Challenge
The last two decades have seen a 400% increase in global clothing sales. In light of that situation, following the closure of the Paylana textile plant in Paysandú, a collective of European social enterprises involved in collecting second-hand clothes (TESS) tasked R4S, together with MIDES and the Paysandú Development Agency, with promoting the establishment, in the textile plant in Paysandú (Uruguay), of a cooperative for the classification and sale of second-hand clothing from Europe in Uruguay and Argentina.
Our solution
Working with MIDES and the Paysandú Development Agency, R4S conducted a study to determine whether the second-hand clothing markets in Uruguay and Argentina met all the preconditions for setting up a plant and distribution channel for European pre-used clothing classified in Paysandú. An institutional and legal analysis was also conducted, in order to determine the various authorities’ willingness to take part in or support the project.
Impact
Those studies enabled the establishment of an eight-woman cooperative set up after the closure of the Paylana textile plant in Paysandú, dedicated to the classification and sale of second-hand clothing in Uruguay and Argentina. This new line of business will help them to improve their performance and revenue, and to incorporate new initiatives and new products into their business operations.
