Helping the city’s artisans help each other

Panagiotis Drakopoulos crafts handmade leather goods at his workshop on Romvis Street, in downtown Athens. A team of scientists from the National Technical University of Athens have launched an initiative to create circular economy synergies between the last surviving productive enterprises that maintain their headquarters in the center of Athens, and introduce them to green innovation. More specifically, the project encourages artisanal manufacturers and workshops to network and exchange materials, so that, for example, leftover leather from shoes is made into handbag straps and fabric scraps from clothing become tents.