This unstructured, soft, simplistic black men's sports jacket is the next milestone for European fashion as it becomes the first garment ever to have a traced and measured environmental footprint. The basic jacket will retail for €550 and has no shoulder pads, no lining, no embellishments – just soft nylon fabric, two buttons and thread. The jacket will wear a new tag inside that says "Made Green In Italy". "It is still early to put on clothing. We do not yet know the rules for it. In terms of communication, we are still waiting for details," explained Claudio Marenzi, president of Herno. The tag itself is still a work in progress, but the garment will be delivered to stores before the meaning of the tag has been made official with a legislative seal.
It will be presented at the Pitti Uomo trade fair in Florence this month by the Italian outerwear brand Herno alongside the textile producer Eurojersey and the petrochemical specialist Radici Group.
Marenzi aims to get the European Commission on board to eventually make all garments require a tag that explains it's environmental footprint. "The consumer will be able to choose a garment also based on the environmental footprint that is has," he said.
Currently all efforts of Herno are voluntary with 16 environmental parameters. Each of these will be judged over the progress of each garments production. During this an EC directive will define a standard methology for measuring the environmental footprint for every garment and product alike. Marenzi plans to have this not only on fashion garments, but all products – calling it the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF).
The president of C.L.A.S.S, Giusy Bettoni, said that this project was a really big step forward for everyone on an international level. “On the one hand, it serves to seriously clarify the history of the production process, and on the other, it finally offers to the consumer a product that speaks in a simple, concrete way of new generation values that this garment is able to offer," said Bettoni. C.L.A.S.S is a worldwide multi-platform network that showcases fashion, textiles and materials while using sustainable technology.
