Electoral Waste: These Brands Make Bags from Campaign Banners

Just in Mexico City, it is estimated that the 2024 electoral process will leave up to 25,000 tons of electoral waste.

Text: Mariana Velázquez

The political campaign has left the cities of the Mexican Republic covered with advertising, billboards, brochures, and banners featuring the faces and logos of the candidates. But, once the 2024 electoral process concludes, what will happen to the political propaganda waste? In Mexico, some fashion creatives have found an opportunity in this waste to create original bags.

According to the Foundation for the Rescue and Recovery of the Urban Landscape (FRRPU), the propaganda from the 2024 electoral campaign could generate up to 25,000 tons of trash just in Mexico City.

While the law requires political parties to remove all types of propaganda three days before the elections and present a recycling plan, the reality is that not all materials can be collected at the same time, nor can all propaganda be recycled.

Environmental damage

Besides the quantity, the time it takes for the waste to decompose can be up to hundreds of years depending on the materials used. Banners, for example, are usually made of PVC and polyester, compounds that take on average 500 years to degrade.

Recently, Ornela Garelli, an Oceans Without Plastics campaigner from Greenpeace Mexico, reported on the damage that improper handling of electoral waste can cause:

“Single-use plastic waste has reached virtually every corner of the Earth, affecting at least 700 marine species and causing public health problems. Political parties and electoral institutions must ensure that this waste does not reach ecosystems and propose alternative ways to campaign,” the activist stated.

Given this scenario and the inability of candidates to ensure that all materials are properly collected and processed, some fashion brands in Mexico saw this problem as an opportunity to develop their creativity, creating bags from political banners.

RERE MX (@r3r3_mx)

r3r3_mx

A post shared by @r3r3_mx

The upcycling brand based in Mexico City and created by Camilo Morales seeks to intervene in garments from street markets or thrift stores. However, upon discovering the excess of electoral waste in his locality, Morales and his team decided they could also turn this waste into more valuable pieces:

“We decided to do it out of frustration. I find the excessive use of this resource by political parties to be horrible, grotesque, cynical, and absurd. So at first, I started taking them down without knowing what I would do with them, and then I thought of using that material for bags to give with the purchases I receive, and from there I started experimenting,” the designer revealed to Semanario de Moda.

With a trash, laid-back, and streetwear aesthetic, RERE creates more garments such as jackets, pants, and shirts with patches, scraps, and graffiti, thus giving a second life to everything considered “trash.”

“I hope to draw more attention, be an outlet for creativity, and achieve recognition amid the completely unnecessary overproduction of the fashion industry,” shared Camilo Alonso, who has been involved in clothing projects for over 7 years.

It's worth noting that RERE has a banner donation program that encourages people to participate in collecting electoral waste. Customers who decide to deliver banners to RERE can choose between one of their available bags or receive a 25 percent discount on another garment.

CRYSTAL NIGHT (@crystalnight_st)

crystalnight_st

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On the other hand, Crystal Night ST is another upcycling project. Located in Mexico City, they are dedicated to making custom garments. Some of the materials they use include denim, studs, chains, and rhinestones. For the first time during this electoral campaign, they began experimenting with banners, creating a triangular bag from this waste:

“We made this bag thanks to the useless banners put up by the government’s money squanderers. At least the money comes back to us and we create unique clothing pieces,” wrote Crystal Night’s creatives on their social media, in a clip explaining the process behind this garment.

Similarly, the Mexican brand invites people to recover these materials from the streets regardless of the political party, emphasizing sustainability in Mexican fashion and preventing environmental damage.

Electoral offense?

But is it illegal to remove political propaganda? According to electoral procedure codes, there is no penalty against citizens who remove propaganda on their own that is found on their property or in public spaces, so it would not constitute an electoral offense.

However, the situation changes if you are a public official, as the Penal Code of Mexico City states that if officials are caught removing or damaging the advertisements of opposing political parties, they could be penalized with a fine of 100 to 300 days or six months to one year in prison.

Ultimately, this situation demonstrates that in Mexico, fashion creatives are seeking alternatives to counteract environmental damage, as well as taking advantage of materials at their disposal. While demands for creating new political campaigns that reduce waste persist, designers concerned about existing waste continue to work towards making an original change from within the fashion industry.