Coucoudre - refugees help repair clothing, create products, and hold a repair café

Published: 18 October 2021

Coucoudre is a social impact organization that works with refugees in the canton of Vaud to repair clothing and create sewn products from recycled fabrics. Know-it-all passport's pop up shop, Know-it-all Marketplace, from last year was delighted to form a bond with this dynamic group. We wanted to let our readers know what they have to offer.

We talked to Katie Davis and Karen Thorsen to find out more. Coucoudre's ethos is based on three core values.

1. Supporting the human potential of refugees and creating a community commitment to them. The refugees we help are professional seamstresses in their home countries and, by working for Coucoudre, they can use this existing talent to support their families. We support their integration into the local community through these activities. They not only sew for Coucoudre but are invited to participate in the sale of the products so they can engage with the users of the products.

2. To promote a sustainable impact in the textile industry. All products created by Coucoudre are made from unwanted or damaged textiles and clothing donated to us locally. The global textile industry is one of the dirtiest and most socially irresponsible industries in the world. We want to help change that by reducing the amount of fabric that ends up in landfills.

3. Offer a repair solution to reduce the damage of the ever-growing fast fashion industry. We want to encourage people to "repair rather than buy new".

In Spring 2021 we opened our Repair Café in Nyon. We are open every Tuesday from 11h-17h. People can then bring their repairs to the tailors and buy our products. 

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