The 2020 4sustainability® Event photographs the state of the art of the fashion sector showing the way to rebirth.
Reset Fashion. A New Era: this is the title of the 8th Evento Annuale 4sustainability®, staged online on November 26 as a sign of vitality and confidence in the future, in spite of everything.
Let’s be honest, in fact: in this 2020 complicated beyond all expectation, in which we’ve done indigestion of webinars and remote meetings, there’re topics such as sustainability made even more relevant by the context.
THE POINT: A SYSTEM TO RE-THINK
Francesca Rulli, CEO and founder of Process Factory/4sustainability®, introduced Hakan Karaosman, author of the University College Dublin research Reset Fashion: fashion’s responsible and efficient transformation realized in collaboration with Process Factory to explore effects of Covid-19 on the various links in the fashion supply chain. The research, which has been presented as a world preview, highlighted a certain number of individualistic behaviors, that is to say the businesses attitude to pour fears related to the pandemic’s persistence to the links below, letting themselves be guided only by profit logics.
This disruption of the value chain and of the solidarity relationships that should be activated precisely in crisis times is offset by the ability of many suppliers to focus on creativity and innovation to survive and even thrive in difficulties.
The distinction underlined by the research between reactive and proactive brands is definitely illuminating. The latter perform better because they are able to face the pandemic with collaborative and proactive attitudes towards the supply chain which have already proved to be the most effective in the short and long period, not only in terms of containing negative effects, but also of new opportunities for sustainable development.
“If the brands, suppliers and other parties involved adopt behaviors consistent with this type of evidences – says Hakan Karaosman – we’ll really be able to turn the page and build together a more resilient, efficient and responsible fashion system”.
THE ANSWER: THE 4SUSTAINABILITY® GUARANTEE MARK
The 4sustainability® mark for sustainable fashion is Process Factory’s answer to the scientifically rigorous photography of fashion system proposed by research. Francesca Rulli officially presented the new version highlighting its distinctive features. What is 4sustainability® in a nutshell?
- A registered mark that certifies the adoption by fashion & luxury companies of the sustainability roadmap.
- A dashboard of six distinct and integrable initiatives for the conversion to the use of lower impact materials (Materials), for the elimination of toxic and harmful chemicals from production processes (Chem), for the process traceability and the supply chain monitoring (Trace), for the growth of organizational well-being (People), for the conscious use of resources (Planet), for the development of reuse, recycling and sustainable design practices (Recycle).
- A single guarantee system, compliant with the major international initiatives and certifications for the sustainability of fashion industry.
- A sole implementation system instead of many, recognized as such by the market.
- A method and a support platform for carrying out concrete projects.
- A sole implementation system instead of many, riconosciuto come tale dal mercato.
- For brands, certain evidence of the supply chain sustainability.
- For the supply chain, a reliable management and communication tool.
THE INDICATORS: SHARED METHOD AND LANGUAGE FOR TRANSFORMATION
“Oltre 160 aziende rappresentative della migliore filiera italiana hanno già avviato progetti di sostenibilità con 4sustainability®”, ha spiegato Francesca Rulli. “Circa 15 marchi internazionali, fra brand singoli e gruppi a cui fanno capo più brand, hanno inserito tra i loro sistemi di qualifica e monitoraggio della filiera il Protocollo 4sustainability®. Process Factory ha formato oltre 400 Sustainability e Chemical Manager, concentrandosi sulla crescita delle competenze interne alle imprese per prepararle ad affrontare le sfide del mercato con la necessaria consapevolezza. Questi numeri sono la prova che la trasformazione dei modelli di business in ottica sostenibile non è una chimera. Insieme possiamo farcela davvero, ma bisogna agire con metodo, condividere obiettivi, linguaggio e strumenti misurando costantemente i risultati”.
THE DEBATE: DIFFERENT AND COMPLEMENTARY PERSPECTIVES
The panel discussion scheduled as a third part of the Event offered important confirmations in this sense, also due to the prestige of its protagonists. On the opportunity to reset the fashion system, the journalist and contributing editor of D – La Repubblica Chiara Tronville spoke to Anna Bassoni, Group Quality Director of Dainese; Heinz Zeller, Principal Sustainability of Hugo Boss; Chiara Morelli, Kering Group Operations Sustainability Manager; Matteo Ward, CEO and Co-Founder of Wrad; Francesco Botto Poala, COO of Successori Reda; Federico Gualtieri, President of Consorzio Promozione Filati; Giorgio Ravasio, Vivienne Westwood‘s Country Manager Italy.
If Francesco Botto and Anna Bassoni focused in particular on the importance of bringing digitalization and innovative skills on board of process so as to to move from commitment to systemic action, the common factor is the vision’s coincidence emerged from the debate on the opportunity for brands and companies in the supply chain to collaborate honestly with each other, building authentic partnerships.
The intervention of Federico Gualtieri was very decisive on this topic. CPF President spoke of closures and selfishness – in line, moreover, with the research of Professor Karaosman – enhancing the aggregation logic. “Our Consortium – he announced – has launched a sustainability project for all its companies, with the aim of teaming up and growing on the markets thanks to a long-term strategic choice focused on ethics, respect for the environment and responsibility”.
It must be admitted that great revolutions have a long genesis and sustainability as a widespread business practice is, in effect, a true revolution. This is the opinion of Giorgio Ravasio who, responding to Chiara Tronville, stressed the need to root sustainability in the company culture and organization before even making it an operational strategy.
Matteo Ward spoke of “how”, identifying in training, sustainable design and investment in knowledge and innovation the keystones to make the conversion to sustainability an irreversible process.
SO, ARE WE ALL AGREE?
The answer is yes, even if with different nuances and complementary reflections: everyone agrees on the need to re-think the fashion system as well as on the way to do it, preserving the positive values already acquired and changing those that are not coherent with the implementation of shared sustainable development projects.
