The Brazilian Association of Companies of Components for Leather, Footwear and Artifacts (Assintecal) will be at Latin America’s largest footwear trade show, BFSHOW, to present the Respira Acre project. The initiative, which identified 18 biomaterials for footwear and accessories, was carried out by the association as part of the Brazilian Materials program, a partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil). The show, organized by the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados), will take place from May 19 to 21 at the Distrito Anhembi in São Paulo, SP.

The Respira Acre project was first introduced at INSPIRAMAIS, a trade show hosted by Assintecal last January. At BFSHOW, the initiative will have a dedicated space where artisans will showcase some of the biomaterials identified during an immersive trip to the Amazon rainforest. Marnei Carminatti, the project coordinator and consultant for Assintecal’s Design and Research Hub, said that visitors will have access to biomaterials such as natural fibers from buriti, banana trees, and carrapicho, as well as a wide variety of applications using seeds from açaí, jarina, and tucumã, in addition to products derived from the sustainable extraction of latex. “In the forest, we are all illiterate. It’s a creative paradise, full of textures, colors, and ancestral design,” he commented.

According to Jorge Viana, president of ApexBrasil, who will also be at BFSHOW, these biomaterials point to the urgent need for sustainable exploitation of the Amazon rainforest as a way to preserve it. “The work done has soul, and that’s what makes it so moving. We need to understand the potential of the forest to preserve it and also generate income for an entire community of indigenous peoples involved in the process,” he emphasized.

Location

The Respira Acre project will be featured throughout the three days of BFSHOW between aisles H and I, at number 15.

About Brazilian Materials

Brazilian manufacturers in the components sector who want to expand their business relations with foreign markets have the opportunity to participate, along with 300 other companies, in the Brazilian Materials project. This project, run by Assintecal, ApexBrasil, and Abrameq, aims to boost export performance and, consequently, the sector. The project offers solutions tailored to each level of internationalization, providing companies with access to trade promotion, intelligence, training, and more. For more information, please contact: relacionamento@assintecal.org.br.

About ApexBrasil

The Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad and attract foreign investment to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy. To achieve these goals, ApexBrasil carries out various trade promotion activities aimed at boosting exports and enhancing the value of Brazilian products and services internationally. These include exploratory and trade missions, business roundtables, support for Brazilian companies participating in major international fairs, and visits by foreign buyers and opinion leaders to learn about Brazil’s production structure, among other business platforms that also aim to strengthen the Brazil brand.

The agency also works in coordination with public and private stakeholders to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to Brazil, focusing on strategic sectors for developing the competitiveness of Brazilian companies and the country.