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Have you thought about reusing your children's clothes?
Many parents ask themselves this question as soon as their little ones begin to live their first weeks. There are many clothes that are in good condition, including some unused since they were definitely too small. This happens even more in a climate like Chile's, where we have well-marked seasons and more extrapolated temperatures that leave several items of clothing out of use before they can be used.
Years ago, it was common for cousins and siblings to inherit clothing; clothing was not so easy to acquire, so many families saved on this item by reusing their relatives' clothing. But for some time now, this inheritance system has stopped being part of our daily lives for different reasons: families have fewer children; Families move away as some move to regions and reuse becomes a more complex possibility, among other factors.
Travieso was born precisely from the need of Rosario, who as a mother had to dress her second child, but was worried about having to spend money on clothes with a label when there were probably families who, like hers, had clothes intact or in very good conditions that would no longer be used in their homes. It then began with the desire to exchange clothes in perfect condition and from recognized brands. Soon this idea began to take shape: we gave the name “Barter” to this process of this exchange and without realizing it, this beautiful venture began to take shape. Nowadays we not only receive garments in perfect condition but of all types regardless of their condition since they are reused for different purposes.
Today, Travieso is a children's clothing reuse business where you can:
- Buy reused children's clothing: premium clothing in perfect condition and second-hand clothing that has some details: stains, pits or specks).
- Barter your children's clothes, obtaining points or a discount for your next purchase (at much cheaper prices than in retail);
- You can also donate clothes that your children no longer wear, in case you don't want to take anything in return, but you do want to make sure that those clothes have the best possible use.
This entire process has been a continuous questioning and learning. Some time after starting with Travieso, the “with meaning” line was born within it, as an attempt to save those textiles in good condition where the garment no longer worked to be worn but did work to create toys and accessories with the help and creativity of our talented seamstresses. At the same time, we also begin to take care of textiles that arrive in poor condition and have no possibility of being reused: we transform them into recycled textile yarn. This is how Ecocitex was born, our second venture, where we recycle post-consumer clothing at an industrial level.
Travieso is now 3 years old, and we are moving towards a circular economy model, where we not only seek the best use for each garment we receive but we also intend to contribute to the problems that both our country and the planet face today. Travieso has shown us that we are not alone, there are many families who need to dress our little ones but not all of us have the same opportunities or resources to be able to do so. That is why we have developed alliances with foundations and organizations that specifically support those most vulnerable and needy families, managing to donate more than 73,000 items of clothing in 2021.
We invite you to discover a new way of consuming, to give a second chance to the clothes your child has and to be part of a community where we care about the planet that we want to leave to our children.
Daniela Ehijo
General Manager of Travieso
