Sustainability and Economic Recovery for Haiti

More than two years have passed since an earthquake devastated Haiti, and Haiti is still in the early stages of recovery.  As of August 25, 2012 more than 400,000 Haitians are still displaced or homeless as a result of the 2010 earthquake.  While food, money and medical supplies have made it to Haiti little has been done to improve the long-term economic stability of the country.

A group of entrepreneurs is trying to change that.  The Haitian Redevelopment Directive (THREAD) is devoted to building a factory that turns plastic bottles into fabric for apparel.  The factory would initially be able to employ 10 to 15 workers and pay them a fair wage, and later expand to hire more workers.  The factory would be able to supply their fabric to end users at lower costs that companies in other parts of the world.

“I’ve been all over world,” said THREAD’s president and CEO Ian Rosenberger. “The two things I see most are poverty and trash."  The proposed factory would solve both problems.  It would encourage Haitian citizens to recycle while providing jobs that would help to develop Haiti's economy.  

The technology to turn soda bottles into polyester already exists and I've attached a video that explains the process if you are unfamiliar with it.  Recycled polyester is already being used by companies such as Patagonia and Nike, but the plan for THREAD's factory would be to re-engineer the production process so it could be done on a smaller scale. THREAD also believes that Haiti is well-suited for textile exports because Haiti already has a foundation in the textile industry.  

Here's a video showing how plastic bottles are turned into polyester.

The factory is expected to be open by the end of the year so it will be interesting to see if this project comes to fruition.


Sources: http://www.livescience.com/9248-haiti-key-economic-recovery-garbage.html

 -William Diak