Culture & Design

This Italian Company Wants Your Swimsuit to Be Made From Garbage

  • Aquafil looks to transform plastic waste into designer duds
  • New EU law could bolster recycling of abandoned fishing nets
A pair of Levi Strauss & Co. 522 jeans made with Econyl thread.Source: Aquafil

To you, it’s a garbage dump. To Italian entrepreneur Giulio Bonazzi, it’s the launchpad for a Stella McCartney handbag or a pair of Levi’s jeans.

“When I look at a landfill, I see a goldmine,” Bonazzi, the founder and chief executive officer of nylon manufacturer Aquafil, said in an interview.