The Donne in campo association has launched the Agritessuti label with a fashion show featuring garments made from natural fabrics dyed with agricultural products and by-products.
Coinciding with Milan fashion week, another fashion show under the banner of sustainable fashion was held in Rome on 24 September. Taking centre stage on the runway were garments made from organic fabrics coloured with vegetables, fruit, roots, leaves and flowers, created by eco-stylist Eleonora Riccio. The idea came from the women's association of Cia-Agricoltori italiani, Donne in campo, which brings together female entrepreneurs and women in agriculture with the aim of restoring a balanced relationship with the environment by passing local cultures on to new generations and promoting eco-compatible agricultural processes.
The fashion show was organised by Donne in campo to launch the newly registered label Agritessuti, whose aim is to create an ecological textile supply chain of fabrics made from plant-based and animal fibres dyed with agricultural products and by-products. A supply chain that already shows enormous potential.
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According to data held by Cia-Agricoltori italiani, the production of linen, hemp and mulberry silk involves around two thousand agricultural businesses in Italy, generating a turnover of almost thirty million euros when associated activities are included. And the players involved in the agritessuti market could be even greater if one counts all the three thousand businesses producing medicinal plants with dyeing properties, such as lavender and chamomile, or dyes derived from agricultural by-products such as artichoke leaves, pomegranate rind, onion skins, pruning residues from olive and cherry trees, and chestnut burrs.
"For this reason we reiterate the need to establish dedicated supply chain working groups," declared the national president of Donne in campo-Cia, Pina Terenzi, "to support the production of natural fibres, which will need to be accompanied by the creation of processing facilities distributed across the territory, in order to make available to industry and craft producers a quality, certified, traceable and sustainable product."
Donne in campo also provided data regarding clothing consumption: demand for sustainable garments in Italy has increased by 78 per cent over the past two years, to the point that today 55 per cent of consumers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly items. With these premises, the turnover generated by the agritessuti supply chain could triple within the next three years.
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Alternative methods for producing and processing fabrics without squandering vast quantities of raw resources or contaminating waterways with hazardous chemicals already exist. Now it is up to institutions and the major fashion industry to take action.