Many customers came back looking for quality Italian denim fabrics and we were ready to supply them. In dealing with suppliers, the most complicated thing has been managing delivery times, which have lengthened considerably, besides the price increases.

We have regular orders with them—the order quantity might be small, but the orders are regular. We are also offering more fashion products as more and more garments are being sold online. We maintain regular contact with our buyers, through both online and physical meetings.

We have a huge focus on circular economy, textile recycling and sustainability in general. We are building partnerships with clients trying to promote the culture of recycling, we are trying to use as much textile waste as possible to start our sustainable journey right from the beginning of the fabric production, aiming at not using virgin materials in the production of the new fabrics. We are also investing in new recycling technologies about which we will be able to tell you more in the future.

Since 2007, everything has changed in the fashion panorama, but at the same time many things are still the same: the needs to have a place to meet stable and reliable partners, a place to look for new opportunities, to be inspired from exclusive and trendsetting fashion proposals, and a place to find out the latest innovations on the market.

Sure, hemp is attractive for eco-responsible reasons, but I believe we will still see a lot of cotton in the future as most of the cotton used in the collections now is recycled from post-industrial or post-consumer waste. Working with a sustainability approach would mean keeping on recycling all the cotton that has been used in the past years—not let it go waste.

Making vague claims based on inaccurate startling information leads to the misinformation that people are regularly being fed. The PETA statement does not consider the long term consequences of plastics (synthetics), nor the in-life consumption of water, energy, detergents, etc. used to wash synthetic fabrics (which leather doesn’t require). Nor does it balance the statement by referring to the social economies of many high-producing, low-income countries where both farming and leather manufacture form the basis of sustenance and income for large populations.

For things to change quickly (and permanently), we need accountability. And for that you need robust, verified, scientific proof. Verifying the origin of our products and raw materials should be the foundation of any sustainable or responsible practice. Once brands know this, they can then confidently look at the rest of their supply chain.

As long as people eat meat, there will be hides available to manufacture leather and we have an ethical duty to consume all by-products. Still the global meat consumption is growing with approximately 1% per year. But more importantly, as an investor you could support speeding the creation of a circular society where all by-products and waste streams are used and upgraded where possible.

All our factories are in the villages. We are trying to set up one in Jharkhand in a village. If you try to make a factory near the bustling metropolises, you are doing the wrong thing; it is not going to work like it did three decades back. You have to go to rural areas—to the east of India—where labour and land is available, where people do not have to migrate to big cities in search of livelihood and live terrible lives.

In view of the current world situation, long-term forecasts are not very serious. The VDMA member companies’ order books are well filled after the pandemic-related slumps in 2020. However, ever-increasing raw material prices, massive supply bottlenecks for precursors, expensive and difficult transport conditions, and huge increases in energy costs are presenting many technology manufacturers with major challenges. Added to this are now the unforeseeable consequences caused by the war in Ukraine.

We were not sure at all (that it would work). And still most people tell us this will not work. Why would you collect used textiles in a country where 80% of the people wear secondhand clothes from abroad and where people have enough family or staff members that will take up their used, but wearable shirt?

Oxford Economics has developed a very in-depth model for estimating the environmental footprint of companies and industries that can be used around the world, expanding on our existing economic impact models. We hope to work with other organisations in the future to determine their environmental footprint, which will help them towards reducing this impact.

We know our customers are looking for sustainable fabric sources with specific performance attributes; so, indicating which mills carry certified fabrics with scientifically-proven levels of Sorona makes sense. The preferred mills will also gain access to promotional materials to support their communications with brands about their fabric offerings.

We created this network to streamline communication and transparency with the mills and with apparel brands. Similar to the mills, apparel brands sign up in the Sorona customer portal. Here they have access to a list of the preferred fabric mill partners along with the collection of different fabric types offered by each mill.

Brands need to tell their customers, the final consumer, what a material is composed of. The UK consumer research that I mentioned earlier resulted that 54% of consumers have no clue what ‘vegan leather’ is made of. It is important that consumers realise that so called ‘vegan alternative materials’ are largely made out of PU, PVC, plastics.

Tara Sartoria is named after Tara, the Buddhist goddess of compassion and protection. Tara was born from a lotus, the flower depicted in the Tara Sartoria logo. The goddess Tara has been known throughout the world for over 3,500 years. In comparison, Zara has existed for only 47 years.

Consumers are now having difficulties in recognising what is really sustainable from what is not really sustainable due to the high number of greenwashing cases. Brands need to act now: communication must be clear, precise, transparent, authentic, based on data and third-party tests, but at the same time attractive and inspiring, as we are part of the fashion business.

I hope I can show my employees a different way of working and, in doing so, broaden their views of the possibilities within the world of fashion. The local market here doesn’t necessarily have to work just on large inexpensive volume products—they can instead adjust their focus, and engage brands that emphasize the importance of good design and high quality materials.

Much has been said about working from home, the possibility to feel comfortable in one’s outfit but also the necessity to feel vital, ready to communicate and open to the world. We have learnt to look good on screen, to use make up and hairdos in a different way. As a result, in the concept of business wear, attention is given to a mixed fluidity that energetically questions categories and established divisions.

Fortunately, demand is going back to pre-pandemic rates, but forecasts remain unpredictable. Now the market does not focus only on function, but also social values such as sustainability and SDGs (UN Sustainable Development Goals). We have not experienced any visible change with purchasing/procurement due to the digitised world, but we are trying to approach new promotional methods to fit in it.