Vintage for a Cause
A circular fashion brand from Porto that upcycles textile waste into original clothing and gives unemployed women over 50 work in the process. Since 2019 it has also run Clubes Circulares, a network of social inclusion and circularity workshops across Portugal.
Vintage for a Cause turns deadstock and discarded textiles into exclusive clothing and accessories of its own design, and sells them online. The brand is based in Porto, and Helena Antónia Silva founded it in 2012. It gives unemployed women over 50 meaningful work in the upcycling process. In Portugal it has a reputation as a case study in solidarity reuse and the circular economy.
Since 2019 it has grown beyond the shop into Clubes Circulares (Circular Clubs), a network of social inclusion and circularity programmes active in different parts of Portugal. The clubs run creative sewing and textile reuse workshops for schools, municipalities, companies and local communities. Children, employees and local partners take part, learning practical skills for using resources with more care. In the Douro, the Clubes UP programme is co-financed by Fundação EDP through its Energia Solidária programme. Other workshops are delivered in partnership with Nestlé Portugal and the TUI Care Foundation, supporting diversity, inclusion and employee wellbeing.
The project has built a community of hundreds of “remakers” who are making the Douro region more circular and inclusive. It was named a winner in the second edition of TUI Futureshapers Portugal for its creative sewing experiences, which help make tourism more sustainable. The Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian supports the project.
Our Goal
Vintage for a Cause wants to build a circular fashion economy in Portugal by upcycling textile waste into original clothing. Alongside that, it works to support unemployed women over 50 and other vulnerable communities through inclusion and skills training.
Our Wishes
The project is looking for organisations, municipalities and companies that would like to bring the Clubes Circulares programme to their communities or workplaces. It also welcomes customers who want to support circular fashion.
