Anyone circulating through Cotia has certainly seen a billboard advertising services, campaigns, or City Hall events. But what happens to the banners after the promotion comes to an end? In Cotia, they are getting a new destination. Instead of being discarded, the advertising banners are transformed into bags by the hands of the participants of the Entre Linhas e Sonhos (Between Threads and Dreams) project, developed by the Secretariat of Social Development (SDS).
The initiative brings together sustainability, creative economy, and professional qualification, showing that materials that have already served their purpose can gain a new use and, in the future, even represent an opportunity for income generation.
Produced to withstand sun, rain, and wind, advertising banners are durable materials. This resistance, important during the promotion of campaigns, also allows them to be reused in the making of new products.
The Secretariat of Communication (Secom) forwarded to the project a large quantity of banners removed from circulation after the end of institutional campaigns. The material began to be used in the cutting and sewing workshops, where it gains new shapes and functions.
It is in this process that José Inácio enters the scene, an experienced tailor who sought out the workshop to perfect his cutting techniques. With precision and agility, he transforms each banner into pieces that will be sewn and give origin to the bags. From a single advertising banner, it is possible to produce three units.
And there is a curiosity: depending on the campaign and the way the material is cut, part of the original message remains printed on the bags. This is what happened with a banner used in the actions of the World Day Against Child Labor, in June. The phrase “Red card to child labor” gained a new surface to circulate through the city.
The workshop coordinator, Ana Maria de Oliveira Barbosa, follows each stage of production. To work with the advertising banners, it was necessary to adapt some techniques, since the material is thicker than conventional fabrics and requires the use of more resistant threads and needles.
The bags produced will be destined for residents who participate in the socio-educational meetings and social projects developed by the Secretariat of Social Development.
But the proposal can go beyond the reuse of materials.
Luciano Freitas, creator of Entre Linhas e Sonhos, explains that the intention is to encourage participants to see the activity as an opportunity for entrepreneurship and income generation.
“The idea is that they can take this material, produce at home, and sell in their own communities. Transform a banner that would be thrown away into income generation,” he explains.
Luciano also intends to seek partnerships with communication companies in the region to expand the donation of banners and other materials that can be used in the workshops.
The Secretariat is also studying the possibility of commercializing the pieces produced in the project, given the interest shown by companies. The proposal is under evaluation and could open new paths for income generation.
Entre Linhas e Sonhos
Developed by the City Hall of Cotia, through the Secretariat of Social Development, the Entre Linhas e Sonhos project offers free training in cutting and sewing, with classes held at the Training Center (CECAP), in Vila Monte Serrat, in the morning and afternoon periods.
With a duration of three months, the course is aimed at beginners and offers knowledge ranging from the safe handling of machines to the making and finishing of pieces.
During the training, participants learn techniques of straight sewing, overlock, adjustments, and creation of pieces, in addition to receiving guidance on sustainable fashion, entrepreneurship, pricing, sales, and marketing.
More than teaching a trade, the project seeks to expand the possibilities of professional qualification and income generation, with prospects for the future creation of a seamstress cooperative.
Contact Phone: (11) 4616-0466 Hours: Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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