Italian fashion relies on sustainable development

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Sep 11, 2015

The Camera della Moda (CNMI), the association of Italy's leading fashion brands, has been working for three years in partnership with SMI, the Italian fashion industry's employers association, on a project for the definition of manufacturing standards for the textile industry. The objective is to promote sustainability in the local fashion industry, leading the way in the field. 

The first issue dealt with is that of chemicals. A document will be published in October, explaining which substances are allowed to be used and which aren't, in which proportions, and especially how they are to be processed. "The challenge is to succeed in creating processing standards that are sustainable, and shared by all", Carlo Capasa has underlined.

In the textile industry, Italy is already at the forefront. The majority of companies has been working in this direction for a long time, taking the necessary actions and already applying highly rigorous criteria in the field of sustainable manufacturing. The CNMI project fits thus within a wider context.

"It's not a case of creating yet another certification label. Our intention is above all to create a sustainability culture," continued the Camera della Moda president, who wishes to engage his peers in Paris, London and New York. 

Carlo Capasa will also attend the Première Vision textile show in Paris on 15th September, together with Caroline Rush, director of the British Fashion Council, to discuss these initiatives.