13 october 2016

Chemical management: let’s join up!

The key factor is the collaboration between brands and the supply chain

The workshop entitled Chemical Management: let's join up! was held in Florence with the partnership of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and Sistema Moda Italia and the participation of ZDHC – Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals, the major international board working at the reduction of hazardous chemicals in production. Si è trattato di un appuntamento molto atteso al quale hanno aderito numerosi brand e aziende della catena di fornitura.

Giulio Lombardo, one of the founders of 4sustainability, had the task of summarizing the meeting objective: the importance of teamwork as the only possible way to chemical management. This is what the market wants, and those who are not able to adapt - of their own free will or under the pressure of consumers and/or NGOs such as Greenpeace - are destined to disappear.

Francesca Rulli (4sustainability) made a quick overview of the actions that companies should put in place concretely to manage hazardous chemicals ass well as the risks associated with their use, with the implicit objective of reducing the environmental impact of production processes. In order to win this challenge, there's no other outlet than collaboration. Some companies already have the tools and skills to succeed, but many others need to be helped and trained.

Giancarlo Di Blasi, technical director at Brachi Testing Services, explained what is meant by harmful chemicals and what are the main categories are subject to prohibitions. How do I check a product? How do I read the test report data? What it is meant by the detection limit in testing? Di Blasi has based his intervention on this type of questions, according to an approach evidently aimed at giving the audience some elements of immediate utility.

Cristiano Zanetti, sales manager at Freudenberg Italia, has described in brief the group sustainability policies. In particular, he stressed the chemicals progressive reduction in production, according to a trend that has experienced a particular boost from 2008.

From a multinational corporation such as Freudenberg to a supply chain company such as Lanificio Mario Bellucci , Prato, which has been following its own path towards sustainability due to the brands' growing demands, but also to the autonomous perception of a significant change for the growth of enterprises. The invitation to the brands by Alessio Pietrolungo, technical director at Bellucci, is to work together so as to define common requirements and to help companies to adapt.

The lawyer Stefano Nanni, a friend of 4sustainability, has introduced the concept of greenwashing, defined as a form of communication aimed at presenting a better image of the manufacturer or of the product better than in reality. We are in the field of deceptive practices punished by the code depending on the  the damage caused to the consumer.

Rachel Wallace has presented the vision and activity of ZDHC – Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals, which bases its true raison d'etre on the possibility to make fashion brands complicit with the companies in the supply chain so that they can to share objectives and tools.

Guido Bottini, (Sistema Moda Italia), has summed up the sense of the meeting.  He reached this goal by talking of cultural change, an extensive and seemingly inescapable process involving consumers, companies, lawmakers, and the whole system. The supply chain and the fashion brands are those who must decide which is the best strategy to adopt.

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