ISPA WINNERS 2022
PHOTO STORY
FINALIST
Matteo Capone
FROM WASTE TO GOOD
In Tuscany (Italy) there is a large industrial area specializing in the textile sector, namely as the Prato district. Considered the world capital of recycled wool, Prato has artisan production skills in a context of circular economy that has 34.000 employees, 2.000 companies and produces 3 million meters of fabric per day. For decades companies have been collecting bales of used clothing (rags), of which 50% is destined for reuse, a part for recycling and 3% go in landfills. Rags are carefully selected by the shredders and later regenerated: washing, shredding, purification and drying result in a single color fiber, which is then spun to produce fine fabrics. Therefore waste becomes a high quality good and a symbol of sustainable industrial production. Prato is a concrete example of how tradition and innovation, manual and mechanical processes, man and technology can mix in a unique reality where work, territory, choices and solutions are based on environmental sustainability.
Biography
Matteo Capone was born in 1997 in Rome and he graduated in Photography at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome in 2020. In 2022 he studied for a Master's in Contemporary Photojournalism at Officine Fotografiche, while in 2023 he completed his first collaboration with the Contrasto agency and he inaugurated his first solo show at the Leica Store in Rome. His work is exhibited at international festivals and galleries, in addition to being published in magazines.
FINALISTS
