Atelier Riforma launched the first Italian marketplace dedicated to upcycling. The company began by collecting unused garments from individuals and institutions, cataloging them and distributing them to its network of artisans and tailors, until it included more than 25 tailoring realities throughout Italy. At the end of 2021, it gave a technological twist to its business, conceiving and patenting Re4Circular, an AI-based technology for the automatic classification of post-consumer textiles, linked to a digital platform dedicated to circular fashion professionals. Re4Circular is provided to entities that collect used clothing and fashion companies with unsold garments, helping them to direct them to the most suitable circular processes (such as reuse, upcycling or recycling).

With an approach that combines innovation, sustainability and social responsibility, Atelier Riforma stands as a key player in the transformation of the fashion industry toward a more ethical and environmentally friendly model.

(funded by the European Climaborough call for proposals): RivestiTO is an innovative system designed to support municipalities in the management of textile waste collected in urban areas, with a focus on transparency, efficiency and circularity. The main objective is to promote reuse practices at the source, before textiles become waste, while also encouraging innovative experiments that challenge current regulations. In parallel, the aim is to ensure a more circular management of urban textile waste, creating new opportunities to enhance the material locally in a sustainable and traceable way, eliminating any risk of criminal infiltration.

At the heart of this solution are two technological tools. The first is Re4Circular, a web app supported by Artificial Intelligence that allows textile products to be classified and digitized. Connected to it, a B2B digital marketplace platform allows classified products to be put up for sale in bulk, thus facilitating the purchase of used clothing by circular companies in a transparent and convenient way. Through this platform, moreover, the municipality can access detailed data on the quantities and types of products uploaded by various user entities, the number of items that find new life, and their final destinations, making the entire process traceable and measurable.

The second tool is the Circular Market app, which allows people to explore the world of the circular economy and stay up-to-date on its news. Through the app, users (citizens) can search for products, services, companies and initiatives, purchase local products, including online, and suggest new realities to be added to the system. The app encourages content sharing with the community, networking between businesses and consumers, and the promotion of sustainable products and services. RivestiTO thus works to increase the reuse of goods before they become waste, fostering the connection between supply and demand within the textile sector and ensuring a truly circular management of collected materials. In addition, thanks to the digital tools made available, it aims to accurately track the destination flows of materials, providing transparency and reliable data to continuously monitor and improve the entire system.