The Brazilian upcycling company COMAS, run by designer Agustina Comas, has been working since 2014 transforming deadstock man's shirts into new garments.

In this way, the brand not only contributes to reducing the volume of textile waste generated by companies, but also avoids the use of virgin materials and wet processes in its collections.

Brazil represents one of the largest fashion industries in Latin America. As in the rest of the world, a percentage of what is produced is never sold, generating deadstock.

According to an investigation carried out by Comas, about 5% of manufactured garments become deadstock and in many cases are disposed of as waste. This means that thousands of tons of unused garments are disposed of or sent to landfill.

The designer observed that one of the largest men's shirt factories in São Paulo discarded a large volume of garments annually due to faults or overstock. These shirts had a high quality, they were made with noble and timeless materials such as denim and linen and, being men's garments, the amplitude of the large sizes facilitated remanufacturing, that is, the transformation of garments into new garments.

In general, a positive aspect of upcycling processes is that virgin materials and wet processes, such as dyeing, stone washing and softening, are avoided.

Agustina Comas also developed an upcycling method called “ Sistema Comas de Upcycling Raíz” (“Comas Root Upcycling System”) in which, in addition to taking advantage of the textile, the original seams and trims are preserved to the maximum.

In this way, it is possible to identify that the garment was manufactured from shirts. The designer believes that it is important that the garment shows where it comes from and that it is possible for discarded objects to have a second life.

The “Sistema Comas de Upcycling Raíz” method conserves most of the structure of the original garment, which saves on the use of trimmings and finishes. The timeless aesthetics of the classic men's shirts allows to create a timeless and lasting collection.

This method can be adapted to multiple types of garments and can be applied by any company or designer since COMAS also offers this service to other brands.

COMAS, which is defined as a slow fashion brand, has remanufactured more than 3,000 garments and rescued nearly 3 tons of textile waste.

Today the brand is working with large retailers and factories like Lojas Renner and T.Christina, to study how to scale upcycling in Brazil.

In this sense, this case is an example that the work carried out by small brands can contribute to the circularity of other larger companies, fostering the collaboration of the fashion ecosystem.

Image courtesy of COMAS. Photographer: Agencia Fotosite.