In the late morning, there is a bustle of activity in Calle Cedro in the east of Palma. The door to a vast salesroom stands open. Step inside the large hall, and you are faced with a jumble of everyday items for sale: clothing, furniture, toys, beds, bicycles – you can find just about everything here. Anyone interested can drop off anything they no longer need, or buy refurbished second-hand goods at one of the seven premises run by the Deixalles Foundation in Mallorca.
Behind the showroom lies a network of workshops for textiles, furniture, books, electronics and more. This is where sorting begins – and where upcycling starts to take shape.
In the first workshop, clothing and fabrics are processed. At a cutting table, a young woman is sorting strips of cloth from old jeans. “We turn these into bags or rucksacks,” explains Xesca Marti, director of the Deixalles Foundation, as she gives a tour. Items that would otherwise be thrown away are given a new lease of life here. Deixalles was deliberately named after the Catalan word for “remnants”. The sale of second-hand goods enables the foundation to help people re-enter the job market through social programmes. Every year, hundreds of people are integrated into the world of work through a variety of training and employment contracts.
As part of the “Hecho a medida” project, women in difficult life situations can learn sewing skills through courses. For many participants, it is the first step towards financial independence. Marti stresses: “Disadvantaged people can produce quality work anywhere – including in administration and society.”
The foundation regularly receives a flood of cheap fashion. At the entrance it is sorted, checked for quality, and, where possible, processed further. Well-preserved pieces go to one of the seven second-hand shops on the island. The rest is reconditioned.
Storage space is far too limited. A new recycling facility in Mallorca is expected to ease the pressure in future.
Clothing makes up the largest proportion of items donated to Deixalles – sadly, often the result of “fast fashion” that quickly ends up as waste. “Many people don’t realise that the textile industry is among the world’s worst polluters,” says Marti, who is from Vilafranca.
In the book workshop, Marti pauses beside a pile of used novels. “I love this place,” she says. “We find inscriptions, letters, out-of-print titles – things that once meant a great deal.” All the books are catalogued and sold. In Calvià and Manacor, the foundation runs reading clubs where literature is shared and discussed.
Another workshop looks like a flea market. An employee opens an old suitcase and sorts jewellery and glasses. “Sometimes we find little treasures,” says Marti.
She herself studied environmental sciences and, as a student, took part in protests against waste incineration. “At some point I didn’t just want to protest – I wanted to take action,” she recalls. She joined Deixalles in 1992 and has been its director since 2010, leading it as part of a team.
Many of the pieces of furniture that arrive at Deixalles come from hotels that are closing or undergoing renovations. They are given a creative makeover before being sold on.
Every material handed in at Deixalles is carefully recorded. Using a CO₂ calculator, the team measures how many emissions have been avoided through reuse, and how many days of training have been funded by donations. Here, the value of an item is not measured solely in euros.
“Every object has a story,” Marti says. “And every person does too.” Deixalles brings the two together. It is a place for growth, solidarity, and a different vision of prosperity – somewhere where human wealth becomes tangible.
After getting a job not every problem is solved. The housing shortage and rising costs make life in Mallorca even more difficult.
Places where you can drop off and buy items:
- Palma: C/. del Cedre, 11
- Soller: C/. del Desviament, 48
- Felanitx: C/. d’Antoni Maura, 30
- Capdepera: C/. dels Fusters, 12–13, Polígono Capdepera
- Manacor: C/. Creuers, 17
- Calvià: C/. d’Alacant, 9, Polígono Son Bugadelles
- Inca: C/. dels Teixidors, 10, Polígono Can Matzarí
Boutiques
- Palma: C/. Blanquerna 6a
- Palma: C/. Pascual Ribot 1 (Plaza España)
Cooperation with Tui
Support from the tourism industry: the video-project is sponsored by Europe's leading tourism group Tui and its Tui Care Foundation. The initiative was founded in 2016 with the aim of supporting sustainable projects in the destinations. The foundation focuses on the potential of the tourism sector as a driver of social development, education and prosperity. The Group promotes sustainable tourism in cooperation with local people.