Weaving a Sustainable Future: How Ecocitex is Solving Chile’s Textile Waste Problem
- yanabijoor
- Dec 15, 2025
- 3 min read
The Problem: A Mountain of Clothing Waste
In Chile, there is an enormous amount of dumped clothing, a major environmental problem worldwide. The textile manufacturing industry is one of the major polluters, accounting for 10% of global CO2 emissions. It is estimated that 550 tons of textiles are disposed of in Chilean landfills. Additionally, there is a significant landfill of secondhand clothes in Atacama, Chile, that generates 39,000 tons of waste per year.
The Ecocitex Solution
Rosario Hevia’s social enterprise, Ecocitex, founded in 2020, uses a circular-economy model to end textile waste in Chile. Ecocitex accepts any clothing and then sorts it. If the item is in good condition, it is sold or donated; if it is in poor condition, then it is repurposed into accessories such as winter caps; and those in poor condition are recycled. The clothes are sorted by color, cut into pieces, shredded, and re-spun into recycled yarn. This process does not require water or dyes. This is a very effective means of recycling, as for each ton of clothes Ecocitex recycles, it removes the equivalent of 5.8 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Why is this innovative?
Ecocitex is showing traction with corporate partners, which validates the company’s business model:
Tricot, a clothing retailer, purchases 140,000 balls of yarn from Ecocitex, helping recycle more than 14 tons of waste clothing.
CIC bought 17 tons of textile stuffing for its sustainable mattresses from Ecocitex. In 2023, CIC agreed to buy 2 tons of textile stuffing every month.
Pilot projects with Antucoya and Zaldivar (owned by Antofagasta Minerals) reused 5 tons of used clothing by replacing mining camp blankets with new ones made of recycled materials.
McDonald's, the fast-food chain, recycled 1 ton of staff uniforms in 2023 and purchased over 700 frazadas (blankets) from Ecocitex.
What is the impact?
Social responsibility is an integral part of Ecocitex's business model. Ecocitex employs women, inmates, and refugees. Ecocitex also distributes its 100% recycled textiles through more than 250 women-owned businesses in Chile.
In 2023, Ecocitex recycled 4 tons of clothes per month, but it had the industrial processing capacity of 20 tons per month. Ecocitex has recycled 209 tons of clothes since its inception, equivalent to 136,000 reused clothes and 4,380 donated clothes.
What needs to improve?
Financially, Ecocitex operated at a loss in the first three years. Hevia mentioned in 2021 that “it gets more clothes than it recycles and recycles more than it sells.” In 2023, Ecocitex made a profit for three months, but the partners did not take compensation. Initially, it was funded by the founders themselves, then by the Chilean government through Corfo (an entity focused on fixed assets and innovation), and finally by outside investors. Ecocitex is currently using debt financing to operate.
In June 2023, a major blow came in the form of a fire that damaged the factory, the store, and the entire stock of the commune of Macul, resulting in the loss of 9 machines.
Following a fire, Ecocitex quickly shifted to a new business model, while maintaining its circular ethos. Today, Ecocitex partners with local retailers to sell upcycled and pre-owned products. Its repurposed products use components crafted or upcycled by local sewing professionals working in small, family-run workshops. Ecocitex supports these individuals, over 80% of whom are women and 35% from excluded groups, to grow their craft, enhance their skillsets, and improve their economic stability.
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