Carolina Blázquez In Library From the Instituto Cervantes Dublin

- We welcome Carolina Blázquez today at the Instituto Cervantes Library in Dublin. Welcome Carolina. - Thank you very much. - You are the Creative Director of Ecoalf. - Ecoalf, yes. - Tell me, what exactly is Ecoalf? -Well, I also wanted to thank you, first of all for inviting us, Ecoalf to come here to explain you a little bit what we do. Ecoalf is a fashion brand but actually we don’t like to define ourselves as a fashion brand as we consider that we are much more than fashion, we think that we almost create a style of life, of sustainable life. We want to be an influence in the world of sustainability. - And how was this idea born, two things that are on opposite sides like design and sustainability or innovation, for example? - Well, for us sustainability is essential, s much as innovation. We couldn’t do one thing without the other. And in fact, our pillars are sustainability, innovation, design and quality. The idea comes from the search of new materials in order to stop using natural resources. Somehow, we want to stop using natural resources as we consider, well, we don’t consider it, it is a fact, that the planet won’t be able to supply, all the consumption that we are generating. Therefore, we try to find new usage in the waste material. We use recycled bottles and fishing nets and we turn them into raw material, into new fabrics. It’s a little bit our focus, to use things that others consider waste and we see them like raw material. This is more or less what we do. - You have mentioned some of the materials that you use. What’s the main materia prima apart from the examples you mentioned? -Well, we basically use those two materials. What happens is that with these two materials we can reach an infinite number of different qualities. With these two things we get nylon and polyester. We use bottles of water, the ones that are used for bottled water. With that material, called ‘pet’, we make polyester fabrics. And there can be a wide variety of polyester fabrics. They can also be mixed with cotton, for example. And we can use that quality to reach textures and weights and finally there are very diverse fabrics. It would be the same thing with nylon. We get nylon from fishing nets and we can do the same thing with it, the possibilities are infinite. - What kind or products are most popular or most typical? - Well, we have developed a collection of accessories. We have handbags, backpacks, travel bags... We also have outwear. And we have a travel line that we are about to launch, is not on the market yet, of travel articles: suitcases and travel bags. We also have swimming costumes. We made a swimming costume with 100% recycled components. Each part, the lining, the lace... Every component is 100% recycled. And curiously, everything is made of fishing nets, it’s like closing the circle of life. It goes back to water again, to the nets. And we are also developing sport shoes, which are made of a 90% recycled materials. - Therefore, we can say that there is a wide variety of professionals in Ecoalf, I don’t know, I suppose there are people who work at... -Yes, actually it is as I told you in the beginning, what we want is almost a way of life. A way of sustainable life. And then, well, many times we make products or we think about products, that maybe we cannot make just on our own, and we look for allies. We are delighted to collaborate with other companies that at some stage help us out with technology. Maybe they have the technology to be able to do the things that we have just as an idea, and we only look for the support of companies that can provide the technology or the knowledge in those fields where we might not be experts. And we can get a lot from those alliances, you know? We can get a bigger variety of products than if we just keep doing what we know to do as we all basically belong to the fashion sector. In this way, we can reach many more areas. For example, we are also developing a bike which is an electric bike, as there are many in the market, but the curious thing about this bike is that 70% of the aluminium that we are using has also been recycled. And the majority of the components as well. We are also looking for recycled rubber. And obviously we don’t have nor the knowledge or the technology to develop this kind of project. But we have welcome on board a team of engineers who know how to do this kind of things. Then we always make teams where we contribute with some things and the other parts contribute with some other things to reach the final product. - Very well, I’m going to ask you a more general question, I already mentioned it to you previously. As we are now hosting the exhibition of Design with Spanish Accent here at the Instituto Cervantes, tell us how you see the situation of design in our country. - Well, the truth is that right now, the general situation... - Yes, in general terms... -Sure, the general situation is, in broad terms, a little bit complicated. Therefore I think this is a very good moment to be creative, as I think we all have to reinvent ourselves again. We need to think a little bit about what we can do and look for new possibilities and open new ways. Therefore, even though it is a very difficult moment, socially and economically, I think that in these moments, creativity is evoked. And everybody has to reinvent again, it is the only way to get ahead. So, well, it is a chance, isn’t it? - Very well, we take note of that. Carolina, thank you very much for being here and telling us about what you do. - Thank you all.