Becoming “consumer-authors”:because sustainability in fashion also depends on us

Roberta Redaelli, in her essay Italy & Moda, collects the voices of textiles.And it invites the consumer to make choices that push them towards sustainability.

Creative and beautiful, yes.But above all sustainable, as a premise without which nothing stands:this is how the fashion of the present and future must be, in particular that much appreciated Made in Italy.It's the message it carries Roberta Redaelli with his volume which is entitled precisely Italy & Fashion.Creativity, beauty, sustainability, (published by Koiné Nuove Edizioni) which offers a profound reflection on the future of fashion, a sector that employs around 75 million people around the world and which for this reason could be a real driving force for good sustainable practices.The heart of the message launched by the author is clear, and from the pages of the book it also reached the Senate of the Republic, the place of political decisions that can make a difference, where it was presented on Tuesday 22 October:“sustainability in fashion cannot be just a trend to be flaunted, but a cultural revolution that involves all the protagonists of the fashion system, from big brands to consumers”.

Italy and sustainability in fashion

In his speech, Redaelli underlined how the consumer is today a key figure in promoting change:it is he - it is us - who through his own choices can direct the market towards more ethical and sustainable fashion. "The market offers us what we ask for", explains Redaelli, underlining the importance of a conscious consumer, capable of exerting positive pressure on companies to adopt more responsible production practices.

Italy & Fashion, the result of a master's thesis and years of analysis and interviews with entrepreneurs from the Como district, stands out for its maieutic approach:a constant invitation to the reader to reflect critically and internalize the phenomenon of sustainability.“Only by changing our behavior can we really change things,” said the author, underlining how a change in mentality is necessary not only on the part of companies, but also on the part of individual citizens.Who, as stated by some of the interviewees within the 17 case histories reviewed, they can and must transform into consumAuthors of a new fashion.

Also Simona Roveda, co-founder of LifeGate, underlined the crucial role of the consumer in the transition towards a more sustainable fashion model.“We have reached very high levels of unsustainability,” he said, but what emerges from the latest data National observatory on sustainable lifestyle curated by the network, a point of reference for sustainability, “but the good news is that the 77 percent of Italians today he declares himself involved in issues related to sustainability, and the 90 percent ask companies to undertake a virtuous path, even at the cost of spending more."Roveda reiterated that sustainability is no longer an option, but a constantly growing trend, formed above all by the new generations.

The social and economic aspect

Among the speakers present, Marina Spadafora, founder of Fashion Revolution, a movement born in the aftermath of Rana plaza massacre in Bangladesh which cost the lives of 1130 workers in 2013, reiterated how sustainability is not a luxury, but a necessity.“The greatest sin of Made in Italy,” he declared, “was moving production abroad, chasing profit to the detriment of people and the planet.”Effectively leaving only one of them standing 3Ps of being sustainable.Spadafora then highlighted the importance of guaranteeing decent wages even in the high fashion sector, citing the campaign "Who made my clothes?” , who made my clothes, launched by his organization to raise consumer awareness of who works behind the clothes we buy.

Everyone therefore agrees on one fundamental point:the environmental dimension is only one of the aspects of sustainability, which cannot be complete without also the social and economic dimension.Stefania Ricci, director of Ferragamo Museum and Foundation of Florence, recalled how the historic Italian fashion house was a pioneer in bringing sustainability to the center of its corporate strategy.“We have made important steps, but a new mentality is needed to really change production processes,” he said.The final message that emerges from Redaelli's book is that "sustainability is not a utopia, but an act of empathy towards people and the territory".As he stated Andrea Taborelli, vice president of Sistema moda Italia, "there cannot be sustainability without traceability", underlining the importance of transparent and responsible production, capable of protecting not only the environment, but also the workers in the supply chain.

At the end of the meeting, the appeal for a policy that is more attentive to the needs of the fashion sector and its workers was forcefully launched, especially regarding the protection of the new generations and young businesses that are trying to establish themselves in an increasingly complex, with an eye to transparency (starting from labelling) and adequate wages:the starting point is the new European Ecodesign regulation, which intervenes more stringently on durability, recyclability, ban on destruction of unsold items and digital passport.Alongside, however, here is a call to action because rules aside, concluded Redaelli, "sustainability can no longer be considered an ornament, but must become the beating heart of our daily choices".