Manteco on FASHIONUNITED
For the first time, Italian textile company Manteco showcases its ultimate innovations at Premières Vision’s Smart Creation, the fair’s most cutting edge epicentre showcasing visionary innovators pushing for a sustainable change and making the difference in the fashion business. And with the key sustainable values of Manteco, Première Vision has selected it to be a Smart Ambassador within the project ‘Smart Creation’. This means that the company has been recognized by the fair as leader in sustainable development. Manteco’s latest responsible fashion innovations, selected by the Smart Creation team, will be displayed in the Smart Library, located in the Smart Creation area, Hall 3 of Première Vision, take the chance to touch and feel real responsible innovation! The Prato-based company is leader in the production of Next Generation Recycled Wool thanks to a specially designed KM0, traceable and circular economy model. Behind the sustainable approach and the premium quality textiles there are generations of ‘saper fare’ - know-how, in Italian - indeed, Manteco’s products are not only responsibly Made in Italy but imbued with the skills of the artisans and makers working within 10 kms around the company. “Made in Italy does not only mean processing high-quality materials with international technologies and then label the final product for export. It means products grown, taken care of and handcrafted in the country.” Says Matteo Mantellassi, CEO of Manteco. “But there’s a further step to this: harnessing the local ‘genius loci’, meaning the skills, traditions and human potential of a territory. We are proud to say that since 1943 we have always been 100% Made in Italy.” Total traceability is a key value as well. Manteco is able to verify each single production phase from raw material, yarn, spinning, weaving, to the finished fabric. “We process 1.650 tons of recycled material per year; often starting with post-consumer material, for us a precious raw material for some of the most cutting-edge developments. Then, we blend it with other sustainable fibers in order to offer properly qualified and innovative solutions”. Over the years, the company established itself at an international level as a reference point for its high level of creativity, smart research & development investments and exquisite textile solutions talking loud to contemporary consumer. The results of such commitment can be quantified in the saving of 41 million liters of water, 24,8 tons of dye products, 4,9 million kWh of energy and 1.484 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Manteco is also certified by influential bodies and institutions such as the GRS - Global Recycle Standard certification from the Textile Exchange, and the RWS certification. The company is member of the BCI - Better Cotton Initiative and sustainability, and draws up a yearly sustainability report based on the GRI - Global Reporting Initiative indicator of economy, organizational, environmental and social aspects. In 2015 Manteco integrated the management of hazardous chemicals within all production processes, following international protocols, with a structured and monitored framework that implements the ZDHC MRSL.