Benedetta, from fashion designer to entrepreneur who recycles Italian wool

Benedetta was brave: she earned a good living, working at a frenetic pace in the fashion industry between Veneto and Lombardy. But then, after visiting a friend who runs an organic farm in Abruzzo, she decided to change her life. She created a small company that recycles all the Italian wool scraps destined for waste.

Born in Arezzo in 1987, Benedetta Morucci graduated from the Polytechnic University of Milan and then specialized in Product Design at the Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche in Florence.

With a solid education, she had no trouble finding work as a fashion designer in the Veneto and Lombardy regions. But she wasn't satisfied. And when she discovered Abruzzo, thanks to a friend, Viola Marcelli, who runs the organic farm The Gate of the Parks, She decided to radically change her life. She moved to Anversa, a village of just over 300 inhabitants, in the middle of the Sagittario Valley, a half-hour drive from Sulmona. And here she created the small company Lamantera, after realizing that local farmers and producers had a problem: sheep wool, despite being produced in large quantities, often has no commercial value and becomes waste that is expensive to dispose of.

At this point Benedetta manages to implement a circular economy project with her small company which:

• collects raw wool from local farms (especially in Abruzzo)
• selects and valorises it instead of turning it into waste (in Italy, a lot of wool is in fact disposed of or burned)
• transforms it into yarns and finished products such as blankets, socks and woolen items
• keeps all the manufacturing in Italy, focusing on craftsmanship and sustainability

The idea behind it is precisely to give new life for "waste" Italian wool, creating an ethical supply chain that unites breeders, artisans and local producers, with strong attention to animal welfare and environmental impact.

Thanks to recycling and subsequent regeneration steps, Lamantera now presents itself on the market with a very wide catalogue of products:

From their production (shop and official description) we understand that the main products are these:

• socks and stockings in natural wool or dyed with vegetable pigments
• wool hats
• wool headbands / turbans
• scarves and accessories (such as headbands and infinity scarves)

• pure wool blankets (also for adults)
• crib blankets and baby blankets
• stole and plaid made of woven wool

• pure natural wool yarns
• yarns dyed with natural substances (e.g. wood, roots, plants)
• mouliné and multicolored yarns for artisanal knitting

• baby blankets
• baby socks
• matching sets (blanket + socks).

Cover photo taken from the Facebook page Lamantera.Project

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• Trento, at twenty-four he leaves his permanent job to become a farmer
• Passionate farmers: three young Sicilians grow oranges sustainably to resell online.