Bleckmann, experts in supply chain management for fashion and lifestyle brands, today announces the extension of its partnership with COS to deliver the COS Restore programme. This circular fashion initiative is an important milestone in the fashion brand’s ‘omni-circular’ strategy to ensure that its products can be worn for longer, helping reduce clothing waste.
COS, an H&M Group brand known for its timeless, elevated designs, launched the Restore partnership in 2022. The project is led by Bleckmann’s dedicated team of circular fashion experts, The Renewal Workshop. Their proprietary garment renewal process combines lower-impact cleaning methods, data-rich tracking capabilities and invisible mending expertise to restore customers’ pre-loved COS products back to like-new condition. The garments are then sold at a discount in COS stores across Europe, including in Paris and Amsterdam.
Scaling up a key circular solution
The one-year pilot of the programme has already shown promising results, with strong sell-through figures and very positive customer feedback across all locations. As a result, COS has decided to continue the project beyond the pilot phase. “Taking COS Restore to the next level with Bleckmann was a natural choice, given the success we’ve had so far,” said Francesca Lilley, Head of Sustainability and Brand Strategy at COS. “The more we grow COS Restore, the more economies of scale we can achieve, further enhancing our circular fashion offering.”
As part of this ongoing strategy, the brand recently launched new COS Restore collections in its Madrid and Vienna stores. There are also plans to add store-damaged items to the range, in addition to products dropped off by customers. “By including more markets and more renewal streams in the COS Restore offering, we can extend the lifetime of many more garments,” added Francesca. “This will help us continue to decouple growth from resource consumption while meeting consumer demand for more sustainable ways to shop.”
Building a circular ecosystem for fashion
COS Restore is a key part of the fashion brand’s wider ‘omni-circular infrastructure’. This range of interconnected initiatives is designed to empower customers with circular solutions that match their preferences – making circular fashion a natural part of the shopping experience. This includes COS Resell, an online peer-to-peer commerce platform that allows users to buy and sell verified COS items. “Every new circularity initiative we introduce is a win for consumers and the planet,” continued Francesca. “The COS community is already engaged on sustainability issues, and all the actions we take on circularity build on that motivation.”
A values-driven partnership
The effective collaboration between COS and The Renewal Workshop was crucial to the success of the project. “Working with COS is a true partnership, built on our collective commitment to advancing circular fashion solutions,” explained Tamara Zwart, Director of Renewal at Bleckmann. “We both have a collaborative and iterative ethos, together with an always-on approach to continuous improvement. This made it a pleasure to develop the COS Restore offering side by side. Thanks to this strong foundation, we’ve built a truly scalable circular solution that helps meet the needs of customers, the business and the planet.”
About Bleckmann’s Renewal Workshop
Founded in 2015 and acquired by Bleckmann in 2022, The Renewal Workshop is dedicated to helping fashion and lifestyle brands integrate more circular solutions into their existing business models. The team has over half a decade of experience working with a range of major brands, including The North Face, Carhartt and New Balance. Combining this expertise with Bleckmann’s decades of logistics experience provides brands with an integrated circular fashion solution that fits seamlessly into their operations.
“Bleckmann’s Renewal Workshop was the ideal partner to launch and grow the COS Restore programme thanks to our shared values and their professionalism, agility and collaborative test-and-learn approach,” concluded Francesca. “This allowed us to get the project up and running quickly while always maintaining the highest quality standards. We are excited to continue this collaboration and help drive greater circularity in the fashion industry.”
Find out more about the COS Restore programme here.
