22 Nov 2021
The Switcher Aina Pujol, based in Barcelona, joined the other young people from all over the Mediterranean in Istanbul to speak up for the Mediterranean Sea, to share their own story and to suggest sustainable solutions for the future of the region.
The event was designed to raise awareness about what’s happening to the Mediterranean sea, and its drastic biodiversity loss, and actively engage the youth in its preservation. The young audience expressed their concerns and agreed that the most urgent matters was to pressure the contracting parties and politicians of the different countries to act together and fast.
The outcome of this event is to formulate the Youth Declaration, that will be presented to the COP22 Ministerial session (9 December in Antalya) by two participants, serving as input to the high-level deliberations. And the big news is… Aina Pujol has been selected as one of the participant!
Aina Pujol recently joined the community of the Switchers, as she kick-started her own initiative after a moment of reflection on our way of consuming fashion.
She came to a realization during the COVID-19 lockdown: fashion needs to become more sustainable. During her career as a pattern designer, Pujol’s local fashion company was purchased by a large group of investors, which led to a new, “fast fashion” business strategy. Pujol grew disillusioned.
“This was my first contact with the fast fashion industry, and I realized that I did not want to be a part of that,” Pujol explained.
Since then, Pujol has bravely started up her own fashion house: Hügel, a proudly “slow fashion” oriented business. Hügel pushes back against harmful practices of the global clothing industry by using sustainable materials, such as leftover fabrics and eco-friendly colour dyes. Hügel also conducts stringent quality control checks to ensure that all clothes last for many years.
You can read her whole story among many other inspiring stories and get to know more about her initiative here.
You can also follow closely what will happen during the COP22 thanks to the hashtag #COP22Med and have more information on the UNEP/MAP website
Surf between other inspiring stories from other Switchers in the sustainable textile sector in the Mediterranean.
This item was originally published in SCP/RAC website on 19th November.
