Prato, a few kilometres outside Florence, Italy, is one of the country’s historic textile districts. At least since the 2nd half of the 19th century, the area was known for its wool recycling industry. More recently it acquired a somewhat dubious second reputation for the the clothing manufacturers in its China town.
For a couple of decades now, the district has tried to get rid of its ‘recycling’ reputation, an attribute considered for a long time equivalent with bad quality and low standards. Strange enough this was happening at the wake of a slight shift in markets where suddenly recycled fibres (wool, cotton, polyesters) are covered resources again – a fact that in theory at least would put the district at the forefront of sustainable development in Europe, thanks to its historic legacy.
With the – not so recent, but hardly publicised, and hence mostly unknown – launch of a range of carbon neutral fabrics the district seems to finally enter a period of experimentation of how to leverage its legacy in a positive way and for its future survival and competitiveness.
Cardato regenerated co2 neutral is the world’s first certified ‘zero emissions’ textile product. It is made with recycled wool from the Prato District and has limited impact on the environment. Carbon emissions are calculated and then offset through the purchase of green credits.
While the carbon emissions are being offset still, one has to be aware that the offered fabrics are in essence ‘kilometre zero’ products. In other words: the full supply chain for the fabrics – with exception of buying in the recycled wool fibre – is located in Prato itself. The initial carbon emissions are hence relatively speaking low to start with.
This all said, looking at their website, it becomes clear that the responsibles are unaware of the market opportunities they have, and try to pitch to a target clientèle that has died out over the course of the last 10 years.
