This work was specifically created to generate P.R. and awareness about the landfill problem.

To get the attention from the fashion world and its enthusiasts, we needed to create an event that would appeal to this audience, in a disruptive way.

So, we focused on using every code from major fashion week events, but this time enabling people to experience the harsh reality of the Atacama Desert through an eye-opening stunt.

We had important features on specialized publishing outlets such as Vogue, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar and L’Officiel.

Most of the discarded clothing in the Atacama Desert is made of polyester, a plastic-based fabric that takes up to 200 years to decompose. The constant burning of clothes at this landfill releases toxic fumes poisoning the soil, the ozone layer and harming the local population’s health, while the world of fashion turns a blind eye.

According to the UN, this is a social and environmental emergency for the planet. But unfortunately, most people don’t know about it. To make matters worse, the fashion industry continues to turn its back on the problem.

We needed to generate awareness about the problem.

Desierto Vestido is a local NGO from Chile. A leading voice in addressing illegal dumping in the Atacama Desert. They promote environmental awareness about clothing use and disposal. Their goal is to influence public policies and decisions that address the textile waste problem.

Fashion Revolution is a global movement that supports initiatives capable of mobilizing society in favor of fairer and more sustainable fashion.

Partnering with these brands makes all the sense, since they are in the front line fighting the problem and, through our work, we can help them to promote much-needed change.

Situation:

The Atacama Desert became a giant landfill for the fashion industry. Tons of clothing being illegally dumped every year, by the fashion industry, in the middle of the desert ended up turning the area into an emergency for the environment.

Brief:

Come up with an idea to raise awareness about the alarming situation in the Atacama Desert and get people to realize what’s going on in that area, especially the fashion industry - the biggest accountable for the landfill.

Provoke stakeholders to encourage some change.

Objectives:

Grab the attention from the fashion industry, one of the most pollutant industries in the world, and the main responsible for the landfill’s extreme situation.

Get people from all over the world to be aware of the problem in the Atacama Desert.

We wanted to pressure and constrain major brands from the United States and Europe.

Since the fashion industry continues to turn its back on the illegal clothing landfill problem, we created an event that couldn’t be ignored: the first fashion week in the largest fashion landfill.

We turned the dunes of the Atacama Desert into a runway, producing a fashion show in the actual landfill, where professional models wore outfits created by stylists, out of the discarded clothing.

With this idea, we allowed everyone to look at what the fashion industry refuses to see.

Most importantly, we led the fashion industry to confront this environmental disaster by playing their own game.

Our approach was to use the fashion world’s language of glamour to deliver an important message. Grabbing the curiosity of fashion publications to appeal to our audience: the fashion industry, clothing brands, professionals from the fashion world, designers, stylists, influencers, marketeers, stakeholders and every clothing consumer.

Besides the fashion world and its enthusiasts (our main target), we wanted to go further and pierce the bubble. The objective was to open awareness conversations with fashion, but also with authorities and the population.

Our key message was a provocative teaser: look at what the fashion industry refuses to see. A fashion show in a fashion landfill, in the style of the main fashion weeks that take place in some world-renowed cities.

Through PR, we draw the attention of media outlets and the press, as a way of encouraging different segments of society not to turn a blind eye about the dangers of unrestrained production and consumption of items due to fashion trends.

Our target audience was any people involved in environmental problems, people engaged in the Atacama cause, and various segments of society so that this issue receives the necessary spotlight, inside and outside the fashion segment.

The PR content was, from the beginning, designed to impact the largest number of press vehicles, from Chile, all Latin America and international media, as the action took place in one of the most well-known postcards, a place that attracts the eyes of the world organically.

Partner companies came together to promote jointly, which included materials in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

CNN Brazil got interested in the idea and produced a special three-minute story. Next, we focused on editorials with an environmental appeal, ESG, fashion and general press, to pierce the bubble.

Influencers and world-renowned people involved in this type of movement were also sought out to be part of this conversation, helping to spread the topic as a form of awareness and debate amongst everyone.

Just like a normal fashion week event, the Atacama Fashion Week lasted one week. It started on April 8th.

Covered by over 50 national and 29 international media outlets, the Atacama Fashion Week emerged as a globally relevant topic.

A 550% increase in searches for "Clothes Landfill in Chile" and a 47% increase in searches for "Sustainable Fashion," culminating in the highest peak of searches for "Sustainable Clothing" in the last 12 months, immediately following the event. This heightened interest was accompanied by a 55% engagement rate and over 4,000 actions on the event's website.

People started to put pressure on brands. More than 50,000 emails were sent by consumers to fashion brands, inquiring about their involvement and responsibility concerning the landfill.

The Atacama Fashion Week became part of the world’s fashion calendar.