Santa Luzia Redes e Decoração grows its sustainable production through a new partnership with the farming community

The Santa Luzia Redes e Decoração textile company, a member since 2005 of Texbrasil (Brazilian Textile and Fashion Industry Internationalization Program) – held through a partnership between Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) and Abit (Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association) – is expanding its organic colored cotton production through a partnership with the Quilombola farming community of Terra Nova, located in the state of Paraíba.

Quilombola communities (also called maroon communities) are towns built by the descendants of black slaves. They mostly carry out activities connected to agriculture. Today, there are currently 1200 communities of this kind in Brazil, 30 of which are located in Paraíba, the state where Santa Luzia makes its products.

This expansion was done with the support of Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) and Empaer (Rural Research and Extension and Regularization of Land Occupation) and has three goals: conserve the rural bent of the region and of the Quilombola community; contribute to development of the rural economy; and meet growing consumer demand for home textiles developed using sustainable production.

According to Armando Dantas, the company’s CEO, this commitment goes beyond fair payment for each kilogram of organic colored cotton. “We were already working in our community, contributing to local development through craft work. Now, the production chain is being supplemented by the inclusion of the traditional peoples of São Bento,” says Armando.

He also explains that this raw material does more than contribute to the rural economy through family farming, it also produces no environmental impact. “Because crops are not irrigated, it creates water savings of 87.5% across the production chain – from the field to the finished product. That is why this agro-ecological cotton is coveted in the domestic and international markets,” says the company’s CEO.

Santa Luzia Redes distributes its products nationwide in Brazil and exports to markets that include Europe, Asia and Africa. The path to sustainability has already garnered the company the Award of Excellence for Handicrafts in the South Cone in 2018, granted by the World Crafts Council through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

About Texbrasil

The Brazilian Textile and Fashion Industry Internationalization Program (Texbrasil) works with textile and apparel industry companies to develop strategies for success in the global market. Over nearly 20 years, it has helped around 1500 brands to enter the export market, bringing in USD 3.6 billion in business. The Program is conducted by Abit in partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).