My name is Ilse Nijland. I am circular designer and owner of Studio Mullland. I create new items from thrifted jeans, curtains, blankets, and bedsheets to save them from the landfills. Buying new fabrics for sewing orders made me wonder about all that newly produced material, knowing there is a growing textile mountain that causes pollution problems in the Atacama Desert in Chile or in Accra, Ghana. Learning how much water and chemicals are used to produce fabrics and how long it takes for fabrics to decompose was an eye-opener for me. How is it possible for something that costs so much to  produce to be thrown away so easily? It seems to me that it is time to make a change. And I am trying to do so by upcycling, reworking, reusing, repurposing, and recycling preloved clothes and fabrics that I collect at the thrift shop and turn these into beautiful new items.