June to December 2017

In this period the Pilot on Ecofriendly Production coordinated by the Municipality of Prato has
made significant progress. The public evidence procedure to recruit the technical partner to
assist in the design and implementation of the certification process was completed and the
contract was signed with Process Factory, a consulting firm in environmental issues
(www.processfactory.it).
The Muncipality and Process Factory met on October 3rd, November 9th and December 19th
to coordinate. The pilot was shaped as a medium term project that would engage stakeholders
to adopt principles, processes and objectives and that would be eventually integrated into the
organisational system of the companies of the vaue chain.
In these months, the pilot’s operational framework was defined. Among several sustainability
issues existing in the fashion industry, 5 were chosen to focus on: materials, energy, water,
chemicals and social issues. For each of these, threshold values would be set for both pre-
requisite (minimum) levels and different degrees of certification: silver, gold and platinum.
This graded approach was decided to foster change and compliance on one side (minimu
requirements) but also to encourage enterprises at different sustainability levels to try to
improve from wherever they start.
In the coming months, the protocol will be shared with enterprises, and implemented on the
Thela platform and for real life tests on selected productions.
By the end of the pilot, a label will be created for certified products, which will transparently
and effectively communicate the values that lie behind their creation.

and reliably
The next steps will be to share and assess
values of the product and

and its values, with transparency and lifecycle, etc

• Focus sul prodotto

• Attenzione al ciclo di vita
• Base scientifica
• Affidabilità e trasparenza nel percorso di ottenimento
• Efficacia comunicativa
that will successfully undergo the certification process, and get At the end of the process, the
protocol will enable certified products to be labelled to was considered.
and discuss the next steps of the pilot.

to be used for the audits.

Sustainability as a business model

Time for evaluations and statements of intent has passed. Sustainability, today, is a firm point
in the companies’ agenda. Fashion companies, in particular, are increasingly aware that
sustainability is not only good for planet, but also a driving force for innovation and
competitiveness, a generator of such value as to create a real structural trend.

Consumers are those who have triggered change. Under the initial push of NGOs such as
Greenpeace they have begun to condition brands’ policies with their purchasing behaviors.
The youngest even say they are willing to spend more on products with a high sustainability
content.
Institutions have moved accordingly, publishing a number of standards that codify at national
and supranational level what the market had already decreed.

Studies supporting this trend are numerous and consistent. A fundamental premise is that
fashion industry is second only to oil industry for pollution damages, due to the massive use
of water and energy resources as well as harmful chemicals (EcoWatch 2015).

Compared to 15 years ago, we also know that the average consumer buys 60% more
garments keeping them for about half time. In the future, the clothing and footwear
consumption will increase from the current 62 million tons to 102 million in 2030, bringing to
+50% water consumption and to +60% the carbon dioxide emissions and waste production.

According to a study combining the answers of 90 managers to the data of Sustainable

Apparel Coalition's Higg Index (a tool that companies use to measure their performance in
terms of responsibility) the fashion industry globally reaches the score of 32 on a scale of 1 to
100.

To continue on this path would be a self-defeating choice, at least, with a direct impact on
business profits. To change one's behavior, on the contrary, would bring 160 billion euros to
companies: Global Fashion Agenda tells us that keeping water consumption constant worths
32 billion; reducing waste production worths 4 billion and controlling CO2 emissions 67
billion.

What we can draw from the combination of these data is that companies must adopt more
sustainable behaviors, by working together – because structural changes cannot be faced each
on their own – and by developing projects that are functional to achieving the goals.

The effect is contagious. For each company starting a concrete sustainability process, dozens
of others in the supply chain move accordingly: the most evolved (even culturally) by
themselves, the others through a protocol like the 4sustainability protocol focused on
creativity, organization and people.

A possible road is that of recycle that different fashion brands and startups have already
traveled. Another option is research on raw materials and product and process innovation,
which is the real, great opportunity offered to companies by sustainability: an incentive to
reinvent themselves, to propose new products and new solutions that consumers have shown
not only to like, but to demand.

Environmental labels are a legitimate result of this trend. However, from the first historically
recognized experience of Der Blaue Engel, in 1978, ecological declarations have multiplied.
That's all very disorienting despite attempts to bring order. We mention, over all, the
distinction of labels depending on whether they quantify or not what they guarantee, whether
they are voluntary or not and subjected or not to external certifications.

Main Local Outputs of Pilot Activities of Year 2

The main local output of Pilot activities has been an assessment of the issue at hand (vision):
there is a need (market demand) for quality environment-friendly fabrics (be it wool, cotton
or other). Nowadays consumers have little or no idea of sustainability issues of their clothes.
They can’t tell the difference between low-standard clothes and environmental-friendly ones.
The aim of the plot is to create an ecosystem covering the entire supply chain: right from the
fiber down to the final customer, which may favour education about transparency and
sustainability issues (environmental, social and economic) for the production of quality
products.
In order to explore the sustainability for the entire supply chain a new type of organization
(e.g. a consortium) may be required to objectively supervise the entire supply chain. The
consortium should promote life cycle thinking, and explore different technologies for the
elimination (not only reduction) of chemicals in the production cycles.
On average a dress bought from the final customer is worked upon by 9 different suppliers
that have only a part of the vision. These usually think of their individual production problems
only, not of the real, more authentic needs of the final customers in terms of quality,
functionality or knowledge. The pilot should uphold transparency and social responsibility –
although specific NDAs might be signed for IPR protection. The pilot could examine the above
issues by survey potential partners for sourcing, organizing and producing sustainable T&C
products made from cotton.

Actions Undertaken to Recruit New Associate Members In 2017 (Activity 4.5)

The initial list of TCBL partners and associates that candidate to join the plot was screened to
recruit the right Associate Members in 2017:

Eco-
friendly
Associate Country DESCRIPTION Production
LABORATORY-
SUSTAINABILITY
1 4 Sustainability Italy CONSULTANCY TEAM A
Clothing and vintage
2 MOB-VINTAGE Italy accessories L
3 GFT Italy Innovative IT solutions A
De Caro sas di Dalla Pasqua B. Recycling and reuse waste in
4 &amp Italy designer products L
Expert in environmental
5 GIDA SPA Italy certification A
Dry cleaning and finishing of
6 TRIS & CO Italy any tissue F
7 LDS Italy Production of fabrics F
Expert in patents' analysis to
support innovation in
8 Erre Quadro Italy processes and products A
Software for montoring the
9 CLEVIRIA Italy supply chain A
Leading textile fashion
10 MARZOTTO GROUP Italy company F
Programma ambiente Italy Service of recovery products A
and/or waste disposal of
11 textile industry
TEXTILE COMPANY
PRODUCING FABRICS FOR
WOMENSWEAR AS WELL AS
12 LINEAESSE TESSUTI SPA Italy MENSWEAR F
 Washing and Finishing of
13 FONTE Italy Texiles F
Expert in natural color charts
14 Stefano Panconesi Italy and eco-bio textile materials A
Women's shirts production
15 ZANETTI MODA SRL Italy since 1965 F
16 SONAE Portugal Retail activities F
Producer of articles made of
17 MORITEX Portugal circular knit F
Balutextil, Malhas e Non-Woven Garment
18 Confecaos, SA Portugal producer F
Textile bags from recycled
19 BIZMUT Slovenia materials L
Production of washable
20 VIRAL Slovenia cotton nappies for Babies F
Social entreprise focused on
recycling and supply of
materials including textile
with past experience in
21 Jazon - social entreprise Slovenia corporate clothing. F
United
22 Davy Textiles Ltd Kingdom Textile Recyclers F
United Expert in global business
23 Robert Dewhurst Kingdom strategies in manufacturing A
Process Factory emerged as the key associate to deliver the pilot in year 3. Process Factory
has become part of the TCBL business ecosystem to support one of TCBL’s main objectives,
i.e., sustainability. Process Factory works with sustainability through 4sustainability, an
alliance of abilities and experiences bringing toghether a number of businesses and services
across the T&C value chain. Through 4sustainability, Process Factory supports brands and
chain suppliers to improve sustainability e.g. by building a Data Collecting Protocol for Supply
Chain’s qualification, which is nowadays extremely needed to qualify production in front of
manufacturers and consumers.

Main Local Perspectives and Plans for Year 3

The main activities foreseen for year three of the pilot will be:
 To identify a commercial product (fabrics)
 To identify value chain nodes or enterprises (around 7 for a signle product)
 To define an agreed protocol for data collection across the value chain
 To define data collection templates specific to each phase or node of the value chain
 To implement the protocol on the Thela platform
 To involve Labs to interact with specific value chain nodes for increased value added in
terms of - innovation, sustainability, design etc
 To certify the process and come out with a recognizable