It’s a goldmine, not a landfill: This Italian entrepreneur uses garbage to make upscale accessories
May 4, 2019
THE ECONOMIC TIMES – By Chiara Remondini
Giulio Bonazzi’s company uses Econyl, recycled thread to make clothes.
To you, it’s a garbage dump. To Italian entrepreneur Giulio Bonazzi, it’s the launchpad for a Stella McCartney handbag or a pair of Levi’s jeans.
“When I look at a landfill, I see a goldmine,” Bonazzi, the founder and chief executive officer of nylon manufacturer Aquafil, said in an interview.
As volumes of plastic-based waste reach a tipping point in oceans and trash heaps around the world, Bonazzi’s company is recycling the material and turning it into nylon used to make upscale apparel and accessories.
And with heightened consumer awareness and tougher environmental rules, the CEO sees unlimited potential for sales of the company’s Econyl thread. The yarn is made from recycled material which may have started life as carpet or industrial plastic, or even part of an abandoned fishing net — an increasingly promising area for recycling.
