Italdenim was founded as a company specialising in the production of high-quality denim. When, exactly, did you identify sustainability as a new avenue for growth?
We began paying greater attention to sustainability around 2008–2009. We looked into particular products, but the market — and the available technologies — didn't allow for major innovation. It was a form of sustainability driven more than anything by certifications such as GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), which required the use of certified chemicals and certified cottons. Over the years, we then tried to deepen our knowledge of how to strengthen our commitment to sustainability.

Respect for the environment is extremely important in the textile industry, which has always recorded one of the highest rates of impactful practices. What are the original initiatives that make you a sustainable company?
We have eliminated an entire range of chemical products and, as a result, also the water and energy needed to wash fabrics before putting them on the market. We have also eliminated fixatives — that is, all the products used to fix colour onto the yarn. In short, a whole series of advantages that have allowed us to join Greenpeace's Detox Commitment.

Denim is a fabric whose production involves significant use of water resources and chemical substances that pollute the environment and are highly toxic to health. What solutions have you adopted to create an ecological product?
We use chitosan, a natural polymer derived from food-processing waste. And it is precisely thanks to this natural product that we have eliminated a whole range of chemicals that we previously used. We discovered that purification systems are unable to remove all chemical products. Among these is polyvinyl alcohol, better known as PVA, a microplastic that can only be eliminated through use — that is, through repeated washing. It is so small that no system can remove it, and it ends up in rivers or seas and, as a result, is consumed by fish. This is a serious problem inherent in jeans production, yet no one, for the time being, seems to be taking an interest in it.

And organic cotton — do you use it?
Yes, certainly, we use GOTS-certified organic cottons; however, to be honest, I do ask myself some questions. Technically, organic cotton production should account for about 1 per cent of overall cotton production, yet in practice everyone sells fabrics made with organic cotton. What's more, the main suppliers of organic cotton to the European market are Turkey and India. Turkey is buying Syrian cotton — cotton produced in war zones — and blending it with regular cotton, even though that is not permitted. Indian cotton, on the other hand, requires more than 20 cubic metres of water per kg of cotton produced and is draining India's rivers dry.

Can you give us some concrete figures on the CO2 emission reductions you have achieved through the investments made at your production facility?
Over the past five years we have avoided the emission of more than 7 million kilograms of CO2, which corresponds to I don't know how many thousands of large trees. And this is certified by the GSE, through white certificates, which also have an economic value. But the great advantage lies in the reduction in the amount of water used: on average our reduction is around 60 per cent; however, on some products we manage to achieve as much as 90 per cent less water. A fundamental milestone, because denim is, in the world of textiles, the largest consumer of water and the greatest polluter.

Your company is engaged in social projects alongside the Aleimar group, which is very active in Congo. What is your contribution to this project?
When they need to send goods and materials, we help them with all the logistical side by sourcing the best suppliers and, where necessary, paying for those services. We also provide materials: recently we donated a power generator — needed in the absence of electricity — to the hospital in Lubumbashi, as well as water pumps. In addition, we also provide financial support to a school set up by Congolese nuns who take abandoned girls off the streets and give them education and protection. In Congo, in fact, when a girl is born, any reason is found to abandon her because, clearly, in her early years a girl cannot make a significant economic contribution to the family. And an abandoned girl left on the street has no future whatsoever.