These clothes shining from the legendary waste mountain in the Atacama desert of Chile are, as it were, really 'putting to market' expectations of shortening waste mountain. The cheekiness of the act is said to have been employed by Vtex together with Fashion Revolution Brazil and Desierto Vestido, according to the release.
The Atacama Desert is actually a real dumping ground for rags. According to Fashion Revolution Brazil, 39,000 tons of rags are dumped every year in the Atacama. Such rags render rivers of clothing waste. The major donors for these items are the U.S.A., Europe, and Asia.
These are, in fact, free; the visitors only pay for shipping. They are placed for sale in Re-commerce Atacama. The clothes are first cleaned after being retrieved from the mountain of trash. The ones that were damaged are graded according to their condition and repaired if necessary so they can be offered again.
The first drop has already happened and was sold out in five hours, shipping to over ten countries.
"Going beyond e-commerce, this initiative enables us to reflect on the implications of our current model of production, consumption, and uncontrolled waste. The climate emergency is already here, and the fashion industry requires stronger commitment. This action serves to highlight what lies behind the clothes and prompt new ways of dealing with them," says Fernanda Simon, Executive Director of Fashion Revolution Brazil.