Turning Trash into Treasure: Voices from Chile’s Fast Fashion Graveyard in the Atacama Desert

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. Subscribe: Get more from Patagonia: Official site: Patagonia Stories: Instagram: Facebook: Twitter: TikTok: @patagonia?lang=en LinkedIn: About Patagonia: At Patagonia, we appreciate that all life on earth is under threat of extinction. We’re using the resources we have—our business, our investments, our voice and our imaginations—to do something about it.