Argentine textile industry works to be a zero waste sector

The textile industry It is one of the most polluting in the world, because of the materials it uses, because of the waste generated by chemical colorations and also because of the mass consumption model that generates so much waste and waste.

To change this production model, the Argentine Sustainable Fashion Association (Amsoar) travels the country with different initiatives and this time it was Jujuy’s turn.

Jujuy Sustainable Fashion has several entrepreneurs and local brands as protagonists, who seek in their roots and in their environment production processes that make better use of resources.

Of all the local entrepreneurs and SMEs that participated in the meetings held in August, Bonhomía and Fan Plástico were the winning brands who, in addition to providing advice to perfect their production techniques, also had the opportunity to show their creations on the catwalk at a special event.

Liliana Cisneros, from Bonhomía, has been working on the concept of her brand since 2016 when she began to make contact with new techniques called zero waste, which consists of strategically drawing and designing patterns so that no fabric is wasted. Zero waste, from design to production process, that’s the job watchword.

“In Jujuy there are no textile companies so yes or yes textiles are bought abroad, so to save on the carbon footprint we try to buy natural fabrics locally and we are experimenting with hand dyeing, for now in neutral, natural colors”, he explains the entrepreneur and remarks that the zero waste technique is also a philosophy that they even carry in their packaging, which has the double function of becoming shopping bags or placemats.

In the beginning, says the founder, they even toured American fairs to rescue garments whose fabrics were in a position to create new designs. “We also offer the after-sales repair service using the same fabrics, so that they have a new life and are not discarded in years,” he remarks.

Paz Corominas, creator of Fan Plástico, the second company chosen by Amsoar, has been working on her brand since 2017 and had already been exploring the disposal of materials and the possibility of recovery for years.

With the thermofusion technique, the project began in a very traditional way: “I started with the iron of the clothes that I used for almost a year, until in 2019, thanks to Empretec from Banco Nación, I realized that this could be an undertaking,” he recalls. And although he makes an effort so that each input of his brand is recycled, he clarifies that “we still need to be able to recycle the fittings and closures, but even the labels are made of recycled caps”.

Fan Plástico also created its own chain of work: they receive plastic donations at a “clean point”, they campaign on the networks for people to come closer, and from there they go to the workshop where they are cleaned and become the fanplastic cloth. Then the bite is assembled and finally it is time for sewing.

And as in all these SMEs, the objective of raising awareness is key: that is why they also created the Plastic Fan Station, a visitor space in a “store-restaurant”, where the brand’s products are displayed and the story is told in detail. on how it is made.

“In this way we accompany the client to get to know the product through an exhibitor”, Corominas sums up. Zero waste, zero contamination, maximum durability and use.

In practice, these brands face what they themselves call “a tightrope walker economy.” Nobody said it was easy, but they know that driving and leading the paradigm shift, from production to responsible consumption, is the only possible way to create a textile industry that truly reconciles with the environment.

Chronicler of Argentina

Economic Newspaper Network (RIPE)