In northern Chile, a stretch of Atacama Desert has become known as the fashion industry’s biggest dumpster. Discarded clothing enters the country in bales through the tax-free zone in Iquique. What can’t be sold by merchants gets transported to neighboring Alto Hospicio and illegally dumped into its surrounding dunes. These illegal landfills come with a host of environmental and human-health issues, including greenhouse gas emissions and fires that spew toxic fumes.

Most stories about this region are filled with bleakness. But a community of activists, educators and artists are turning the fashion industry’s trash into seeds for change and building the foundation for a different narrative.

“Built from Scrap” read by Alex Perry and written by Franco Calderón.

This episode of Patagonia Stories was produced by Patagonia and Cosmic Standard. See more at https://pat.ag/PataStories.

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