São Paulo – It all happened after the brand’s participation in Fashion Rio, a fashion show and fair held in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Manufatura, a clothing and accessories brand based in the city of Belém, capital of the state of Pará, met importers from Dubai at the event around three years ago. And so the bags manufactured by the company, using canvas and adornments, ended up in the hands of people who go shopping in the most hyped-up city in the United Arab Emirates. As a matter of fact, the bags travel alongside clothing items and other accessories by Manufatura.
For two years, between 2006 and 2008, Manufatura exported to Dubai. According to the brand’s owner and designer, Izabela Jatene, all items in the collection were sold. Including the bags. Made out of canvas and adorned with leftover fabrics, the bags are eco-friendly and socially responsible. The same holds true of the remaining items made by the brand. Izabela is an anthropologist and made a point of establishing her company with a green, social profile.
After some time without selling to the Emirates, the businesswoman wants to get back on the market. According to Izabela, Manufatura started working now, in late 2009, with a trading company that should help it step up its imports. And start selling to the Arabs again as well. “The Arab world is a region that is developing without exploring humanity that much. That is why I believe that they must have that awareness,” says Izabela, regarding consumption of socially responsible, eco-friendly products.
Manufatura was founded in 2005. Izabela, a granddaughter of Lebanese, already had a master’s degree in Anthropology and teaching classes at the Federal University of the State of Pará (UFPA), decided to establish the brand. The initiative arose from her grandmother, who used to sew, and from her own habit of sewing clothes for herself. Requests from people she knew, for her to design or sew up this or that item, led her to realize that it was time to become a designer. The lady, however, wanted the brand to carry a hint of anthropology.
Precisely because of that, in her collections, the businesswoman prefers to wear light tones, preferably natural ones. The objective is to avoid dyeing, especially heavy dyeing. The plain clothes and fabrics used in the milling come from suppliers who abide by eco-friendly rules. One of the fabrics used is made from curaua, a plant of the family of the ananas (the same as the pineapple’s) which develops in hot and damp weather. Around 60 families are in charge of the farming. The plant is turned into fibre paper, yarn and then cloth, using looms, by Amazon Paper, which has a partnership with Manufatura.
Usually, the fabric made from curaua is used, in the clothing, along with another fabric, such as viscose. A blouse, for instance, may contain a sleeve made from curaua fabric. The items with the most details in curaua are the brand’s most expensive. In keeping with its ecological and social approach, Manufatura uses all of the residue and leftover fabrics. They are usually made into adornments for the clothing. Now, towards the end of this year, Izabela started working with a group of HIV-positive women who needed an income. They are going to sew adornments into the bags.
Manufatura produces from 300 to 400 items per month. A group of 12 employees is responsible for production, but some of the work is outsourced on an as-needed basis, depending on the amount of orders. The items are high-end and average clothing prices range from US$ 40 to US$ 210. Izabela has already designed one dress, however, that cost 1,300 euros. Aside from Dubai, the company has exported to Greece and France. Exports, however, do not represent more than 30% of the output. The brand has a store in the city of Belém, in addition to its headquarters.
Contact
Manufatura
Telephone: (+55 91) 3223-3082
Site: www.manufaturabelem.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
