To upcycle means to give a new and improved life to a material or product that already exists. Our priority is to become less dependent on virgin materials, by designing for durability and circularity.
Brands represented by this principle get creative with existing materials and focus on turning them into better and more useful products. They use deadstock and industry excess materials to develop new fibres, innovative products or create clothing. They find and re-purpose products that already exist, such as second hand and vintage items. They give a new life to left-over stock of previous collections.
Nothing goes to waste — everything is valuable.
With industrialisation and globalisation came the need to make products faster, cheaper and more accessible. We believe this should never happen at the cost of humanity and the environment.
Brands represented by this principle work with local artisans and professionals to create unique products. They might also run their own small ateliers or produce their items in their own homes.
Every item embodies a piece of who they are and was made with passion and purpose. ‘Made with Love’ brands focus on one-of-a-kind pieces, limited editions, made to order, hand-made and/or tailor-made items. With this principle that all brands in our community must embody we value slow production above all — creating products made-to-last and cherish for a lifetime.
People crave more and better information. Thus it is our duty as creators and creatives to be honest and transparent, sharing and enlightening people on the origins of our products and the resources employed and utilised to create them.
Sharing information on every step of our supply chain from material origins to distribution, environmental footprint, as well as the true cost of our items is how we value transparency.
Acknowledging that maybe we don’t have all the answers yet, but we’re working our way to improve our social and environmental impact.
Our economic system is failing to meet the needs of millions of people around the world. Businesses can thrive only if society and nature also thrive.
Brands represented by this principle take utmost care to secure ethical and just social conditions of workers. They pay livable wages, choose suppliers with ethical social conditions, focus on social inclusion and employ workers with disabilities.
They invest in developing social policies that impact their local and broader society to generate positive externalities, thus entirely assuming responsibility of their system boundaries.
All human life depends on soil. All human life depends on water. Thus we believe that it is fundamental to use materials that:
Brands represented by this principle are conscious and demanding of the origin of the materials they use and what processes they underwent.
For more information on what responsible materials are and which are used by our brands check our Glossary.
We must begin to actively restore the Earth’s capacity to meet humanity’s needs. Thus developing less dependency on virgin materials and designing products that can always be re-integrated into the system becomes a priority. This principle looks at the entire lifecycle of a product and all the resources utilised to create it. The goal is to create a closed loop system that is self-maintained.
Brands represented by this principle create products that do not have an end in mind. Items that are designed to be collected by the companies that created them to mend and return them until they cannot be used in their original form anymore and are then transformed into new and better items.
These brands share closed loop recycling points with citizens and/or guarantee a way to make sure the entire lifecycle of the item is traceable to enable recycling or upcycling (eg. QR codes and RFID tags).
Boom Festival is a biennial gathering in Portugal and part of our backbone lies in supporting our local economy.
With this marketplace our wish is largely to share beautiful and considered locally created products. We want to give visibility to our carefully selected Portuguese brands’ sustainable and regenerative practices. Our aim is to support our local economy, always fully aware that we are children of the world and our greater context must always be valued and considered.
As supply chains can be extremely complex and it is often challenging to source raw materials in Portugal, brands represented by this principle must complete at least two steps of the production process in Portugal.
Products that have been entirely made in Portugal receive a special mention.
There is sufficient scientific proof that the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, resulting from burning fossil fuels, is causing disproportionate disruption to the environment.
When considering the entire system boundaries of a company or product, we must analyse the resources that make it possible for us to create them.
Brands represented by this principle create products in facilities that use renewable energy, are water efficient and use bio-based local treatment loops and sustainable construction solutions for energy efficiency — such as green roofs, solar and PV panels,efficient solar orientation, high performance and non-toxicmaterials, double glazing, energy-efficient lighting, water-saving systems and fixtures, amongst others. They also pay close attention to the way their products reach citizens and use low-impact or circular packaging and low carbon emitting delivery services.
Our use of resources continues to exceed planetary boundaries, making it inevitable that we restore and replenish what we have lost.
Brands represented by this principle prioritise environmental and social regenerative practices. They manage projects that give back to communities and the environment, raise social awareness and activate movements towards positive environmental practices.
They demand their products make a positive contribution to society. replenish biodiversity. Grow forests that sequester carbon. Practise regenerative agricultural methods and farming solutions or even create products that sequester carbon, detoxify pollution and enhance soil fertility.