Sustainable Fashion in Italy
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SUSTAINABLE FASHION IN ITALY Commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency SUSTAINABLE FASHION IN ITALY A GUIDE FOR DUTCH FASHION ENTREPRENEURS CONTENTS: 1 UN sustainable development goals and two words about sustainability 3 2 To identify the most sustainable fibers we must know them 5 Environmental consequences caused by the use of yarns 6 Global fibers production 1900>2017 + 2017 7 Cotton 8 Other natural vegetable fibers 11 Silk 12 Wool 14 Artificial fibers Viscose 16 Tencel 16 Syntethic fibers 17 3 How to build a sustainable brand 18 4 Italian sustainable lists 20 Italian textile producers 21 Top Italian sustainable brands 26 New Italian sustainable fashion designers 28 5 Italian exhibitions 29 Exhibiting in the Italian fairs 32 Visiting the Italian fairs 32 How fairs have included sustainability 32 Italian special fashion events 33 6 Roads to access the Italian market 34 7 Most important buyers 35 8 Conclusions 36 Contacts 38 2 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS GOAL 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere GOAL 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture 1GOAL 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages GOAL 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life- long learning opportunities for all GOAL 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls GOAL 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all GOAL 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern en- ergy for all GOAL 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all GOAL 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable in- dustrialization and foster innovation GOAL 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries GOAL 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable GOAL 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns GOAL 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts GOAL 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine re- sources for sustainable development GOAL 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial eco- systems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss GOAL 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable develop- ment, provide access to justice for all and build effective, account- able and inclusive institutions at all levels GOAL 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development 3 TWO WORDS TEXTILES AND FASHION ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY CAN HELP TO IMPROVE: Sustainability is a planetary goal and the UN the conditions of the planet: summed it up in the above declaration. • less use of water Some items directly or indirectly concern • less deforestation the world of Fashion and its impact on • lower pesticide use the planet. • less or no use of harmful chemicals The fashion industry is the second most pol- • lower CO2 emission luting one on the planet after gas/petroleum. • greater recycling of used garments It is one of those that exploit the workforce • more attention in the design phase more, especially in the third world. It is the cruelest against the animal world. the conditions of the insiders: • fairer wages • refusal to use child labor the conditions of the animals: • abolishing all the forms of cruelty related to the use of the fleece or the plumage. 4 TO IDENTIFY THE MOST SUSTAINABLE FIBERS 2WE MUST KNOW THEM Fibers and yarns belong to two macro-families: TEXTILE FIBERS NATURAL and MAN-MADE. The natural ones are divided into two main NATURAL FIBERS MAN-MADE FIBERS categories: VEGETABLE and ANIMAL. FROM MAN-MADE PRODUCTS can be: VEGETAL FROM ANIMAL NATURAL CELLULOSIC SYNTHETIC • FIBERS RAW ARTIFICIAL FIBERS POLYMERS (produced from cellulose and derivatives) MATERIAL • SYNTHETIC (produced from carbon derivatives). COTTON WOOL VISCOSE POLYAMIDE LINEN SILK CUPRO POLYESTER JUTE ACETATE ACRYLIC BAMBOO PINEAPPLE 5 CRADLE TO GATE ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT IIMPACT OF MATERIAL NATURAL FIBERS (contrary to what may be thought) are not exempt from problems CRADLE TO GATE ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT INDEX PER KG OF MATERIAL which adversely affect the environment. COW LEATHER SILK As long as their use was limited, environ- COTTON BAST FIBER mental problems were circumscribed to WOOL the machining zone. As soon as consump- SYNTHETIC LEATHER NYLON tion has become global, problems have MODAL grown exponentially. VISCOSE/RAYON ACRYLIC Source: Higg Materials Sustainability Index, ELASTANE/SPANDEX msi.higg.org. LYOCELL Data retrieved on 27 September 2017; Levi’s (2015); H&M (2017); BCG Analysis POLYESTER This graph, published by the Global POLYPROPYLENE Note: These results were calculated using the Higg MSI Tools provided by Fashion Agency in 2017, gives us an idea Sustainable Apparel Coalition. The Higg MSI Tools assess impacts of materials from of the environmental consequences of cradle- to-gate for a finished material (i.e. to the point at which materials are ready to be the use of yarns and confirms that, pro- assembled into a product). The Higg MSI scores provided herein are for a single Production stage within the portionally, the most polluting fibers are Higg MSI scope (e.g. fiber or Raw material) and do not provide a holistic view of the those of natural origin. Impacts involved with material production” Chemistry Abiotic Resource Depletion, Eutrophication Global Warming Water Scarcity Fossil Fuels Emissions of greenhouse gasses. Environmental damages of water Scoring currently qualitative. Depletion of natural resources Excessive richness of nutrients Prevalent in processing and man- use for human health, ecosystem Once methodology is more faster than they can be replen- in a lake or other body of water, ufacturing phases quality, and resources. mature, ecotoxicity and human ished. Prevalent in raw materials frequently due to runoff from the Prevalent in the raw materials and toxicity will be assessed quantita- and manufacturing (sundries and land, causing dense growth of processing phases tively in the MSI. Data collecting packaging) plant life and death of animal life is ongoing. Prevalent in the raw from lack of oxygen. materials and processing phases Prevalent in the raw materials phase Pulse- of-the- Fashion- Industr y_ 2017 by Global Fashion Agenda & Boston Consulting Group page 42 6 GLOBAL FIBER PRODUCTION 1900-2017 (MILLION MT) Natural fibers only marginally affect world consumption, in the global con- 125 text, as highlighted by the 2018 Textile Exchange Report. 100 75 50 25 0 1900 1925 1950 1975 2000 2017 SYNTHETICS COTTON MMCS OTHER PLANT-FIBERS WOOL DOWN SILK TOTAL 2018-Preferred-Fiber-Materials-Market-Report by Textile Exchange page 6 Some fibers have a bigger impact on GLOBAL FIBER PRODUCTION IN 2017 the environment than others. If we want to make a sustainable prod- OTHER PLANT BASED (-5.5%) WOOL ( 1%) uct, we need to focus our attention on DOWN (<1%) SILK (<1%) fibers, taking in high consideration how COTTON (-24.5%) much the fibers we are going to use will affect the global environment. MMCS (-6.3%) ~105 MILLION MT POLYESTER (-51%) OTHER SYNTHETICS (-5.7%) NYLON (-5.4%) 2018-Preferred-Fiber-Materials-Market-Report by Textile Exchange page 6 7 COTTON It is the most widely used natural fiber (80%). It makes up 24.5% of the total con- sumption of fibers. It is the most damaging textile fiber for the environment. Growing in more than 80 countries, it is one of the most widespread crops after wheat, rice, maize and soybean. It guarantees earnings to over 100 million farmers and 250 million workers. FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COTTON, WE USE: -3% of the world agricultural surface -25% of the consumption of insecticides -11% of pesticides. 8 TO MAKE A COTTON T-SHIRT, WE USE • 2,649.79 litres of water • 90 g of fertilisers • 50 grams of pesticides • 540 grams of fossil fuels AND WE PRODUCE: • 2.7 kg of CO2 • 50 grams of other gases. WASHING A T-SHIRT 50 TIMES PRODUCES • 8.3 kg of CO2 emissions. 9 IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF ORGANIC COTTON THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF COTTON, ON CLIMATE CHANGE WE CAN USE ORGANIC COTTON Organic Cotton allows: Using organic cotton is estimated a 46% reduction of gas emissions a to save (per year): 62% reduction of primary energy • 218 billion liters of water (equal to consumption 87,201 Olympic-size swimming pools), a 91% reduction of water consumed by • 288 million kw, equal to the light of irrigation. ten thousand 60 W bulbs for 55 years, • 92,5 million kg of carbon dioxide, The cotton fiber market was estimated at equal to a car traveling 13,572 times 23,100,000 MT in 2017. around the world, • 315,030 kg of pesticides, The Preferred Cotton segment • 40,9 million kg of fertilizers. (consisting of organic, fair trade, Cmia, UIC, Reel, Cotton Cleaner and E3) POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL SAVINGS OF: FURTHERMORE, ORGANIC COTTON represents about 15% of the total cotton ENSURES THAT: fiber production. GLOBAL WARMING ACIDIFICATION OF LAND & WATER THERE’S NO USE OF GMO SEEDS EUTROPHICATION (SOIL EROSION) POTENTIAL BLUE WATER CONSUMPTION THERE’S NO USE OF TOXIC CHEMICALS PRIMARY ENERGY DEMAND Quick Guide to Organic Cotton June 2017 page 7 10 OTHER FIBERS such as Flax, Jute and Hemp, have a less negative impact - unfor- tunately, they are not very fashionating. Pineapple, Bamboo and some other fibers are very interesting from the environmental point of view, although still not very widely used. In addition to traditional fibres, some new yarns are being developed by Italian start-ups using industrial plant waste. Orange Fiber uses citrus juice byproducts, repurposing them to create beautiful, sensorial materials; it is formed from a silk-like cellulose yarn that can blend with other materials. When used in its purest form, the resulting 100% citrus textile features a soft and silky hand-feel, is lightweight, and can be opaque or shiny according to production needs.