It is difficult to get to Leticia López-Cotelo's office (Madrid, 36 years old) because the address she sends for the interview leads to the imposing Jerónimos church in Madrid. “Yes, yes, it's here, wait for me to come down,” she says. “It's amazing, right?” She walks through the corridors at the back of the temple until she reaches the space that Cáritas gave her years ago and which is today the headquarters of her project. A project called ACompartir and that she created in 2013, a bank of non-food and basic necessities that companies have not been able to sell and that they donate to vulnerable groups through NGOs. “I am very bold, and if something touches my heart, I go for it,” she says. López-Cotelo speaks very quickly, opens his eyes wide and says with enthusiasm that it all started when he finished his International Business degree at ICADE. She found work in the marketing and communications department at Microsoft and, after four summers in Peru as a volunteer, she discovered firsthand all the levels of poverty. “I had to do something about it,” she says. And, of course, she took the plunge.
Ask. He talks about other realities, different levels of poverty, and how that context helped him create his project…
Answer. Because in Spain perhaps people are not dying of hunger, but there are poor people and they have many other needs. I thought: if food banks exist, why shouldn't there be a bank for unsold products?
P. Unsold?
R. Yes, I know it is not in the RAE, but it is our word, the one that defines us (smiles). Unsold are surplus, obsolete, defective products, end of stock…what companies have not sold. I saw that this already existed in other countries, in the United States, the United Kingdom, France… we spoke with the latter to see how they had it organized and we set out to set it up in Spain. And we've been there for eleven years now. In the end this is something that works thanks to pure and simple logistics. And all companies have products that they cannot sell and millions of people, 12.3 specifically in Spain at risk of social exclusion, who need them. How could I stand still knowing that this exists?
P. How does AShare work?
R. We serve as a liaison for companies and NGOs to reach people who need it. The companies call us and tell us: I have 300 pallets, a truck, who can take it? So we use logistics, a warehouse in Illescas where we can receive three trucks, five, whatever it takes. We work with 200 companies and 583 social organizations with which we collaborate throughout Spain, and since we were born we have moved around 45 million euros in products, almost 3,000 tons of material and we have reached around two million people. We are committed to ensuring that these products are not marketed, they must be delivered free of charge to the beneficiaries or used for their projects, whether soup kitchens, shelters, nursing homes…
P. If I had to define a decent life in several products it would be…
R. Dignity is going out into the street clean to look for a job like the rest of us do, calm and safe. Keep your teeth clean, for example. The shower, the towel, the toothpaste and the brush. Being able to wash clothes and have detergent, pay for the electricity for the washing machine, buy school supplies for your children, a toy at Christmas. They give you a jar of chickpeas and you have a pot to cook them. That and much more is dignity. That is why we serve all types of profiles and needs. I remember how much the case of an NGO that serves women victims of gender violence and trafficking impacted me, how important makeup was and is for them. It is something I had not paid attention to until that moment, I did not consider it a basic product until you see how much it improves their self-esteem. Paint your lips and put on the heels that wouldn't let you before. That's a rush, it's being you again. There are beautiful stories behind each product.
P. Products that until recently were more rewarding for companies to destroy than to donate. What effects has the 2022 waste law had?
R. The thing is that when he told it, no one believed it and it is something that was not talked about until recently. For us, the best thing about this law is that it eliminates VAT on donations, which is something we had been asking for for a long time, but the Treasury did not see it. We did not understand why a product was taxed if you donated it and on the other hand if you exported or destroyed it it had no fiscal impact. That's why it made sense for them to dispose of those surpluses in landfills and incinerators. It was completely surreal.
P. What does it look like in the future? He says he's optimistic, but…
R. I wish there would come a point where we would not have to exist, because that would mean that there are no poor people, companies sell absolutely everything and make it perfect. Blessed be that day.