71 NEWS Sustainability and innovation. This is the binomial at the basis of the Leaf Foundation, the new organization created to promote ethical, environmental, social, and economic values in the luxury sector that aims to increase awareness of the concept of global health, identified in the pillars: planet, people, sustainability. One of the first steps was to provide concrete tools to respond to the luxury sector’s need for sustainability by addressing the environmental and social impact of production. In fact, “an ambitious project has taken off that stems from the needs emerging directly from the growing sensitivity of brands to sustainability issues and their desire to use supply chains with reduced environmental impact and increasingly circular production processes - explains honorary president Giacomo Cortesi. The strategic vision of the Leaf Foundation, which has its ability to adapt to the changes dictated by the new industrial dynamics in its DNA, enriched by the technical skills and know-how of the team over years of work ‘in the field’, aims to put the production processes of the fashion industry, which also strongly characterise our industrial districts, at the centre.” The mission is dictated by the goals decided by the member countries of the United Nations on September 25, 2015, to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity as part of a new agenda for sustainable development. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to be achieved by 2030, provide a common language and a measurable and quantifiable scenario for achie- ving sustainable development. The Leaf Foundation is part of this change, both cultural and cor- porate: certification to Leaf Foun- dation standards will help ensure compliance with at least 14 of the 17 goals. “The Leaf Har- dware is a ‘make to measure’ to- ol, which makes it unique. One of the primary objectives of the team’s efforts has been the de- finition of a standard customised to the real needs of the Maisons - Giacomo Cortesi continues - This undoubtedly very onerous methodological approach is an alternative to the more common practice that sees, for cases like this one, the adaptation of standards created for other objectives. It is easy to appre- ciate how the native customisations implemented by a team of experts, who really know the processes, make it capable of responding to the operators’ needs efficiently and effectively, making it a truly indispensable working tool.”In about two years of work, data was collected from over 70 companies (90 per cent European and the rest Asian) to calculate the environmental and social impact of the various finishing technologies. In this way, an always up-to-date and updatable database was created, which had never been created before and which can be consulted on the leafoundation.org website. “We are talking about a tool of excellence designed and developed in Italy to further enhance the Made in Italy label, which, thanks to the quality of the vast amount of representative data collected, has a very high level of reliability and accuracy. It is the future of the sector. I expect very positive responses from the brands that will lead to a rapid development of the standard both nationally and internationally” President Cortesi concludes.The Leaf Hardware is the standard that can help luxury and fashion brands to understand the impact of each type of production process and thus to identify qualified suppliers from a sustainability point of view. On the other hand, obtaining the Leaf Hardware “stamp” means that the company has been able to innovate processes and make production more sustainable. An advantage for both, a guarantee for the consumer and a step towards a sustainable future. www.leafoundation.org
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDMxMQ==