Discover how many brands have chosen to support our environment for the upcoming International Earth Day 2023, recurring on 22 April.
How Emporio Armani loves trees and upcycling
Emporio Armani will launch Emporio Armani Project for Earth Day, an initiative expressing Armani Group’s commitment to promote the responsible use of natural resources while safeguarding the environment, and ensuring that its activities are in harmony with the territory and the local communities in which it operates.
Developed in collaboration with Treedom - the platform that supports agroforestry projects around the world - the Emporio Armani Project for Earth Day entails the planting of a thousand trees in Africa, Latin America and Asia that can later be tracked through a dedicated QR Code.
Treedom is a site that allows people to plant trees remotely. Since its founding in 2010 in Florence, Italy, it has planted more than 3,000,000 trees in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Italy.
During the week of Earth Day celebrations, starting from the week of Earth Day celebrations, a special collection of Emporio Armani tote bags will also be sold in selected Emporio Armani stores worldwide and online.
The bags are entirely produced in Italy by four workshops belonging to the Fair Trade-certified Ethicarei production district and coordinated by the non-profit enterprise Alice Cooperative.
Each workshop provides work for people from socially and economically fragile categories. The bags are made using inventories to reduce waste and designed to minimize their environmental impact, in line with the circular economy principles underlying the Armani Group's sustainability strategy.
Malo, a historic Florentine fashion house specializing in knitwear cashmere, has decided to collaborate with Treedom for Earth Day, too. For the occasion, it will plant 1,000 trees in different areas of the globe thus creating a forest, the "Malo Green Home," which will absorb a total of total 360 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
All the trees are planted directly by local farmers and help produce benefits in environmental, social and economic benefits. Thanks to this business model, Treedom has been part since 2014 of the Certified B Corporations, the network of companies that are standing out for high environmental and social performance.
The s/s 2023 collection of Malo "The Art of the Earth" makes sustainable choices in the selection of materials, methods and projects that the Florentine fashion house has decided to follow and support.
In particular, it offers garments made with hemp, a natural fiber with extraordinary properties thermal insulating, breathable and antibacterial that doesn't require aggressive treatments with pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals, allowing, therefore, to minimize the impact to environment.
The brand also offers garments made from regenerated cashmere using post-consumer yarns, such as, for example, re-cashmere obtained by recycling production residual yarns.
OVS: from Sicily with love (for Earth)
Starting from April 22, a selection of stores of the Italian chain OVS and its website ovs.com will present the first capsule collection of t-shirts made from organic cotton grown in Sicily.
"For us, cotton is a strategic raw material," explained Stefano Beraldo, CEO, OVS Spa. "From 2021, 100% of our sourcing will come from more sustainable sources. Today, Sicilian cotton allows us to start local production that ensures traceability of the entire supply. From a limited production in 2022, we will reach over 100 tons in 2023. We will also invest in research by co-funding a PhD from the University of Catania in Agricultural, food and environmental science dedicated to Italian cotton," the manager added.
For OVS, cotton is the raw material of choice, and it uses it for more than 70% of its garment production. Since 2022, alongside international supplies, OVS has chosen to invest in Italian cotton through a partnership with the company Cotone Organico di Sicilia, which has revived a crop that had been forgotten for more than 40 years.
The reality born on the outskirts of Palermo does not reach the production levels of when cotton fields on the island occupied thousands of hectares, but it is much more than an experiment. In fact, the recovery of this crop contributes to the rebirth of the area, encourages textile manufacturing and is an opportunity for the local economy. The techniques used protect the soil, reduce water use and respect biodiversity.
OVS also thinks that traceability is key. For this it has applied a tracer developed by Haelixa, a Swiss company specializing in product traceability solutions, on raw cotton fibers. The tracer is harmless and invisible and makes the raw material traceable from the place of origin to the finished garment.
All steps in the processing of this cotton–from cultivation to ginning, to manufacturing–are carried out on a zero-kilometer basis in a pathway with positive social and environmental impacts.
The final product is then made by Progetto Quid, an ethical fashion company in the Verona area that employs vulnerable people on a path toward discovering their own creative talent.
Goldwin has announced a new free repair service for any product purchased, ensuring the life of a garment is continually extended.
As one of the most responsible things can be done for the planet is to keep garments going longer, Goldwin decided to launch this repair service as part of its sustainability plan, Play Earth 2030, which includes several goals, as zero waste of product and materials, a product offer made up of 90% green and sustainable materials, carbon neutrality in all offices and shops.
Goldwin not only pursues functionality, durability, and comfort for a longer apparel use but goes through strict quality control in all steps of production such as design, material selections, processing, and manufacturing, taking extra care by repairing and recovering the original function in case of damage or functions hinder its use.
The repair service will help to further extend products' lifespan by repairing and taking good care of them, while encouraging the adoption of a new model for production and consumption by reducing waste and overconsumption.
The repair service will be globally free of charge: each garment will be sent back to Goldwin Japan repair center in Toyama to get all the know-how and the tools needed for a reparation which will ensure perfect functionality.
Reparation can be booked online or bringing back the product to Goldwin flagship stores.
The 150-year-old footwear brand has a clear mission in mind that is to evolve and release its ecofriendly Origin 2.0 model.
These gender-neutral, sporty casual sneakers were designed with Clarks' most progressive eco-conscious vision to date, while keeping the comfort and craftsmanship it is known for.
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