honorable mention
Martin Bernetti Vera chile
title
Chile's desert dumping ground for fast fashion leftovers
The social impact of rampant consumerism in the clothing industry -- such as child labor in factories or derisory wages -- is well-known, but the disastrous effect on the environment is less publicized.
Chile has long been a hub of secondhand and unsold clothing, made in China or Bangladesh and passing through Europe, Asia or the United States before arriving in Chile, where it is resold around Latin America.
Some 59,000 tons of clothing arrive each year at the Iquique port in the Alto Hospicio free zone in northern Chile.
Clothing merchants from the capital Santiago, 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) to the south, buy some, while much is smuggled out to other Latin American countries. But at least 39,000 tons that cannot be sold end up in rubbish dumps in the desert.
"What is not sold to Santiago nor sent to other countries stays in the free zone" as no one pays the necessary tariffs to take it away.
"The problem is that the clothing is not biodegradable and has chemical products, so it is not accepted in the municipal landfills," said Franklin Zepeda, the founder of EcoFibra, a company that makes insulation panels using discarded clothing. Chile, the richest country in South America, is known for the voracious consumerism of its inhabitants.
Fast fashion advertising "has helped to convince us that clothing makes us more attractive, that it makes us stylish and even cures our anxiety," said Monica Zarini, who makes lamp shades, notebooks, containers and bags from recycled clothing.
I have traveled around the world photographing amazing places and covering world impact news. I covered stories in 20 countries including warzones.
I lived in Ecuador for 14 years, where I worked for international news agencies such as Reuters, AP and France Presse. I have published special reportages ordered by the Miami Herald (USA), The Independent and Sunday Telegrapher Magazine (England), Time Magazine (USA), Stern (Germany), Paris Match (France) among others.
Since 2005 I live and work in Chile as Chief of photography for the Agence France Presse.
With studies in cinema and television, I consider myself an autodidact in press photography. I have learned from great photographers such as the Peruvian María Cecilia Piazza and the Italian Ernesto Bazan who have forged my style in photography since the beginning of my carrier as a photojournalist.
I have lectured in workshops and seminars about photojournalism in universities in Ecuador, Peru and Chile.
I produced and directed the documentary about photojournalists “Mirando a todos Lados” (“Looking Around”).
back to gallery
entry description
A mountain of discarded clothing including Christmas sweaters and ski boots cuts a strange sight in Chile's Atacama, the driest desert in the world, which is increasingly suffering from pollution created by fast fashion.The social impact of rampant consumerism in the clothing industry -- such as child labor in factories or derisory wages -- is well-known, but the disastrous effect on the environment is less publicized.
Chile has long been a hub of secondhand and unsold clothing, made in China or Bangladesh and passing through Europe, Asia or the United States before arriving in Chile, where it is resold around Latin America.
Some 59,000 tons of clothing arrive each year at the Iquique port in the Alto Hospicio free zone in northern Chile.
Clothing merchants from the capital Santiago, 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) to the south, buy some, while much is smuggled out to other Latin American countries. But at least 39,000 tons that cannot be sold end up in rubbish dumps in the desert.
"What is not sold to Santiago nor sent to other countries stays in the free zone" as no one pays the necessary tariffs to take it away.
"The problem is that the clothing is not biodegradable and has chemical products, so it is not accepted in the municipal landfills," said Franklin Zepeda, the founder of EcoFibra, a company that makes insulation panels using discarded clothing. Chile, the richest country in South America, is known for the voracious consumerism of its inhabitants.
Fast fashion advertising "has helped to convince us that clothing makes us more attractive, that it makes us stylish and even cures our anxiety," said Monica Zarini, who makes lamp shades, notebooks, containers and bags from recycled clothing.
about the photographer
I have been a photographer for 25 years. My father, Franco Bernetti, an Italian photographer and filmmaker, introduced me to the magical world of image. I am the grand grandson of Fermín Tanguis, a Porto Rican scientist, farmer and innovator, who discovered and selected a new variety of cotton that resisted to one of the worst plagues of those times, thus entering into the history of Peru.I have traveled around the world photographing amazing places and covering world impact news. I covered stories in 20 countries including warzones.
I lived in Ecuador for 14 years, where I worked for international news agencies such as Reuters, AP and France Presse. I have published special reportages ordered by the Miami Herald (USA), The Independent and Sunday Telegrapher Magazine (England), Time Magazine (USA), Stern (Germany), Paris Match (France) among others.
Since 2005 I live and work in Chile as Chief of photography for the Agence France Presse.
With studies in cinema and television, I consider myself an autodidact in press photography. I have learned from great photographers such as the Peruvian María Cecilia Piazza and the Italian Ernesto Bazan who have forged my style in photography since the beginning of my carrier as a photojournalist.
I have lectured in workshops and seminars about photojournalism in universities in Ecuador, Peru and Chile.
I produced and directed the documentary about photojournalists “Mirando a todos Lados” (“Looking Around”).
back to gallery