Companies that apply the Too Good to Go format to clothing 

The concept behind Too Good to Go, the company that has become world-famous for recovering and selling surplus food at discounted prices, works well, in some cases, even for the clothing sector, responsible for the polluting daily avalanche of textile waste.

The Too Good To Go clothing model was born from this very logic: recovering unsold garments, returns, stock, and textile scraps and putting them back into circulation, transforming what risks becoming waste into a new resource.

The principle is the same one that made Too Good To Go famous : preventing something still usable from prematurely becoming waste. In the fashion industry, this model takes various forms: unsold garments recovered and put back on the market, stock and deadstock resold, old clothes transformed, fabrics recycled and returned for refurbishment . All activities typical of the circular economy, which seek to reduce the mountain of waste produced by the clothing industry.

Piedmont

Atelier Riforma – Re4Circular

Turin-based startup Atelier Riforma has developed Re4Circular, a technology that catalogs and digitizes pre- and post-consumer textiles and transforms them into resources for other businesses. The B2B marketplace connects owners of used clothing, unsold stock, and textiles with secondhand shops, upcycling professionals, and recycling companies. This way, what would otherwise be waste can be reintroduced into the production chain.

Lombardia

PRISM

PRISM , a Milan -based benefit company , works directly with companies and brands to recover unsold garments, textile surpluses, and products for repair or regeneration . Through repair, reconditioning, debranding, and upcycling, products that could otherwise become waste are transformed into new garments or materials. It's one of the Italian examples closest to the principle: before throwing away, recover the value that already exists.

Powder

In Renate, in the province of Monza and Brianza, Pulvera recovers textile waste from fashion companies and transforms it into a fine fiber that can be used for new applications. The process allows for the creation of materials for fashion, packaging, and design from fabrics that would otherwise be disposed of. A model in which waste ceases to be a cost and becomes a new raw material.

Trentino Alto Adige

REDO Upcycling

REDO Upcycling was founded in Trento within the ALPI Cooperative and produces accessories using recycled materials, secondary raw materials, and unsold inventory . Upholstery fabrics, advertising banners, and shoe components are transformed into bags, backpacks, and other items. Production is local and combines the circular economy with employment opportunities for vulnerable people.

Veneto

Quid project

Founded in Verona , Progetto Quid recovers textile surpluses from companies and major fashion brands and uses them to create limited-edition clothing and accessories. Approximately 90 percent of the fabrics used by the company come from surpluses. The model combines the circular economy and social inclusion, creating job opportunities, especially for women experiencing vulnerability.

Nazena

In Vicenza , Nazena transforms textile waste from the fashion industry into rigid panels used to make tiles, coffee tables, hangers, notebooks, and other products. The material can contain at least 70 percent textile waste. It's a particularly clear example of the circular economy: clothing waste becomes a raw material for new objects.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

RE49

In Gonars, in the province of Udine , RE49 produces shoes using existing materials destined for destruction. These include jeans, sails, beach umbrella fabrics, and other leftovers , which are recovered, sanitized, and adapted for new collections. The company also works with other businesses to find new uses for excess inventory and unused raw materials.

Liguria

Ogygia

In the historic center of Genoa , Ogigia is a circular tailoring shop that produces almost custom-made garments using exclusively recycled fabrics . The project goes beyond simple material recovery and also offers a subscription system that introduces alternative ways of using and owning clothing. The goal is to create a small local supply chain in which textiles continue to circulate rather than becoming waste.

Emilia Romagna and Lombardy

Daliora

Daliora , based in Rimini , uses upcycling to transform existing garments and materials into new creations. Old garments and fabrics are reinterpreted through tailoring that alters their shape, details, and function. The result is unique pieces or small capsule collections that extend the life of existing materials rather than continually requiring new resources.

Toscana

Zerorow

Founded in Scandicci, in the province of Florence , Zerow is a B2B platform that remarkets leftovers, deadstock, fabrics, and leathers from the fashion and luxury industries. Designers, artisans, and companies can purchase them and use them for new production. The principle is very similar to that of Too Good To Go: finding a new user for a resource that risks remaining unused.

Mostly

In Prato , Rifò recovers old garments made of cashmere, wool, denim, cotton, and other materials to transform them into new yarns and clothing . The system reduces the use of virgin raw materials and also seeks to limit overproduction through small quantities and pre-orders. With the Re-Rifò program, some products can also be resold as secondhand.

In Prato, industrial waste recovery is taking a further leap in scale thanks to the Textile Hub for the recycling of textile waste , designed to process up to 33 tons of materials per year.

Brands

Marche Fashion Alley

In Montecosaro, in the province of Macerata , Vicolo Moda Marche transforms old garments into new shoes and accessories. Jeans, scarves, ties, bags, and other items can be recycled and incorporated into new handcrafted creations. The brand also uses leftover stock and materials derived from plant waste, combining upcycling and local production.

Umbria

Sama Textile Recycling

In Assisi , Sama Textile Recycling has been recovering waste from weaving mills, knitwear factories, hosiery factories, textile cutting factories, and industrial laundries for over forty years. It also manages the scrapping of end-of-production garments , which are transformed into raw materials for other products. Sorting, sanitizing, and processing thus prevent large quantities of material from ending up in landfills or incinerators.

Lazio

Resrcle

Resrcle , a Rome -based company , has developed a digital platform to help small and medium-sized textile businesses manage their waste. Its features include a circular marketplace for selling deadstock and recycled materials . The goal is to transform what would normally be a disposal cost into a potential source of revenue by matching supply and demand for unused materials.

In Rome, Coloriage , a social tailoring company that uses scraps of African fabrics to create new garments and finance professional training courses, also works on the recovery of waste .

Abruzzo

Vuscichè

Vuscichè is a project founded in Abruzzo by designer Diana Dieppa. Its collections are built partly through the recovery of unused fabrics and traditional Abruzzo materials . Scraps and discarded fabrics become the raw material for garments made in small quantities. The project thus connects circular fashion, craftsmanship, and the valorization of local resources.

Campania

Espò Smart Fashion

Second Hand Clothing Srl of Maddaloni, in the province of Caserta , has developed a network dedicated to secondhand clothing with Espò Smart Fashion . The clothes are selected, sanitized, inspected, and put back on sale through numerous outlets. The model aims to reuse garments that are still in good condition and prevent them from being prematurely transformed into textile waste.

Puglia

OVS Innovation & Sustainability

In Bari , OVS Innovation & Sustainability has created a multifunctional center dedicated to the recovery and reconditioning of unsold garments . The facility can process up to 70 garments a day and aims to achieve approximately 15 million refurbished items by 2026. Garments are recovered from the sales network, reordered, and redistributed, preventing unsold items from automatically becoming waste.

Sicilia

Briuccia Sicilian Style

The Briuccia Sicilian Style brand applies a declared zero-waste philosophy : the scraps produced during the cutting of bags and accessories are recovered by the Sartoria Sociale in Palermo. Scraps and trimmings become scrunchies and key rings, while smaller pieces are shredded and used as padding. Even the smallest fabric scraps thus find a new purpose.

Sardinia

Ecotextile

Ecotessile , based in Iglesias , collects used clothing and shoes throughout Sardinia, including directly from clothing stores, where it recovers returned items and items destined for waste for seasonal changes . According to company data, 68 percent of the collected material is reused and 25 percent is recycled to produce yarn and padding. Only a small portion becomes actual textile waste.

The closest model to Too Good To Go

Wear It To Go

In the UK, Wear It To Go is probably the company that most faithfully reproduces the original Too Good To Go formula. The platform connects stores and customers through Surprise Fashion Bags : the consumer chooses the category and size, pays the discounted price, and collects a bag whose contents remain partly a surprise. The company advertises discounts of between 50 and 70 percent and explicitly cites Too Good To Go as its source of inspiration.

The common denominator of all these experiences is simple: producing waste must become the last resort, not the first . An unsold dress can be returned to the market, a used item can be resold or transformed, a scrap can become raw material, and a leftover warehouse can be used by another company.

This is a significant shift in perspective, considering how quickly the clothes we no longer use risk turning into waste. The true circular economy begins here: using what has already been produced for longer and not wasting still-valuable materials.

Read also:

• Why the yellow bins are disappearing
• Where are the largest textile waste dumps?
• How not to waste used t-shirts