Transforming trash into fashion and opportunities

Revoada uses the power of design to give waste a whole new lease of life. We create fashionable products such as purses, backpacks and wallets from a range of waste products including tire and broken umbrella chambers. As well as recycling waste products, we’re bringing benefits to tire repair shop workers, recyclers and sewing cooperatives by either buying the waste from them or using them to help create the new products. We also care about how our products are disposed of, and we work with our clients to encourage that they be recycled again in the future.

Brazil is the third largest waste producer in the world; 200 thousand tons are produced daily and only 3% of this is recycled. Even though there is a dedicated service to collect recycling in Brazil’s cities, most of the collected trash isn’t bought by industry or recycling plants and ends up in the same landfills as regular waste, where it takes even longer to decompose.

We’ve already started to make a difference. Between 2013 and 2016 we have rejuvenated 8 tons of tire chambers and 10,000 units of umbrella nylon by creating and selling our products to the people and companies that believe in our work.

Funding would allow us to...

Help us to grow on three fronts. Firstly, it would help us broaden our research to find viable ways of using new types of waste as raw materials. Secondly, it would give us the ability to increase our workforce which will improve our performance and processes, especially in the sales and financial departments. Lastly, it would let us scale-up the business, expanding our supply chain and our beneficiary network, so we can impact more lives.

Curiosity for life led me to social enterprise...

Ever since I was little, I’ve always been a curious and talkative person – maybe this is the reason I studied Communication in college. My head’s full of ideas and, as I grew older, they all seemed to lead me to ways of making the world a better place. By believing in them and in the power of life itself, I am convinced of the transformative potential of human beings. Having a social business is swimming against the current, is sort of travelling the toughest road, but with many more rewards and positive surprises along the way.