Venice sustainable fashion forum’s eight ideas for eco-friendly fashion

Eight ideas to achieve a just, efficient and fast transition toward sustainable fashion were highlighted at the Venice sustainable fashion forum’s second edition, which concluded yesterday in Venice. Organized by Smi-Sistema moda Italia, The European house Ambrosetti, and Confindustria Veneto est, the event focused on the sector’s sustainability and highlighted the gap between the business world, which is getting ready for the new era, and the institutions, which seem to be stuck in setting standards.

This situation gives rise to paradoxical phenomena as highlighted on the second day of the forum by Maria Teresa Pisani from the Unece-United Nations economic commission for Europe, who stated that «regulatory thrusts occurring in some US states, France, Germany, and the Netherlands are driven by companies requesting clear rules and criteria. There are currently 300 voluntary sustainability standards in the fashion industry, which is excessive». The problem of textile waste is complex. The European directive proposed on July 5th and open for consultation until November 22nd suggests implementing Epr-Extended producer responsibility systems to promote sustainable and circular models. In Brussels, Smi has worked with Euratex, the European association for the textile/fashion industry, as well as with the Italian government to develop a common position for the continental industry. However, the upcoming European elections may hinder the progress.

A scenario that conflicts with the «Boosting Transition» theme selected for this Forum. The economic system has embraced sustainability as a competitive advantage for businesses, banks, and investors. «Sustainability will also revolutionize our credit granting processes», Remo Taricani, deputy head of Italy at Unicredit, stated. «Many investors view Esg considerations as essential for investment», Luca Solca of Bernstein explained. Yesterday’s event provided an opportunity to compare two supply chain aggregators, Gruppo Florence and Holding moda, which bring together companies in the supply chain to enhance sustainable production, generating benefits from intra-group synergies. «Individuals struggling with similar issues stand alone. Our companies reap benefits such as cost synergy and heightened efficiency and effectiveness», Attila Kiss, ceo of Gruppo Florence, stated. Gruppo Florence is a cluster of 26 companies with an estimated turnover of 660 million euros by year-end.

«We bring together top-quality companies that, through collaboration, can enact required actions with increased investment», Claudio Rovere, president of Holding moda, stated. Holding Moda is a group of 12 companies with total revenues of 150 million euros. As we wait for regulatory obstacles to be overcome, here are the eight points for consideration presented by president of Smi Sergio Tamborini and head of The European house-Ambrosetti’s fashion unit Flavio Sciuccati. The first step towards market transition involves adopting voluntary and mandatory tools developed by the EU as a global leader in sustainability, in order to provide feedback and offer recommendations for improvement. The next step is the creation of multi-stakeholder task forces headed by national governments. Additionally, partnerships between upstream and downstream players in the fashion supply chain, as well as the financial sector and other value chain participants. Next, policy impact will be measured using a standardized set of data that is valid for all. The remaining four objectives include promoting cultural change in a positive manner, establishing a sustainability forefront led by Italian and French luxury value chains, increasing profitability of corporate sustainability choices, and lastly, advocating for an integrated approach towards recycling and reuse.

Federico Marchetti and King Charles III collaborate on a Fashion task force dedicated to digital passport and regenerative crops

This task force prioritizes «action over talk». It was founded by King Charles III and is chaired by Federico Marchetti. As a guest on the first day of the Venice sustainable fashion forum, the founder of Ynap shared the task force’s achievements after two years of work. The task force is committed to promoting regenerative fashion and driving progressive change in the industry. The digital passport is the first key topic. «We launched it a year earlier than the European Commission, and all members have already piloted it, with some having implemented it», Marchetti noted, highlighting that the task force’s member companies outline their goals on a quarterly basis, and all current application traffic lights show green. In addition, data on consumer responses is reassuring. «12% of customers scanned their digital passports without any company communication prompting, and 81% of those customers have since reused them».

The topic of regenerative crops for textile raw materials is crucial. Brunello Cucinelli launched the Himalayan regenerative fashion living lab to restore harmony between small local communities in parts of the Himalayas and nature, creating sustainable fashion value chains for the highest quality cashmere. Following suit, Giorgio Armani participated with an experimental project to produce low environmental impact cotton in the Apulian Region. «We began working nine months ago and have achieved incredible results. It is my ambition that the production of cashmere for Brunello Cucinelli and cotton for Armani be carried out with regenerative materials». In terms of sustainability, Marchetti presented a clear and determined outlook: «We need to take our plans and turn them into actions. We must all become activists like King Charles III, who addressed these issues in the 1970s». (All rights reserved)