Sustainability
according to Pecci Filati
Face to face with Sustainability Team
What are the main steps you have taken towards sustainability?
Pecci Filati began moving towards sustainability in 2014, with a small group of Prato-based spinners. Together, we signed a Code of Ethics and a Values Charter, and started dealing with the chemicals in the materials used and within our processes. This all implements the di 4sustainability® 4s protocol, which since the beginning provided a methodology that was lacking at that time. In 2016 we signed the Greenpeace DETOX commitment, joined the ZDHC programme and gained certification in almost all Textile Exchange standards. In 2015 Filati Naturali was launched, whose key product is recycled cashmere and which allows pre- and post-production waste to be reused.
What is your approach towards eco certifications?
Certifications are certainly useful because our clients need guarantees on the truthfulness of what we are declaring, as well as we need assurances on the characteristics of incoming raw materials. However, their proliferation, the increased demand from brands and the bureaucracy associated with them are detrimental and often detract from the real goals. Here is an example: in animal fibres there are certifications covering animal welfare and the sustainability of breeds. In some cases, however, there is hardly any material available on the market with those certifications, so there is a risk that animal fibres (sustainable by definition regardless of certification) are replaced with materials like nylon and polyester, just because it’s then easier to get the ‘stamp’ of approval. This is very scary to us.
How do you communicate your ‘green’ policies?
We do this by talking to our clients and publishing sustainability reports, but above all by responding to the many and diverse requests they send us on this topic.
