23 july 2014

Brands looking for sustainability

Transparency helps your business. An initiative by 4sustainability and REMO

Organized by two points of reference in the sustainability field like 4sustainability and REMO, the meeting entitled Brands looking for the sustainable supply chain: a threat or an opportunity? took place on 22nd July in Prato. It was not the classic meeting, but a workshop useful to provide companies with operating advices and assistance on how to approach a matter that is now crucial to win the competion challenges.
The chairman of Confindustria Prato Andrea Cavicchi introduced this topic in his opening welcome. Francesca Rulli, Sustainability Manager at 4sustainability, went deeper, making reference to the meeting’s title.

«Our impression is that many players still consider sustainability as a threat rather than as an opportunity», said Mrs. Rulli. «We should work – she added – to favour a radical change of course. Combining business with environmental and social ethics is much more than “a good thing”, indeed. It’s a necessity induced by the evidence that consumers prefer companies who behave responsibly. Many brands are so conscious of this situation they ask the supply chain to adopt the same standards».

Giulio Lombardo and Sandeep Chawla, Sales Manager and Marketing Manager at REMO, described the changes we see today as a general trend involving even the perception of products.
«Until a few years ago, regenerated fabrics, however well done they may be, were perceived as second-class products. Today it is not like that anymore, they are high value-added products consumers seem to like (and buy…) always more. A system like REMO – built to “certify” the sustainable content of different products, showing the percentages of regenerated fibers as well as the water, energy and CO2 savings – can become a competition factor both for brands towards consumers and suppliers towards brands».
Even from a communication point of view. «REMO is not a mere list of numbers», Mr. Lombardo explained. «It is a polyvalent label where you can upload every kind of message, history or tale…A high technology tool designed to amaze clients in a really original way».

The ZDHC representative in Italy Riccardo De Pol closed the work day with a short speech focused on the importance of rowing in the same direction. «Up to now, 18 international brands joined the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals program. By the year 2020, the common goal is to set at zero the use of dangerous substances in the product chain. We hope new members will contribute soon to accelerating this process, now supported not only by consumers but also by national and international institutions». 

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