It was with great honor and enthusiasm that I AM WORLD participated in Paphos, Cyprus, as part of the Smarties for SMEs – Pills of Sustainable, Smart, Regenerative Tourism to Empower SMEs in the EU Mediterranean Area project, an initiative dedicated to promoting sustainable and regenerative practices in European tourism.

As part of the group, with ACIF (Dr. Frederica Cardoso and Dr. Roland Bachmeier), this participation represented a unique opportunity to present the I AM WORLD – The ReVersion Concept, Madeira, to a network of innovative projects with a major impact on sustainability and the regeneration of territories.

During the event, I AM WORLD stood out for its work in textile circularity, involving Madeiran companies, institutions, and creators in the construction of a new paradigm of sustainable consumption and creation. This collective and creative effort was recognized with 3rd place in the Innovative Project category, a moment of pride that reinforces the value of innovation with identity and purpose.

The trip to Paphos also featured two other prominent Madeiran projects—Roberto Varela, with Canto das Fontes @cantodasfontes, and João Silva, with his Veggie Burgers @veggie.hamburgueres. Both represent the creative energy and entrepreneurial vision that characterize the new landscape of sustainability and innovation in Madeira, in accommodation and in healthy, sustainable, practical (plant-based) functional food that is easy to prepare and intuitive.

This recognition in Paphos is another step in I AM WORLD’s mission: to inspire change through creativity, collaboration, and commitment to a more sustainable and conscious future. 🌍✨

As we sought to learn more about local working conditions in the textile sector, we quickly noticed a pattern: information is scarce, and people avoid talking about it. There is an atmosphere of tight control, where the most powerful maintain their dominance, and the most disadvantaged continue to be exploited with extremely low wages and little prospect of improvement.

Although we did not identify any textile factories in Sylhet, the streets are lined with clothing and shoe stores, many of which sell well-known brands—in plain sight, on makeshift stalls or in small street shops.

One of the most striking aspects is the presence of very young children working as salespeople in these spaces. This reality, as visible as it is normalized locally, leads us to an essential question:
How can we continue to consume fashion, knowing that so often it is based on someone’s sacrificed childhood?

It is not about blame. It is about rethinking.

This is not a text intended to point fingers. Rather, it is an invitation to conscious reflection:
– What can we, as consumers, do to have a real impact on change? – What role do brands, creators, and companies play in building fairer and more transparent production models?
– How can we support models that promote decent work, education, and local training, rather than perpetuating cycles of exploitation?

A different future is possible

The future of fashion can be built differently—without losing its essential role for humans and society. Conscious choices in fabric quality and the intention behind each garment become pillars of a new paradigm: Eco Fashion. A fashion guided by ethics, responsibility, and durability, creating a versatile, useful wardrobe aligned with the identity of the wearer — at any stage of life or personal context.

Textiles are present in almost every aspect of our daily lives: they provide comfort, health, beauty, and hygiene. They are an extension of our body and, often, a reflection of our soul. Therefore, dressing is much more than covering up — it is expressing who we are.

If we want to choose differently, to achieve different results, we must start by facing these realities head-on and identifying patterns of fast, inefficient, and unconsciously impulsive consumption. Only then can we make room for different alternatives that can be far more lasting, meaningful, sustainable, humane, and truly transformative.

ReVersão starts here: by deciding and acting differently, by acting in the opposite polarity.

During one of our awareness-raising activities on the environmental impacts of textile consumption, held at a school in the region, I AM CIRCULAR was born spontaneously and affectionately—the result of the children’s creativity and the involvement of the teaching team—a textile recycling point that is already up and running! The protagonist of this inspiring initiative is EB1/PE da Quinta Grande, the first school in Madeira to join the I AM WORLD – The ReVersion Concept movement. Students and teachers came together in a concrete ecological gesture, embracing the commitment to ReVersion — the change necessary for a more sustainable future.