Connecting 5,000 years of textile heritage with a sustainable future

Now a days, Peru is globally recognized and admired for its excellent FOOD, for which we are very proud of. However, Peru has been cooking for a little over 300 years but we have been knitting for over 5,000 years. Some great textiles samples were found in Caral – the most ancient city in America.

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

The Citadel of #Caral, in which lived the oldest civilization of #America, celebrates 7 years as Cultural Heritage of Humanity and it never ceases to amaze us with its new findings. Visit it! Is only four hours from Lima! © PROMPERÚ La ciudadela de #Caral, en la que habitaba la civilización más antigua de #América, cumple siete años como Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad y no deja de sorprendernos con nuevos hallazgos. ¡Visítala, se encuentra a tan solo cuatro horas de #Lima #history #adventure #celebration #loveit #igersperu #beautiful #amazing #instatravel #travel #Perú #Peru #MadeinPerú #MadeinPeru #travelgram #wanderlust #voyage #gotogether #must #instagood #photooftheday #instapicture #VisitPeru #DiscoverYourself

Una publicación compartida por Perú (@peru) el 28 de Jun de 2016 a las 5:14 PDT

Interestingly, one thing that all Peruvian textiles had in common 5,000 years ago was Sustainability. For example: their main energy sources were the sun, rivers and the ocean (i.e. renewable energy sources).  Their main water sources were rivers and lakes (which they didn’t pollute at all), and had no gas emissions (i.e. carbon neutral). All textiles were handmade, with natural fibers and colors, and all artisans were very respected members of their communities. Interestingly, in those days they were already applying many circular economy principles; e.g. some clothes were used by many generations (REUSE), they had little or no waste (REDUCE) and some garments where recycled after their owners died (RECYCLE).

In line with this ancient heritage, we are starting to recycle our fibers and offering to the World garments with recycled cotton and/or polyester, while ensuring the high quality of our textile products.

By the year 2030, we aim to certify Peru as the most sustainable textile industry in the World, in 5 pillars:

1. Clean Energy: we encourage the use of clean / renewable energy sources and we plan to invest in, for example, solar panel parks, using the sun and water as our main sources of energy – as our ancestors.
2. Water: we aim to have the lowest water print in the World, applying Reuse, Reduce & Recycling technologies.
3. Carbon Neutral: we aim to reduce our gas emissions in 20% by 2030 (in line Peru’s commitment) and support protected natural areas – many of which have been described as “the lungs of the planet”.
4. Clean Production: we will work with the Government to reduce / eliminate residues and move towards a Circular Economy model – as we did 5,000 ago.
5. Decent Labor: we already provide legal and decent labor to 1 MM people – 60% of which are women – and they are widely respected in their homes and communities.  Thus, we need to grow our business in order to provide more decent jobs to more people / women in Peru.

By 2030, we want every garment MADE IN PERU to stand for “high quality with sustainability” – and put Peruvian Textiles next to Peruvian Food in the #1 pedestal.