SPAZIO 3R joins B/COMMUNITY and partners on the SecondFlow pilot project
Monitor For Circular Fashion, SDA Bocconi
Why did you choose B/COMMUNITY and decide to move forward with SecondFlow, a pilot project developed in collaboration with the Monitor for Circular Fashion?
Recycle, Resew, Reuse: sustainability has always been at the heart of Spazio 3R. We believe that the recovery of quality materials goes with the rebirth of women’s stories. Giving new life to materials is, on the one hand, a way to avoid waste, but on the other, it conveys the message that everything can have a second chance. That is why, right from our very first training courses and in the workshop activities, we have always collaborated with partners who donate their high-quality leftovers. Joining B/COMMUNITY and partnering on the SecondFlow pilot project alongside the Monitor For Circular Fashion and YKK was a natural choice. It perfectly aligns with our values of recovery, circularity, and community, allowing us to scale our impact through a truly collaborative network.
What was your objective, and what challenges led you to choose B/COMMUNITY?
We often receive donations of high-quality fabrics, trimmings and ribbons, but fewer zips or other components. The invitation to join the B/SAMPLY Community came at just the right time: we often use zips during our training courses to give women the opportunity to learn different tailoring techniques. B/Samply’s idea of connecting companies with leftovers to organisations like ours allows us to put the values of sustainability and upcycling into practice, without necessarily having to buy the materials.
What was the solution?
B/SAMPLY team was very helpful right from the start; they listened to what we were looking for and guided us step by step through the process of ordering the YKK zips. We selected the zips we needed, in various colours and sizes, from the website. We have received 150 red plastic zip bags, 200 black plastic zip bags and 100 brown plastic zip bags.
SecondFlow pilot project
SecondFlow is a pilot project by YKK® and Deda Stealth, both partners of SDA Bocconi’s Monitor for Circular Fashion. It uses the B/SAMPLY digital platform to make fashion supply chains more transparent, efficient, and circular.
The project’s core mission is to promote responsible material reuse and sustainable business models. Through B/SAMPLY’s digital showroom, YKK® offers unused zippers and buttons free of charge to educational institutions, non-profits, and associations working on sustainable fashion research and innovation.
By redistributing existing materials instead of producing new ones, SecondFlow shows circular economy principles in practice, demonstrating how technology can connect supply and demand while reducing environmental impact and waste.
What concrete results did you achieve once the project was completed?
One outcome is certainly that we have had the chance to try out the platform and confirm that it is a well-structured system, run by helpful people whom we will be able to contact in the future as well. Joining this community will undoubtedly give us access to new connections and enable us to make informed choices regarding circularity and sustainability. We are using zips for small-scale production projects based on recycling and upcycling, as well as for training courses.
Looking ahead to the future of Spazio 3R, we hope to continue expanding training and employment opportunities for women and the wider community, thanks in part to new partnerships and by integrating the use of digital tools into tailoring. We also want to continue putting sustainability into practice in all its dimensions: from social and cultural aspects right through to economic and environmental ones. Being part of the B/SAMPLY community is certainly in line with this vision and our values. Following this initial experience, we are confident that whenever we need specific materials for our courses or workshop activities, we will be able to rely on the portal.
Did the donation process go as expected?
The ordering process was very simple thanks to the support of the B/SAMPLY technical team. It was also very easy to get in touch with YKK, and right from the start they were very helpful in answering our questions and keeping us updated on the delivery status.
Who are you?
Spazio 3R – Recycle, Resew, Reuse is a Milan-based social enterprise promoting training and job inclusion through sustainable artisanal tailoring.
Through our training programmes and work activities, more than 350 Italian and international women from over 37 countries have had the opportunity to reinvent themselves and build new professional paths.
Today, Spazio 3R operates three workshops in Milan and one in Macherio, in partnership with local non-profit organisations. Using high-quality fabric offcuts donated by partners, the workshops produce the Spazio 3R collection, corporate merchandise and capsule collections developed with emerging designers. In 2025, the organisation delivered more than 1,400 hours of training, reaching over 90 women.
Built around four pillars; work inclusion, professional training, community engagement and tailoring courses, Spazio 3R helps foster a more inclusive, circular and sustainable local economy through a network of more than 20 community organisations.