Sustainability in Italian Fashion & Luxury

Italy leads the way for sustainability in Fashion & Luxury, its chain of production is by now ready to reduce its environmental impact

Exactly one year ago we reported on the opening of an innovative hub dedicated to recycling in Finland. Now, it is Italy who is realizing a similar structure, carving out a leading role in sustaining circular fashion in the European Union.

EU regulation on the matter of recycling textile waste

The “Package of circular economy regulation” adopted by the EU in 2018 establishes binding objectives for the recycling of waste and a reduction in the number of landfills by 2025. Italy is first to apply the regulation, moving up the actualization by a good three years. In fact, the requirement for differentiating textile waste went into effect on January 1, 2022.

According to the “Rapporto sui rifiuti urbani” (Report on urban waste) published in December 2021 by the Istituto Superiore per la Protezione Ambientale (Ispra) -the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection, 143,300 tons of urban textile waste was differentiated during 2020, that is only 0.8% of the total waste collection. The fashion sector has demonstrated its willingness on the issue, promoting a change of course that represents an important signal.

The new projects with a green outlook have multiplied at this point: two of the most important are described below.

The first “textile hub” in Prato

With its over 7,000 businesses in the industry and a long-standing tradition in the field, it is not surprising that it is Prato to inaugurate the first Italian “textile hub”. The estimated investment corresponds to Euro 18 million, of which 2.1 expected by the NRRP: the project calls for a system for the sorting and treatment of textile waste, with a capacity of approximately 34,000 tons per year.

Infrared technology will be implemented in the facility that, thanks to optical sensors which recognize fibers and colors, automatically separates the waste materials coming in, sending them straight to the recycling process. This is an impressive estimated percentage of 94% of the recycling.

“The idea of recycling is a new economy, an innovative way to perceive production, but for our district this also means tradition and consolidated expertise: an important prerequisite to fully and efficiently enter this front”, according to Francesco Marini of Confindustria Toscana Nord.

Holding Moda and the sustainable sub-supply

The Ghost Makers” project operates with a point of view that is different in comparison to the Prato hub, but always competing with the same general objective. Launched by Holding Moda, a coalition of companies that represent Italian manufacturing excellence, the initiative plans on certifying the sustainability of sub-suppliers who collaborate with the subsidiaries of the group.

These are approximately 100 laboratories who employ 1,500 skilled workers, the “ghost makers” in fact. They will be able to obtain a proprietary certification from Holding Moda if they mirror the best practices in governance, social and environmental matters and on a health and safety level. The requirement to be included as a certified associate will be passing a test carried out in collaboration with a partner specialized in Total Quality Assurance.

As we have been documenting for a few years now at Bizeta, sustainability has truly ushered in a new era for luxury, launching challenges to be faced with always more innovative solutions.

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