A Town Called Prato

A small town in Tuscany, Italy is the recycled wool and cotton capital of the world. Centuries earlier, the town was in a place of poverty and was in lack of raw materials. It developed techniques to recycle old clothes into new reusable materials.

They separate the clothes that are unable to be sold in Thrift Stores into different colors, then shred, wash and dry to reworkable material. In 2017 142,000 metric tons were converted into reusable fibers by Prato’s textile industry – reducing the carbon emissions created in the textile industry and those that would have accumulated in landfills.

Designers pick the 'mechanical wool' specifically to their color needs so no further processing is needed; turning one (wo)man's trash into another (wo)man's treasure.

This little town proves that through a truly collaborative process that the fashion industry and sustainability can work together to create beautiful pieces of lasting art.

Does anyone think this sounds familiar?