By Valentina Alvarado Moreno

Surely we all have experienced that moment when our favorite clothes, after being used lots of times, fulfill their useful life cycle. What was once clothes for going out becomes clothes for being at home, and eventually, they become so worn out that we no longer know what to do with it. The option of throwing it away becomes a concern, as we know it will end up in a landfill, contributing to a growing environmental problem. Fortunately, initiatives like Tu Ropero and Slow are opening new doors to solve this dilemma and offer a greener and more responsible solution. For a couple of years, Tu Ropero is focused on extending the useful life of garments through resale and donation in Colombia. However, the issue of what happens to garments that reach their final cycle and cannot be reused or donated, still is a considerable challenge. Aware of this reality, founders of Tu Ropero decided to go a step further and created SLOW, an innovative platform dedicated to the final disposal of textile waste and garments that no longer have a second useful life. Tu Ropero and SLOW have a clear mission: to offer a responsible alternative for textile waste management and promote a circular fashion model that ranges from resale and donation to textile recycling and upcycling.

How does SLOW work?

After receiving the textile waste intended for final disposal, the SLOW team carries out a meticulous review and separation process. Here, they identify garments that may still have a second useful life to be donated to foundations, garments that can be used for an upcycling process with allied brands, and scraps and trimmings that can be used in other industries. For the most challenging materials, such as polyester garments, SLOW is developing innovative solutions through its product research pipeline. They are creating blocks that combine crushed textiles with resin, aimed at applications such as facades or furniture decoration. One of the objectives they have when developing these products is that they are designed to be reintegrated into the recycling cycle at the end of their useful life. Thus, SLOW ensures that the products developed can be shredded and reused, promoting a continuous cycle of recycling and reducing the environmental impact over time.

Conscious Partnerships: An Essential Pillar

One of the pillars of Tu Ropero and SLOW is to form conscious alliances with key players not only in the fashion industry but also in other sectors. They work with universities, foundations, public and private companies that aim at the three pillars of sustainability. Its first textile collection container is located in the Vegan & Veggie restaurant in the Manila neighborhood of Medellín. This collaboration provides a convenient space for garment delivery and fosters environmental awareness among restaurant customers. In turn, they have collaborated with universities such as the University of Medellín and the National University to structure sustainable business models, taking advantage of students' knowledge. On the other hand, they have alliances with three foundations where they not only donate garments but also create awareness spaces with talks and events. In addition, through the podcast "Sustainable Conversations" they generate awareness and strengthen their links with other actors in the industry, in which representatives of companies such as Bodega Comfama, Crystal, Inexmoda, Cueros Vélez, Alejandro Crocker, Aquelarre and Fabricato have participated.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=CTp0rXZOK4g

The next steps of Tu Ropero and SLOW: Vanessa Báez Morales, co-founder of Tu Ropero and SLOW, says that one of the short-term goals of the platform is to educate not only the consumer but also the producer. Promote a responsible cycle closure for textile waste by raising awareness among small, medium and large companies on the importance of managing their waste properly. Beyond reducing the environmental impact through waste mitigation, Tu Ropero and SLOW also seeks to develop new solutions that encourage the creation of recycled raw materials that reduce the need to exploit virgin resources. Finally, it is clear that the path to a more sustainable and responsible fashion industry is not without challenges, but efforts such as those of Tu Ropero and SLOW contribute enormously to overcoming these.