Something really cool happened in Italy today.
Six of the country’s biggest textile companies, responsible for supplying material to a number of well-known fashion and luxury brands, made a commitment to eliminate hazardous chemicals from our clothes. A toxic-free trend is sweeping the industry, from the biggest high street names to major textile producers.
Though you might not have heard of names like Miroglio, Berbrand or Besani these figures give you an idea of their scale of production.
The even better news is that this is the most ambitious Detox commitment yet! These companies phased out 8 out the 11 priority chemical groups before they even signed up to Detox. What’s more, to fulfill each company’s commitment to transparency, the public will be able to follow every step they take to come clean via their website, making it even easier for us to hold them to account. And that’s not all. One of them, Miroglio, even decided to extend the commitment beyond its textile production business to its fashion division covering a number of brands.
These leading Italian suppliers are raising the bar for the industry and proving that, when companies employ their expertise, they can help tackle the global water crisis and create beautiful, toxic-free fashion.
As you might remember, back in February we challenged the luxury sector to give us exactly that: fashion without pollution. While some, such as Valentino and Burberry, have listened to the collective voice of the growing Detox movement and committed, a number of supposed trendsetters like Gucci, Versace, Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbanna are still lagging behind.
If their suppliers can commit to Detox, what are the big labels waiting for? It is high time those companies that have failed to act realised the error of their ways and got on the right side of fashion history.
Ask Versace, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Dolce & Gabbana to create toxic-free fashion and Detox now.
Chiara Campione is the #FashionDuel Project Leader at Greenpeace Italy and tweets @ChiaraCampione.
