transforming them into 50 personalized backpacks. The backpacks were raffled off to employees during Environment Week, closing the waste cycle with measurable social and environmental impact. Founded in 2021, Ciclou aims to promote the circular economy.
Initially, the company selected artisans based on memory alone. "At the start of this project, we would recall the characteristics of each artisan and decide who would receive the project," Amanda Martins, a mechanical production engineer and founder of Ciclou, told Agência FAPESP. "Soon, however, we realized that model didn't allow us to scale up." To address this issue, the company's researchers developed an algorithm that analyzes each artisan's specific circumstances.
The system considers variables such as available physical space, machinery used and proficiency with different types of fabric. This approach is essential because an artisan working at a living room table with lightweight cotton fabrics, for example, would not be able to handle heavy canvas or industrial nylon—materials that require special needles and greater physical effort. To validate the technology, the team developed a minimum viable product (MVP), which is a simplified version of the solution designed to test the feasibility of the business in a controlled environment.
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