Javier Goyeneche

Javier Goyeneche is one of the most cutting-edge, young European businessmen. He bases his business policy on innovation, research, human relationships, and the ethical conviction that businesses should grow not only by respecting the environment but also by doing something to take care of the planet. The prestigious leadership and management forum Thinkers50 included him on its 2019 talent radar. Goyeneche was awarded the Schwab Foundation’s Social Innovators of the Year 2020 for revolutionizing the fashion industry and leading the shift towards a sustainable future.

He sold his first company in 2012, the clothing and accessories chain Fun & Basics, and is now putting his efforts into Ecoalf with great success, a project he began in 2009 and which, through investment in R&D&I, is becoming a global benchmark for sustainability and fashion. His vision involves recycling waste plastic in order to turn it into fabrics and materials that are of the same quality as conventional products. He uses these to make clothing, footwear, and accessories that are both attractive and ethical.

They currently recycle PET plastic bottles, fishing nets, coffee remnants, used cotton and wool, and old tires to create polymers, thread, and fabric for their clothes. He is also the creator of the Ecoalf Foundation, which, through the Upcycling the Oceans initiative, seeks to remove the trash from the Mediterranean with the help of fishermen on the Levante coast. The materials collected will be turned into pellets, thread, fabric, and products. In 2017, they rescued over 250 tons from the seabed, operating in 70 ports and over 3000 fishermen.