Sustainable Commitment, Naturally.
Burel Factory is a Portuguese brand born in the mountains of Serra da Estrela, dedicated to the preservation and regeneration of its cultural, industrial and knowledge-based wool industry heritage spanning generations. It promotes the mastery of knowledge, the art made by many hands that warp, card, spin and weave on ancestral machines whose sounds have been heard since the 19th century. It ensures the legacy of wool and burel through design, art and textile innovation, a commitment to the fragility of the mountains and all their nature, disseminating the Portuguese art of burel in a conscious and responsible way.
To promote the Portuguese art of Burel in a conscious and responsible way, in keeping with the rhythm of life in the mountains.
Wool. Renewable, Recyclable, Biodegradable.
Sustainability begins with wool, with the sheep that have shaped the valleys of the Serra da Estrela mountain range since the beginning of time. For the production of burel (a type of coarse wool fabric), we rely on the shepherds of the Serra da Estrela, who graze their sheep outdoors on the upper plateaus of the mountain, where the vegetation is softer, resulting in softer and higher quality wool.
Wool is a natural, durable, and resilient material. It is renewable, recyclable, biodegradable, thermal, and breathable. It ages gracefully, resists stains, and dyes very easily, allowing its dyeing process to be ecological and more sustainable. It is our mother material and the starting point for everything we challenge ourselves to create.
Our Sheep. Calm, Free and Happy.
The coarse wool and the wool we use in our fabrics and products come from the sheep that populate the vast landscape of the Serra da Estrela Natural Park, named by the shepherds who lead them to the verdant mountain pastures. It is from them that we buy the wool. We use wool from Bordaleira and Churra, two native breeds of the region, as well as Portuguese Merino from the Alentejo, a few kilometers downstream. We ensure that the animals are well-treated, that they live happily, and that shearing is done manually without causing any suffering. Shearing is a necessary act for the animal's comfort, while preserving an ancestral tradition and prolonging this culture over time.
Wool is the basis of everything we do, without causing environmental impact. It is a natural and eco-responsible product.
Zero Waste. One Hundred Creativity.
In nature, nothing is lost, everything is transformed. It is based on this universal principle that we work. We have advocated a Zero-Waste policy since our inception, through the conscious use of resources and the creation of partnerships with artists, designers, creatives, and associations, in order to innovate in the use and appreciation of wool.
We develop some of our products from leftover burel fabric, collecting it and reintroducing it into the transformation process. The result? Unique, conscious, and surprising pieces that help minimize ecological impact and respect the fragility of nature.
Economic Sustainability. A Social Commitment.
Our commitment to valuing the region and its culture makes it imperative to stimulate its long-term economic and social development, ensuring its sustainability, generating jobs and attracting skilled labor, in order to foster local development and its social stimulus.
Specifically: we employ part of the local population and promote their training; we encourage the younger generation, who left the region seeking better working conditions in large cities, to return home, creating incentives for them to stay; we promote the fight against desertification in the municipality of Vila de Manteigas and in the interior of Portugal; we encourage small local producers and artisans who supply us in different areas and small landowners who employ many of our staff. Several of them have started families.
It is through constant commitment to the community by means of ongoing training, encouragement of skilled work, education and the transmission of knowledge between generations, that we contribute to the economic and social sustainability of one of the most isolated regions of the country, making it richer, more diverse, more plural, guaranteeing the offer of various services that channel everyone towards the appreciation and discovery of the Serra da Estrela, with value-added proposals that guarantee good prospects for the future.
We are promoting the fight against desertification in the municipality of Vila de Manteigas and in the interior of Portugal.
Textile Pioneers.
We are made of people, and it is for them that we work. Without genders or labels. Part of our sustainable commitment involves creating a unisex fashion collection, because if a fabric has no gender, a garment made from it should also have no gender.
A fashion collection designed for specific genders requires twice the number of samples, prototypes, production time, energy, and even the size of the space where the pieces will reside. All these small things have a significant environmental and resource impact. That's why we create conscious fashion that transcends trends, respecting nature and people throughout the process. An act of resistance against mass production.
