Telare la Materia

Benetton Group’s Sustainability Department supports Telare la Materia, a project by Davide Balda and Fabrica aimed at searching possible future applications for clothing discarded because of production defects. The purpose is to intervene at the source of waste generation to prevent its transportation elsewhere and its transformation into polluting material.

The collected garments come from Green B, a line within United Colors of Benetton collections characterized by sustainability features. Through a manual grinding process, these products are reduced into both synthetic and organic textile fibers and become raw materials to be reused in other applications.

Telare la Materia offers two different uses: technosoil and building material. In the former, textile fiber is used as a plant substrate and fertilizer for plant growth. In the latter, technosoil is combined with clay scraps from the Sile river to create vernacular architectural modules and elements, following a circular approach.

Originally from Genoa, Italy, Davide Balda (1998) is a multidisciplinary designer interested in researching new materials and sustainable production processes. He graduated in Product Design from IED in Turin and holds a master’s degree in Design, Creativity and Social Practices from the Unidee Academy of Fondazione Pistoletto in Biella. Davide identifies himself as an archeodesigner who digs through the natural and artificial waste produced by human activities to investigate the past, reinterpret history and create materials or artifacts. He is currently participating in an artistic residency at Fabrica, Benetton Group’s research center.