Gruppo Mastrotto among the protagonists of Venice Sustainable Fashion Forum

During the Venice Sustainable Fashion Forum, a reference event for sustainability in the fashion sector that in this third edition was presented with the theme Leading Re-Generation, Chiara Mastrotto shared her vision within the panel Innovation: Pioneering Solutions for a Sustainable Transition. Speaking alongside her were Michela Gioacchini (Tod's Group), Jalaj Hora (Nike), Marco Taisch (PoliMi), and Ken Singer (Berkeley University).

The event, held on October 24th and 25th at the Giorgio Cini Foundation in Venice, represented an important opportunity for discussion on the fundamental theme of innovation. During the event, the President of Gruppo Mastrotto illustrated the evolution of the client-supplier relationship and presented the collaboration initiated with Tod's to rethink the supply model by increasing sustainability performance. 

"Innovation is the greatest strategic business lever - stated Chiara Mastrotto - To grow and evolve we must innovate, not only in products but also in strategies. An example is our recent acquisition of the majority stake in Coindu, a company active in the design and production of car interiors, which represents an important step towards vertical integration in the automotive sector."

On the topic of sustainability, Chiara emphasized how it must be integrated into the business plan, because it’s the only way a company can generate value in the market. She also highlighted the need for greater collaboration in the fashion sector: all companies must comply with certain standards and criteria against climate change, and it is, therefore, desirable to cooperate to identify virtuous solutions and practices together.

This shared vision of collaboration led to the creation of the One Next Step project, a joint initiative between Tod's and Gruppo Mastrotto aimed at developing a new eco-design protocol for footwear products. "Sustainability is real only if it can be demonstrated - said Michela Gioacchini, Head of Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility at Tod's Group - We started from the list of materials that make up the footwear and for each of them we determined which KPIs to measure and what alternatives the market offered us. In Gruppo Mastrotto we found a company already expert in these topics and very proactive in implementing solutions."

In the project with Tod's, Gruppo Mastrotto leveraged its expertise in sustainable innovation to explore new possibilities for meeting customer needs. Chiara Mastrotto envisions a fashion sector where enhanced transparency during product development enables suppliers to understand the products beyond just functional requirements to embrace all aspects of design, innovation, and sustainability. She notes that achieving this level of integration requires comprehensive data sharing, similar to what already happens in the automotive industry.

"The indication of very specific needs on sustainability issues, as happened in this collaboration with Tod's, such as leather that meets certain emission requirements or the guarantee of using renewable energy in production processes, can generate great value for the client developing a project. The hope is that this practice becomes increasingly widespread" concluded Chiara Mastrotto.