Fashion And Supply Chain: Here Is What Brands Are Asking From Leather Goods And Footwear Component Companies

Over the last three years, brands’ demands toward the supply chain have become more technical and structured. It is no longer only about supplies, but also about internal expertise and laboratory capabilities. Precise control over thickness, color yield and elasticity is required. The relationship is shifting toward a co-development level, where the material must respond to measurable parameters consistent with increasingly stringent quality standards, as Anna Laura Biscaldi of Giardini tells us. The company specializes in the production of polyurethane synthetics for fashion footwear uppers, leather goods and breathable and absorbent linings, and since the early 2000s has expanded its activity toward microfibres and technical materials intended for the safety and technical-sports sectors.

 

“In the world of high-end leather goods, attention toward support and reinforcement articles for bags is growing. Regenerated solutions are spreading, obtained from leather waste materials coupled with microfibres, fabrics and other technical processes. The issue is structural: materials must guarantee stability, lightness and uniformity, while maintaining certain mechanical performances,” she explains.

 

“On the footwear side, the use of non-woven materials with a recycled component in their composition, particularly polyester, is becoming established. The technical-sports sector, for example hiking, requires high levels of performance. Comfort, lightness and breathability are becoming central parameters also in the safety segment, where the choice to make even logos breathable responds to a precise functional need,” Biscaldi concludes.

 

The company has therefore moved increasingly toward customized work, with the availability of coagulation lines, coating systems and special finishing plants that make it possible to fulfil any request from brands. At the same time, a process of evolution of production processes has been launched: targeted selection of raw materials, plants dedicated to compliance with European regulations, abatement systems for reducing emissions, and interventions to contain the consumption of water, electricity and gas. A gradual replacement of traditional resins with solvent-free resins is underway, together with the use of supports made with recycled raw materials.

 

The process is supported by system and product certifications: ISO 9001 for quality management, ISO 45001:2018 for occupational health and safety, ISO 14001:2015 for environmental management, in addition to Global Recycled Standard (GRS) and Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) for products made with recycled materials.