An amazingly sustainable & beautiful product from Chile. 

Ecocitex's beautiful range of yarns would have to be some of the most sustainable yarns available. In addition to reducing textile waste, they estimate that they mitigate 5.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents for each tonne of clothing recycled. They also provide employment and training to women leaving the prison system, assisting in social reintegration. Finally, they do not use water and dyes in their production process.

The process

	1. Collection  Ecocitex collects unwanted clothing and textile waste from people and businesses.
	2. Sorting Garments are manually sorted by colour. This work provides employment to women who were previously incarcerated.
	3. Cutting up The clothing is cut up by guillotine and mixed to provide an even colour. No water or dyes are used in the process.
	4. Breaking apart The cut up material is broken down further, creating a textile fleece which is then sanitised.
	5. Carding The tangled fibers of the fleece are carded (which aligns the fibres) and then turned into textile fleece rovings.
	6. Spinning The fleece is then spun to create a beautiful yarn made from recycled clothing.

^{Above images and information: Adapted from Ecocitex (Chile), with permission.}

The following video from Ecocitex (via Instagram) shows the process in action (in Spanish):

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ECOCITEX | Moda Circular & Lana Reciclada 🇨🇱 (@ecocitex)

What about the downsides?

Of course there are pretty much always downsides to products; in this case, it cannot be ignored that the yarn is imported (by sea and/or air) to Australia from Chile. This will (in addition to the energy used to manufacture the product) contribute to CO₂ emissions. Also, the products contain a mix of fibres and are not hypoallergenic.

Nonetheless, when balancing the costs and benefits, we feel this product is pretty amazing.

Want to know more?

Ecocitex has appeared in many media articles. The following are articles in English:

• Rosario Hevia Is Giving New Life to Textile Waste: Her two companies, Travieso and Ecocitex, provide a solution to an environmental disaster in Chile - Elle Magazine (2024)
• ‘We turn waste into something golden’: the creatives transforming rags to riches - The Guardian (2023)
  
  

Recognition & awards

Ecocitex and its founders have won many awards and recognition. For example:

• Latin American Fashion Awards: Responsible Project of the Year (2023)
• Forbes: 100 mejores startups de Chile [100 best Chilean startups] (2024)
• Vogue Business: 100 Innovators [paywalled] (2024)
  
  

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