SOS Costura: Brazil's first clothing repair and alterations app

Being the largest Brazilian metropole with 12 million inhabitants (2021) and housing three large clothing production hubs (Brás, Bom Retiro, and Vila Maria), São Paulo produces 55 tons of textile waste per day, of which 20 are post-consumer textiles (Sustexmoda, 2022).

Users place an order and pay via the SOS Costura app. It searches for seamsters in a 5km radius and pick-ups can be booked 15h in advance. The seamster picks up the order and takes the necessary measurements and returns with the order within 3-7 days. Prices can be consulted before downloading the app as they are listed on the website, and there is a discount system based on the order's volume.

On the business-facing app SOS Costura Entrepreneur, seamsters select the days they are available to work. SOS Costura takes a 20% commission from the seamsters they work with.

The average order is R$180 and seamsters earn up to R$2500 per month. Content with the work, they highlight the convenience to work from home and report not needing to take on additional work for income.