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Denim garments with a second life, this is how 120 aprons are made with a social impact
01-01-2025
A restaurant chain, a special employment centre and a textile waste manager. These are the three players in a success story that demonstrates that circularity in the textile sector is possible, thanks to 9 months of coordinated work with a social purpose. These are the ingredients of a project to produce 120 aprons with reused material from the Humana plant in Barcelona, made by people with intellectual disabilities and/or mental disorders from Fundació Portolà, which are now worn by the workers of five restaurants in the airports of Madrid and Barcelona.
The origin of this upcycling project dates back to 2024 when Flax&kale, which manages five restaurants in Barcelona and Madrid, thought of dressing its employees with aprons made from reused material. ‘We wanted sustainable garments, with denim material that had apparently reached the end of its useful life’, explains Mar Barri, Marketing Manager of the restaurant chain.
‘We are committed to reducing waste and implementing sustainable practices in all areas of our business,’ Barri continues, ’so we thought that denim or jeans that are unsold or in poor condition could have great potential to be reused and turned into unique and attractive aprons using the patchwork method.
‘The idea is to promote the circular economy by giving a second life to garments that would otherwise be discarded. We firmly believe in the importance of making the most of available resources and minimising environmental impact’, add Flax&kale, “That is why we contacted Humana to involve them in the project, with the donation of denim garments, as well as a designer who would be in charge of making a prototype”, explains Barri.
Enthusiastic about the project, Humana selected hundreds of garments from the recycling category, mostly trousers, at its plant in l'Ametlla del Vallès (Barcelona). From this material, the designer made several prototypes until she finally found the one she wanted. It was then that the Fundació Portolà, a special social initiative employment centre that facilitates the social and occupational integration of people with intellectual disabilities and/or mental disorders, came into the picture.
‘We took on the task of making the garments’, explains María José Alepuz, director of the foundation, ’we made 120 aprons in two different versions: with and without bib. Eight people from our tailoring workshop took part in the project, spending approximately 180 hours of work. This project represents a real opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities and/or mental disorders to demonstrate their abilities, promoting their inclusion in the labour market and their personal development within a professional and supportive environment’.
It took 9 months from the conception of the project, the initial meetings, the implementation of the action, the selection of the garments, the making, the tests and the distribution to the restaurant teams. The final result is an original garment that also has a label with its own design to give visibility to the action. It is currently worn by 70 people in two restaurants in Barcelona airport and three in Madrid airport, all of them belonging to the Flax and Kale chain, and it is also on sale in the restaurant located at C/ Tallers, 64 in Barcelona.
‘This project is a perfect example of circular economy for textiles, at a very local level, with a marked social purpose, given the nature of the Portolá and Humana foundations’, says Rafael Mas, director of Projects and External Relations at Humana, who insists: “It is an example of tangible and concrete action of upcycling design and collaboration between three very different actors in terms of the activity they carry out, and at the same time with very similar values”.
‘The project shows that circularity at the local level is possible, so we can talk about a real success story,’ Mas adds, ’We encourage companies to rethink before buying new textiles. Giving opportunities to textiles that have already been manufactured is an excellent idea’.
