SIEME X ASPRI & the fashion of the future
At Sieme our mission is to design out material waste within our local community in Tuscany. Because this region of Italy is one of the largest manufacturers of luxury goods worldwide, that equals A LOT of material waste. As we grow, we want to highlight our main partners who have been crucial in helping us achieve this monumental feat.
This starts with ASPRI
The ASPRI ASSOCIATION stands for The Association for Recycled Leather in Italy. Founded by Simona Innocenti, a third-generation leather factory owner, the Association’s mission is to repurpose local leather waste and promote leather craft in the region. From humble beginnings, ASPRI now boasts over 70 members, spanning fellow factory owners to patternmakers, lawyers, accountants and designers all working towards creative solutions for repurposing leather waste. In addition, ASPRI offers leather craft courses and works with incarcerated women and refugee agencies to provide skilled training in the leather sector.
A view of the ASPRI warehouse + workshop
Currently, there is an estimated 800,000 to 1.6 million square meters of leather waste generated per year, just in Italy. For those of you in the U.S., that translates to anywhere from 800,000 to 17 million square feet of leather waste. For context, it takes about 5 square meters or 50 square feet of leather to make 1 jacket and even less for a handbag. So essentially, by our most conservative estimates we are throwing away the equivalent of at least 16,000 -300,000 leather jackets a year. (Based on reports from UNIDOS, UNIC, the EU environmental commission and others.) And yet, locally, there is no systematic process by which independent designers, artisans or even students can access these excess materials without personal relationships. The stories of students and makers dumpster diving outside the Gucci factories for leather scraps are funny at face value but reveal a gaping hole in our production system.
In italy alone, we are throwing away the equivalent of
16,000 - 300,000 leather jackets
PER year.
For the past year, in collaboration with ASPRI and new circular material startup ZEROW, Sieme has been working towards building a way we can collect, sort and provide access to these materials for all who want to use them. We network with local factories and take in their leather “excess” then we sort the materials and repurpose them into our beautiful handbags! .
We are especially proud that we are collaborating with AS.P.R.I on leather training internship program! AS.P.RI. works with local prisons to train incarcerated people in leather skills, then place them in internships and work opportunities upon release. We currently have 3 interns with us helping grow our leather rescuing supply chain!
Sieme in partnership with the ASPRI Association is a model for all the ways that fashion can help support local communities rather than tear them down. In fact, it is a huge part of the reason I have decided to stay in Florence. This is the fashion industry I want to be a part of, the one I believed in as a little girl dreaming of one day becoming a designer.
Sorting bags of leather scraps
If you love our mission and want to follow along with ASPRI... follow us on social media and share this story with your friends. Sign up for our mailing list and urge others in your circle to do the same. Sieme would not be possible without ASPRI, and together… the possibilities are endless.
Rows of leather rescued from landfills or incineration
