Aus der Branche

According to the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development, the fashion and textile industry represents one of the major polluters of water in the world, with an estimated 93 billion cubic metres of water used per year.

On the occasion of Water Day, C.L.A.S.S. CEO and Founder Giusy Bettoni talked to Sensil® BioCare, Kornit, Ecoalf and Unesco on how their strategies and processes can preserve our most precious, yet limited resource.

Key Takeaways from the Speakers:
"The ocean is absolutely crucial for the survival of this planet, since it almost covers 71 percent of its surface. Writer Arthur Clarke once said: how inappropriate is to call this planet earth, when it is clearly planet ocean."
- Francesca Santoro, Programme Specialist at IOC UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe

"Sensil® BioCare is our solution to reduce the persistence of textile waste in the ocean. We embedded technology in it so that if any microfiber is released in the washing, they will break down faster than conventional nylon. Based on an external study, we have seen an almost 60 percent microplastic reduction in two years"
- Michelle Lea, Vice President Global Marketing at Nilit

"When it comes to our printing processes, almost no water is in use and the waste is minimal. We have never seen this before in this industry. Based on LCA tests, when compared to screen printing our "Atlas Max" printer saves up to 93 percent of water, while the "Presto" printer saves up to 95 percent of water".
- Michal Arbel, Sustainability Communication Lead at Kornit Digital

"One of the most important projects of the company is Upcycling the Oceans, with the aim of tackling the marine litter in collaboration with the fishing sector. Last year, we collected 300 tons of litter from the seabed, and we promoted circular economy by transforming the waste in products."
- Irene Diez, Director at Ecoalf Foundation

The 2021 C.L.A.S.S. Icon Award Portuguese brand Duarte is ready to presents its Fall/Winter 2022/23 collection developed in collaboration with C.L.A.S.S. Eco Hub during Milan Fashion Week. With the support of WHITE, Duarte’s creations will be featured as a special project at WSM (WHITE Sustainable Milano) platform space inside “Unveiling the fashion Backstage”, a docu-event focusing on an immersive journey into the amazing world of premium and smart supply chains that make innovative and responsible fashion wardrobes a reality.

For its second collection Duarte still counts on C.L.A.S.S. support in sourcing materials and communication activities as part of the Icon Award yearly program. The streetwear designer Ana Duarte, with the help of the Milanese hub, is back with a renewed collection that counts 40 pieces continuing the concept and the story behind the previous World Keeper: the irresistible superhero Tadao - Ana Duarte’s dog – fighting against the environmental issues created by mankind and personified as Smog Man (air pollution), Fire Man (climate change), Deforestation Man (forests destruction) and Wave Man (water overconsumption).

This time the inspiration is also Street Dance drawn directly from the city streets, with majorly unisex pieces (apart from some small specific details linked to sizes or ergonomics) and materials that both respect the planet and keep you warm. The prints drawn from ripped posters giving birth to a sort of new style named “Eco-Street Dance”.

The collection presents a selection of urban pieces for everyday superheroes, fighting against environmental issues - with a holistic approach to sustainability values thanks to the synergy with C.L.A.S.S. and its Back in the Loop area: a section dedicated to alternative and sustainable sourcing against the massive amount of materials and textiles produced that are not used and discarded by the fashion system. This is mostly powered by MAEBA International - and its ReLiveTex® fabrics - leader in selecting and repurposing premium Italian fabrics with exceptional 60 years of expertise in collecting high-quality materials from leading brands and textile manufacturers, and one of the first companies at an international level to be accredited for the UNI EN ISO 14021 certification which grants the traceability of the collected materials.

The linings complete the full sustainable picture, thanks to Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei fabrics by Gianni Crespi Foderami. Bemberg™ is a new generation material made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linter pre-consumer material, converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process.

Bemberg™ is back at Première Vision to celebrate its 90th anniversary through its latest collections, premium partnerships with contemporary brands such as ECOALF and a brand new visual identity. The industry-leading textile fair will represent another pivotal occasion for Bemberg™ to showcase its latest claim “Crafted Elegance”, which perfectly embodies its values of preciousness, quality and refined aesthetic blended with innovation and responsible values.

Born in 2009, both the name and concept of ECOALF came after the birth of Javier Goyenche’s - founder and president - two sons: Alfredo and Alvaro. He wanted to create a truly sustainable fashion brand and believed the most sustainable action to take was to stop using natural resources in a careless way to ensure them to the next generation. Since then, Ecoalf’s mission has been to make a new generation of recycled products with the same quality and design as the best non-recycled.

Based on this design idea, the Mery dress and Patrica pants are part of Ecoalf’s FW21 collection and both made with 100% Bemberg ™ Cupro by Asahi Kasei.

The Parisian exhibition completes the company’s celebrative two-chapter journey. The first half was presented during Pitti Uomo, where Bemberg™ showed archival suits crafted by the historic Sartoria Litrico and lined in Cupro. Behind them stood the new visual image of Bemberg™, focused on exceptional beauty, one-of-a-kind uniqueness and joyful comfort.

After the C.L.A.S.S. recent evolution of its communication tools, they are really pleased to introduce Circular Systems as new C.L.A.S.S. Material Hub partner.

Circular Systems is a California based materials science company, focused on creating a net positive impact on environment, society and economy through innovation. Its circular plus regenerative technologies provide systemic solutions for transforming waste into valuable fibre, yarns, and fabrics for the fashion industry.

Textile waste and agriculture residues are a huge problem, often burned, left to rot in the fields, or sent to landfills creating massive amounts of CO2. Circular Systems is looking at these waste streams as valuable resources, turning problem into a solution by converting them into high value materials for the fashion industry. The “Lightest Touch™“ philosophy, defines their mission to retain maximum amount of embedded energy in waste inputs while creating the “highest-value outputs” with the lowest impacts. Integration of these technologies into global supply chains is key without compromising quality, thus extending the life cycle of these materials.

Circular Systems has three waste-to-fibre platforms that offer an efficient management of textile and agricultural waste:

• The Agraloop™ refines natural fibers derived from agricultural crops into textile-grade fiber called Agraloop™ BioFibre™.  A NEW Natural Fiber mindfully sourced for circularity. With our specialized processing technique, cellulose fiber from stems and leaves are purified into soft fiber bundles ready to spin into yarns. The Agraloop™ processes leftovers from various food and medicine crops including, oilseed hemp/flax, CBD hemp, banana, and pineapple.
• Texloop™ Recycling produces high-quality GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certified recycled cotton fibre called RCOT™. Texloop™ preserves fiber quality for the next generation of recycled materials and blends with GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified organic cotton and Canopy approved man-made cellulosics to create near virgin quality yarns for knitting and weaving.
• Orbital™ hybrid yarns create high-quality materials with high-performance, using organic and recycled fiber inputs. Orbital's patent-pending technology produces inherent wicking and fast dry performance materials, even with 50%-70% natural fiber composition, eliminating the need for chemical finishes to create high-performance fabrics.

All Circular Systems yarns are GRS, OCS and/or GOTS certified and are in the process of developing  their own Crop Residue Standard with Textile Exchange that would relate to the Agraloop™ platform technology.

ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei, specialized in sustainable premium stretch fibers, and Bemberg™, a fiber made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linters pre-consumer materials and converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process, have been invited to showcase at Filo, the international fair of orthogonal weaving yarns for clothing and furnishings, circular knitwear and technical textiles from the 29-30th of September.

ROICA™ will show its main innovations and four key pieces of the modern and sustainable contemporary wardrobe able to enhance the versatility of the fibers, applied to fashion, sportswear, legwear and underwear.
The brand will also be the protagonist of “The contemporary consumer: Stretch your imagination with ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei smart innovation” speech on September 30th, 11am, organized by the fair to tell its sustainable story.

Bemberg™ will be at Filo showing some selected fabric innovation, and three responsible-driven designers representing different and complementary part of contemporary consumer wardrobe: ZEROBARRACENTO, Maurizio Miri and WAXEWUL.
Bemberg™ will be also involved in two speeches – entitled “Il viaggio di Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei verso una moda contemporanea, premium e responsabile” - organized by the fair (Sept. 29th and 30th at 4pm), where it will share its story made of creation, production and process, as well as product performance, aspects related to sustainability and circular economy approach.

100% sustainability lives in the smallest detail, starting with the label, the element that can tell the story of responsibility. This is why Nastrificio di Cassano has created NDC Green, Made in Italy and fully traceable range that guarantees high quality standards while respecting the planet.
 
NDC Green comprises 4 categories:

• LABìO ECO-SOFT®: made using TENCEL™ lyocell  yarn which is compostable and biodegradable (as attested by TUV Austria), this product boasts performances and is resistant up to 10 domestic washings at 30°. The reference is produced with fifteen times less water consumption than cotton production and the resins used are GOTS certified.
• LABìO HANGreen is the smart solution for the creation of hard tags, hangtags, shopping bags and garment covers and, as LABIO ECO-SOFT® range, it’s made with  compostable and biodegradable TENCEL™ lyocell yarn and the resin is compostable, too. These peculiarities make this product unique.
• ACETATE NAIA™, the 'smart satin' that respects forests and oceans, is the NAIA™ single-ingredient solution produced by Eastman: the 100% traceable, compostable and biodegradable cellulose yarn in both soil and sea respects the natural growth rate of forests.
• RECYCLED POLYESTER: is made from post-consumer yarn recycled from GRS-certified PET bottles. Available in both satin and resinated taffeta versions, it guarantees excellent printability for an elegant and sophisticated look

The second C.L.A.S.S. ICON AWARD expands its vision embracing fashion streetwear with an attitude and bets on DUARTE, an emerging label committed to sustainability that shows a new way of being cool, yet responsible. “The C.L.A.S.S. ICON AWARD is much more than prize, it’s an open workshop with influential professionals that will support DUARTE in reaching the next level and being able to share my vision for responsible fashion”, comments Ana Duarte.

The designer (b.1991) launched her label DUARTE in 2016 just after graduation. Since then, the fresh, colourful and power-propelling brand has conquered both catwalks and cities’ streets with a responsible message. “Sustainability means durability, fair work practices, recycled materials and zero-waste,” is Ana’s mantra. Indeed, the collection is the result of a virtuous balance between production and locally-sourced, recyclable high-quality materials harnessed from factories’ deadstock. DUARTE also means circularity, the garments can be re-used and upcycled to create new collections.

The C.L.A.S.S. ICON AWARD is a project led by C.L.A.S.S. with the special support of IDEE BRAND PLATFORM which assists fashion brands in commercial activity, WHITE Milano, international fair supporting the new generations and independent brands with special projects since its inception and responsible shopping platform Renoon. Together they will all support DUARTE for a full year at 360°, from consultancy to communication.