Green Pea is a new shopping mall that will open in Turin, Italy, in the city’s Lingotto area, on December 8, 2020. It will occupy 15,000 sq. meters on five floors and will host only sustainable products related to energy, movement, interior decor, clothing and leisure created in harmony with nature.
The mall will be hosted inside the first Green Retail Park and the third business project of the Farinetti family already involved in other innovative retail concepts such as Unieuro and Eataly, chain stores specialized respectively in selling domestic appliances and Italian food. Green Pea Srl is a newco majority owned (90%) by Eatinvest SpA whose major shareholders are three Italian families–Farinetti (60%), Nocivelli (20%) and Orecchia (10%).
The name of this new mall was chosen as the pea is considered as a tiny symbol of respect that is as round as the Earth and as green as the planet should be. It is also considered as a symbol of mentality change that reminds people to stop consuming or start consuming more respectfully and with less environmental impact.
Photo: Green Pea
Green Pea rooftop garden
Photo: ACC Architettura Cristiana Catino/Negozio Blu Architetti
Rendering of Green Pea's inside area
Photo: ACC Architettura Cristiana Catino/Negozio Blu Architetti
Inside Green Pea (rendering)
Roberto Orecchia, owner/CEO, of the historical apparel Turin store Vestil operating since the 1960s, has been working at the Green Pea project since 2010. Here, he explains the main characteristics of this new shopping mall.
How was the idea to start this project born?
It all started ten years ago when I heard Oscar Farinetti speaking about it. In those years it was more an intuition, but after careful analysis we understood that especially the fashion market was not ready for a project like this. Seven years later, in 2017, the market was ready and we started creating the project as we know it today. We have started involving companies sharing the values of Green Pea and all looking for most innovative players in sustainable building. The result has been a perfect harmony between container and content, a respectfully built place inhabited by respectful people and products.
Photo: Green Pea
Roberto Orecchia, Green Pea
We fell in love with some of our partners immediately as, for instance, Patagonia and Ecoalf, as they inspired us in our path to better understand the world of sustainability.
From that moment on we tried to look for Italian companies and brands that already offered sustainable products similar to some foreign company models and others that believed in our concept and wanted to start a total conversion of their enterprises toward a green future.
Many created a capsule tailored upon our requests while continuing to produce their other products according to traditional methods. In such cases we preferred to refuse them opting for smaller companies that rather enthusiastically wanted to start innovating their practices and start a new path with Green Pea.
What specific standards shall they respect or what certifications should they achieve?
Many brands already hold certifications in terms of materials. For instance, many of them already use GOTS cotton.
We didn’t explicitly ask this request to brands, but preferred to sit down with them–when it was still possible–and realistically understand what they actually might have done to join Green Pea with their idea of sustainability.
We set our own manifesto and that leaves no doubt: if they use cotton it has to be both organic and OGM free; If they want to use wool it has to come from breeding where animals are treated respectfully and at high trackable levels; if they use synthetic materials, instead, they have rather to be made with recycled or recyclable materials. In addition, we want to recycle materials that others have thrown away creating new products.
Photo: Green Pea
Green Pea facade
We asked our partners to furbish their shops keeping in mind the same criteria we used for building Green Pea, that is respecting the same criteria of sustainability, we also used, for instance, in selecting different kinds of wood inside the building.
This has given life to numerous synergies among partners. For instance the Fashion and Beauty floor asked companies of the Home floor to decorate their shops-in-shop using the decor pieces that will be sold at the first floor. Moreover, for building their spaces they asked a collaborative support to architects that will be hosted within Green Pea.
Such synergies have given life to corners that wholly represent sustainability both in terms of product and decor solutions.
What consumer type does Green Pea addres?
Everyone. We could bring inside the building an offer that can satisfy 0- to 99 year-old consumers starting from two companies selling clothing for newborns up to skiing apparel including 34 brands offering women’s, men’s and kids’ fashion for work, leisuretime and sport.
Everything follows Eataly’s philosophy “from pop to top.” At Green Pea one can find from Superga sneakers to handmade in Italy Ortigni shoes using vegetally tanned leather. Here one can find GOTS certified organic cotton T-shirts for €20 to Ermenegildo Zegna suits produced according the #UseTheExisting project that produces suit using production leftovers.
Whether you want to buy an outer jacket that will last for many years or the classic white shirt for your everyday work, Green Pea guarantees a green product selection for all different consumer needs. This is our greatest satisfaction!
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