More and more businesses are dabbling in fashion and trends eco friendlywhich tries to minimize the environmental impact.
In Ecuador, several brands are already launching collections with an environmental message, which include a new way of making garments and taking advantage of instruments that are still useful, so that they do not end up in landfills.
tukuna It has been on the market for four years and they have managed to turn a recycled PET bottle into a pair of glasses or lenses.
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They collect the bottles from the streets of Quito through grassroots recyclers. They separate by color and grind them. Then they mix colors according to the design, says Philip Wright, general manager of Tukuna. For example, for the Aqua Marina goggles they use 4% blue plastic, 16% green plastic, and 80% clear plastic.
“The circular economy is not only good for the environment, but for the economy in general. Also, we want to give value to grassroots recyclers,” says Wright.
Tukuna uses a 3D machine to form the glasses from filament generated from the shredded plastic. Each goggle goes through a manual process to reach the final finish. They sand the frames, a process that usually takes up to three hours. They put the hinge and rivet by hand.
The company has an agreement with a local optician for those users who wear glasses.
The glasses weigh 20 grams, which is equivalent to a bottle. In 2021, they sold 250 between glasses and lenses nationwide and outside the country such as France, Spain, the United States, Canada, Colombia, among others.
Wright emphasizes the It is important that more and more businesses emerge with this trend or turn their merchandise around.
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Leonisathe textile industry with 29 years in the Ecuadorian market, is venturing into this sustainable fashion.
Since 2022, it launched its ‘Love for the planet’ campaign in which it presented collections from different categories with sustainable garments made from recycled PET bottles.
“On the path of adopting a more ecological lifestyle, the brand has been innovating in how to make the best garments from recycled PET bottles, preventing them from reaching the oceans and putting marine life at risk or increasing pollution in land”, mentions Lisette Cueva, director of Marketing of Leonisa Ecuador.
According to the UN, the clothing industry is the second most polluting in the world. Consumers buy 60% more clothes than a decade ago and the garments are not used ten times before being discarded.
With this initiative, Leonisa uses four PET bottles to make each garment in different categories such as the line of swimwear such as bikinis, one-pieces or swimwear. They also have a sports line like leggings, shorts, tops and training shirts.
And underwear for both men and women. The company has a treatment plantwhere 100% of the water used for manufacturing is treated and 40% of that water is reused.
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“Water pollution has been reduced by 220 tons per year and contributions to water salinity have decreased by 70 tons per year,” explains Cueva.
Leonisa has its virtual store and three physical ones in Cuenca, Quito and Guayaquil.
While, there are new brands that take advantage of reuse to contribute to the environment and show a new proposal. On Revive Jeans they give value to the garment used through transformation.
The sisters Brigitte and Priscilla Riera buy jeans from industries that are discarded and also collect them in their environment. These garments are made into bags and wallets. This procedure takes several days.
“We thought of many things that would make our bag unique, not only the design, style, but transform it into something better because 11,000 to 12,000 liters of water are used in a jean and throwing it away just like that, knowing that it still works, is a waste. says Priscilla.
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Revive Jeans has been on the market for a year and is already at Vitrina 593, in Samborondón. Several entrepreneurs are exhibited in this space. At the moment they are well received. 90% of their sales come from the store and 10% directly to Brigitte and Priscilla.
“We are committed to recycling and our products have that peculiarity that the designs are not repeated. We take the waistbands, jean pockets and we make the bag”, says Brigitte, adding that a bag is not made from a single jean, but from the mixture of several. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
