La Cartiera
by Roma Cervino
On March 12th we visited La Cartiera located in the beautiful Marzabotto Italy. La Cartiera is an ethical brand and fashion workshop that is intended to promote sustainable practices. La Cartiera takes the deadstock from large Italian fashion companies like Gucci and repurposes the material on site to breathe life to unused leather and craft new designs. Furthermore, they provide compensation and opportunity to their workers by teaching them artisanal skills and are focused on the inclusion of disadvantaged people specifically migrant workers. Waste in the fashion industry is a large and intimidating issue yet small companies like La Cartiera are setting the example for how to up-cycle repurpose and be both environmentally and socially sustainable. Fast fashion brands are notorious for unfair worker policies with factories sometimes putting their workers lives at risk. La Cartiera is aware of this malpractice and seeks to ensure that their workers are respected and cared for. Thanks to them, luxury brands can be held accountable for where their waste is going, and now have the option to transform what they aren’t using into beautiful pieces that are sustainable and affordable to a wider market.
Bags handmade at La Cartiera
As far as the designing of the actual products, La Cartiera clearly takes into consideration aesthetic beauty. The designs aren’t made just to use up discarded material, their brand has a style of its own. These are high quality items made out of raw material that have a minimal taste with a bold edge. As our speakers mentioned during the visit to the workshop, when you buy their product you also buy the story. The tour we were given was productive and eye opening. I feel optimistic that companies will strive for practices such as these, and that consumers will continue to value quality and sustainability when purchasing an item. However within this positive outlook it is clear to see just how wasteful companies are being, and La Cartiera’s cyclical approach to consumption may unintentionally promote more waste since they will sell back to the companies they receive stock from. I think it’s important to remember that fashion brands are operating within a capitalist system that will always in some way be damaging if the primary goal is profit.
Our speakers at La Cartiera, Tatiana di Frederico (right) and Federico D’Addato (left.)
The Mosaic students interacting with Tatiana and Federico at La Cartiera headquarters.