FROM JUMPER TO SLIPPER
The family behind a Tuscan textile recycling company were telling their stories in Italian - hands included. I hardly understood a word, yet I was deeply touched by everything they said.
Fortunately, we were not alone. Partners from bigagli, the mill that produces our felt, joined us and patiently helped translate throughout the visit.
Even so, some things did not need translation.
You could feel the passion. The dedication to craft. The pride in a business that has been part of Prato’s textile recycling tradition since 1960s.
A months ago, Sara, Hana and I visited Goritex, a family-owned company that sorts and prepares worn-out woollen garments for recycling.
To be honest, our meeting did not start as expected.
The jumpers we had brought were not sanitised. The quantities were small. Goritex usually works with larger suppliers and established collection systems from Italy.
For a while, we listened to many reasons why our collaboration might not be feasible.
But two hours later, we were no longer discussing problems. We were discussing solutions.
Then we walked through the sorting hall.
Towers of jumpers surrounded us. Workers sat in what the trade calls the pillow position: on the floor, garments arranged in a circle around them, hands moving with the ease of people who have done this their whole lives.
Every jumper was sorted by hand. Buttons removed. Zips removed. Labels removed. Colours separated. Compositions checked.
Every jumper passed through human hands.
Watching the process, I kept asking myself:
Who chooses a path this slow when easier and cheaper materials already exist?
Well, we do.
Because there is something beautiful about giving materials a second life.
A jumper becomes fibre.
Fibre becomes felt.
Felt becomes a pair of ReWooly slippers.
Eventually, those slippers arrive in a hotel room.
A guest steps into them before breakfast. Slides across the floor. Sometimes takes them home in a suitcase.
Not a bad second life for a jumper.
Photographer: Hana Jelovčan