La sostenibilità economica e sociale si allarga dal lanificio-committente ai terzisti della filiera, e diventa un argine contro le crisi da pandemia dei “piccoli”. Succede alla Manteco di Montemurlo (Prato), azienda leader nei tessuti per abbigliamento in lana riciclata, 70,7 milioni di euro di fatturato 2020 con un margine operativo lordo di 13,6 milioni, che ha applicato alla lettera la ricetta del “fare sistema” coinvolgendo nei (tanti) progetti diretti a ridurre l'impatto ambientale, recuperare gli scarti di lavorazione, rigenerare capi usati, i produttori della filiera: rifinizioni, filature, tessiture e altre ditte terziste che realizzano fasi del processo (completamente tracciato) e che, com'è tipico del distretto pratese, hanno sede nel raggio di 10-15 chilometri [...]

Manteco, a sustainable and circular economy champion based in the outskirts of Prato, Italy, which has offered recycled wool since 1943, last month opened its New York offices, a sign of resilience of its upcyled fabrics “a product that is luxurious and beautiful, as well as sustainable and certified,” said Matteo Mantellassi, the company’s CEO. Manteco, too, managed to contain its losses in 2020, closing down 15 percent compared to 2019. [...] Manteco introduced its MWoolpre- and post-consumer upcycled wool range the Recype dyeing technique. The company’s artisans mix and match different fibers with their color shades to achieve each of the 1,000 nuances available, saving around 43,000 kilograms of dyes and 17 million liters of water each year. In keeping with its zero-waste mission, the mill launched the Project43 and Project53 take-back programs, collecting internal production waste and discarded textiles and knits coming from other companies or consumers, respectively. At Milano Unica it also introduced Pure, a patented recycled fabric that, unlike elsewhere, is made of 100 percent wool without combining it with other fibers [...]

Manteco, a longtime expert in the production of fabrics with recycled fibers, has developed a new sustainable project. Going back in past cotton history, it discovered the Indian Charkha, one of the oldest known forms of spinning wheels used in ancient times for producing precious and elegantly uneven yarns. This tool is also a symbol as Mahatma Gandhi encouraged the Indians to spin their own cloth, thus making it a symbol of self-sufficiency and freedom. Inspired by this story, Manteco studied a special multicount cotton yarn with the same handspun effect and beauty, made with a blend of 70% GRS certified pre-consumer cotton and 30% of OCS certified organic cotton, giving life to a vast array of artisanal-looking, elegantly uneven and 100% responsible fabrics.

Ad aggiungersi per la prima volta nell'ambito di Who is on next? il Premio Manteco, sostenuto dall'omonima azienda tessile, nata in Toscana nel 1941 e oggi leader a livello mondiale nella produzione di tessuti di lusso e pratiche sostenibili. L'azienda supporterà il designer Alessandro Vigilante, con la fornitura dei propri tessuti per la realizzazione di due collezioni [...]