Sustainability
according to Pinori Filati
Face to face with Raffaella Pinori
What are the main steps you have taken towards sustainability?
In 2010, when brands had not yet grasped the impact global pollution would have on our future, our founder Roberto Pinori designed a new product using the recycling experience of Prato carders. Instead of using wool, he used the fabric most loved by young people, i.e. denim. This fabric had two advantages: it was originally natural, as it was made from 100% cotton, and it was easy to sort. Over time, the thinking at Pinori Filati has been to introduce more and more sustainability into our products, as demonstrated by our current collection, which consists almost entirely of recycled and organic yarns sourced from well-treated animals.
What is your approach towards eco certifications?
We feel that certifications are necessary to have a shared reference between brands and the supply chain. However, the proliferation of standards only increases the costs related to certification, especially for businesses operating in multi-component fancy yarns. Fancy yarn manufacturers don’t make just one product; they have a high turnover and this makes certification hard to manage. Actually we have chosen the Textile Exchange route for organic, recycled and animal welfare, while for chemicals we are ZDHC certified with 4sustainability® when it comes to selecting and managing suppliers and products. Finally, we try to reuse materials for packaging and wrapping, catalogues and colour cards.
How do you communicate your ‘green’ policies?
Mainly through b-to-b channels, i.e. our colour cards, website, social media, but the best marketing is done by word of mouth, by our clients, by our reputation built up over the years, which drives us to add further environmental goals.
