Close cookie popup

COOKIE NOTICE

We use our own and third-party cookies for internal and analytical purposes only. These cookies permit us to remember, manage and understand how users navigate on our website so we can offer a service based on this information. Some of them belong to third parties which are located in countries whose legislation does not guarantee an adequate level of data protection. Click here for more information about our cookie policy. You can accept all cookies by clicking the "Accept" button or configure or refuse the use of cookies by clicking "Settings".

 

phone contact

(+34) 913 497 100

|

FEDER
06/09/2021

Design with a Committed Vision

???HABITAT_703_Prev??????HABITAT_702_Next???
Álvaro Catalán de Ocón with Abissinian craftswomen (Ethiopia) making Pet Lamp Abyssinia. Photo courtesy of Álvaro Catalán de Ocón.

Álvaro Catalán de Ocón with Abissinian craftswomen (Ethiopia) making Pet Lamp Abyssinia. Photo courtesy of Álvaro Catalán de Ocón.

Craftswomen weaving rugs for Gan in India. Photo courtesy of Gan.

Craftswomen weaving rugs for Gan in India. Photo courtesy of Gan.

Mapuches craftswomen (Chile) making Pet Lamp Mapuche. Photo courtesy of Álvaro Catalán de Ocón.

Mapuches craftswomen (Chile) making Pet Lamp Mapuche. Photo courtesy of Álvaro Catalán de Ocón.

Álvaro Catalán de Ocón with Australian aboriginal crafswomen making Pet Lamp Ramingining. Photo courtesy of Álvaro Catalán de Ocón.

Álvaro Catalán de Ocón with Australian aboriginal crafswomen making Pet Lamp Ramingining. Photo courtesy of Álvaro Catalán de Ocón.

Craftspeople making rugs for Nani Marquina. Photo courtesy of Nani Marquina.

Craftspeople making rugs for Nani Marquina. Photo courtesy of Nani Marquina.

Craftspeople making rugs for Nani Marquina.. Photo courtesy of Nani Marquina.

Craftspeople making rugs for Nani Marquina.. Photo courtesy of Nani Marquina.

Eperara craftswoman (Colombia) making Pet Lamp Eperara. Photo courtesy of Álvaro Catalán de Ocón.

Eperara craftswoman (Colombia) making Pet Lamp Eperara. Photo courtesy of Álvaro Catalán de Ocón.

Craftswoman weaving a Glaoui rug for Gan in India. Photo courtesy of Gan.

Craftswoman weaving a Glaoui rug for Gan in India. Photo courtesy of Gan.

Over the last few years, sustainability and social commitment have become part of the corporate DNA of many Spanish brands and designers. Their projects and designs are based not only on aesthetic or functional criteria, but also, on the desire to generate a positive impact on the environment and the community throughout the product's value chain.

This mindset is found behind the carpets of GAN and Nani Marquina, and the creations of Álvaro Catalán de Ocón, three examples of the transformational and inspiring capacity of the design industry.

"From the beginning, sustainability has been the principle permeating all of the brand's processes: from the manufacture of products and the renovation of handicraft techniques to the preference for natural or recycled materials," GAN points out. Its carpets are hand-woven in India "by expert craftsmen using natural materials - such as wool, jute or cotton - obtained without harming animals. On the other hand, some of our collections are made entirely from high quality recycled materials, such as recycled felt or 100% recycled PET, in which the plastic fibers undergo a thorough treatment and regeneration process that extends their useful life and gives them a new shape (upcycling)."

"We try to be consistent and respectful in our design decisions, and we have projects such as PET Lamp or, more recently, Plastic Rivers, which aims to be a 'product manifesto' that conveys and generates a critical perspective on a current ecological problem such as plastic waste in rivers. 

For Nani Marquina, the commitment to the environment has always been very present throughout her career. “We make sure that the entire chain, from the conception of the design to the choice of materials, processes and techniques, is as environmentally friendly as possible. In 2013, we teamed up with Indian biochemist Charmaine F. Sharma to support one of her major breakthroughs in the fight against environmental degradation: Eco-wash & Jutex, biodegradable and chemical-free products, which we incorporate into the process. In addition, we use recycle and organic materials in our products, for example, 100% recycled PET in the outdoor collections."

Creating value for communities

The involvement of these brands goes much further, with a firm commitment to social development that also benefits the communities with which they work. In the case of Nani Marquina, to encourage the local economy, they have launched "strategies to improve the lives of craftsmen, with special attention to India, Pakistan and Nepal, countries where we produce. Together with Ilse Crawford, we launched the Wellbeing collection, whose criteria included natural, sustainable and local fibers, hand-spun, bleach-free and dye-free. These requirements prompted our team to embark on an in-depth research process and begin working with a wide variety of materials, leading to a conscious, human-centered, sensory and beautiful outcome."

“Many of our designs are made with the help of the GAN Women Unit, a project active since 2010 that started with a group of female embroiderers who had lost their jobs, whom we commissioned to work on Bandas, a new collection by Patricia Urquiola," say GAN, delving into their experience in India. “Patricia adapted her designs considering the specific skills of these women, to allow them to combine their family and work life. The GAN Women Unit is the result of the desire to promote mutual cultural enrichment and, at the same time, offer economic autonomy to the women of this area. The goal is clear: to help them gain independence and decision-making power through a stable and well-paid job."

For these companies, therefore, sustainability and social commitment go unequivocally hand in hand, as Álvaro Catalán de Ocón corroborates: "PET Lamp was created in response to an ecological problem, but it also affects a community of craftsmen around the world who, at times, find themselves in a fragile position. Supporting artisan methods is always a great social work, since it revives long traditions that are being lost. We have been working continuously with groups of craftsmen, mostly women, from Colombia, Chile, Ghana, Ethiopia and Thailand. For many of them, PET Lamp has become a regular source of income for nine years now, which is a source of pride for us, but also a great responsibility."

Enriching process

This conscious search for environmentally friendly materials and manufacturing techniques, and for a strategy that generates value for the communities has, in turn, become an enriching element for the brands themselves, which have found new avenues for creativity in this interaction with the environment.

“Collaboration with craftsmen, in many cases from local indigenous cultures, has been an infinite source of wisdom," says Álvaro Catalán de Ocón, "It has allowed us to have a global vision of the different basketry techniques and natural fibers, but above all, of the people who use them.

“All the innovations applied in sustainability and environmental care projects have meant a step forward in our knowledge and experience in the manufacture of textile products," says Nani Marquina.

“Currently," they continue, "we are working on a fiber recovery project, to eliminate the surplus generated from production. We strive to comply with the strategy of a circular economy, where both the input of virgin materials and the production of waste is as tight as possible. By doing so, we generate awareness that resources are not eternal, and we eliminate waste from the system from design. We create long-lasting carpets that do not participate in throwaway consumption and encourage recycling.

GAN is also clear about its roadmap: "We have seen recycled materials grow as part of our own portfolio. This has been motivated both by our designers' desire to be more sustainable and by our own customers, who want to feel that their purchases make a difference. We actively incorporate recycled and recyclable materials into new products, but we also modify existing products to improve our environmental footprint." In social terms, "our commitment to India is stronger than ever, as we saw during the last health crisis. The situation has forced us to make deadlines more flexible and to work in a different way. Our intention is to continue working with our craftsmen, discovering new techniques and adapting them to contemporary design, and to increase the number of participants in the GAN Women Unit."

A committed future in which there is also room for synergies with other players in the sector, such as the joint project with designer Álvaro Catalán de Ocón, as he describes: "A couple of years ago I was contacted by the Valencian company GAN to commission a collection of carpets made from recycled PET bottle fiber, which will be presented in Milan in September. It has been very interesting to be able to carry out a project with a strong conceptual load for a brand like this one."

"We are aware that there is still a lot to do and we work every day to find new solutions that minimize our impact in the long and short term," shares Nani Marquina as a final reflection.

Our brands:
  • Foods & Wines from Spain
  • Interiors from Spain
  • Aula Virtual
  • Invest in Spain
  • ICEX CECO
  • EmarketServices
  • ICEXNext
  • Audiovisual from Spain
  • Diary
  • News about interesting fairs and events which Spanish companies and designers are taking part in
  • find out

European Regional Development Fund

Logo ICEX Ministerio Economía 2024

A way to make Europe