Fat Face X Reskinned Takeback

FatFace wanted to turn its partnership with Reskinned into a practical, in store take back service that fits the brand and scales across the estate. The goal was to give customers a simple way to return preloved FatFace clothing as part of a wider circularity journey, while keeping the experience easy to manage for store teams.

SmithBrewer were asked to transform the sustainability ambition into a physical solution, covering concept design, technical development, manufacture and logistics.

The initiative had to move quickly from idea to reality, proving the concept in just a few weeks and then rolling it out to multiple stores. The unit needed to look right, work hard, and deliver on sustainability by using responsible materials, reducing waste and minimising transport impact.

We handled the project as an end to end exercise, uniting design thinking with manufacturing knowledge and operational delivery.

• Rapid proof of concept – produced and tested the first unit within a matter of weeks, giving the team confidence before wider rollout.
• Scalable design – created a modular kit that flat packs for efficient shipping, assembles quickly in store and adapts to different footprints.
• Sustainable specification – selected Xanita board card print and responsibly sourced birch plywood, and engineered every part to nest on a single sheet to reduce waste.
• Future ready engineering – made each component repairable or replaceable so the unit can be refreshed without full remanufacture.

The final take back unit delivers on appearance and performance, embodying FatFace brand values while making circular retail simple to execute. Flat packability cuts transport emissions, material efficiency reduces waste, and the modular build supports easy upgrade over time.

By combining creative, technical and operational expertise in one place SmithBrewer helped FatFace move from concept to rollout quickly and confidently, proving that sustainability and commercial practicality can go hand in hand.