Creating a high-quality, fashionable textile product that is also sustainable, owing to its limited impact on the environment. That was the challenge taken on by the Bergamo-based Italian multinational RadiciGroup – a world leading manufacturer of polyamides, synthetic fibres and engineering polymers with applications in a variety of industries, mainly in the textile/fashion sector and the high-end hosiery brand Oroblù owned by CSP International – a group engaged in the production and sale of hosiery, men’s and women’s intimate wear and swimwear, headquartered in the province of Mantua, Italy. The aim was to be the first in Italy to produce tights using yarn made from recycled PET bottles.
The two companies, both of which are innovation- and sustainability-oriented and recognized as symbols of Italian excellence, decided to combine their know-how to create a high-performance, stylish and eco-friendly product. It is with this idea in mind that “Oroblù Save the Oceans” was created: black, 50-denier tights emade of Repetable, a new RadiciGroup polyester yarn derived from post-consumer recycled PET bottles. This process reduces CO2 emissions, as well as the consumption of water and energy.
After a careful study and evaluation of the material, Oroblù chose RadiciGroup Repeatable yarn for its unique properties and high technical performance characteristics, which fully meet the Save the Oceans project requirements. Repetable yarn uses no virgin material and is coloured by solution dyeing, a method that saves water and electricity during production.
“Our product strategy,” Angelo Radici, president of RadiciGroup, pointed out, “is increasingly focused on expanding the use of recovered raw materials without compromising the performance of the products we propose to our customers. We have worked side by side with Oroblù to bring to market beautiful, high-quality and eco-friendly tights – a product capable of meeting the needs and demands of even the most environmentally conscious customers. And we are very proud to work with a company of excellence in our region.” Our project will enhance the value of a textile product usually bought on impulse, by making it a desirable object, especially for consumers of the new generation, who are always looking for garments that are not only comfortable and feminine, but also environmentally friendly.
Today, these tights – a fashionable garment once a symbol of women’s emancipation – must also satisfy the demand for stylish and sustainable clothes by the young generation of women. “Our company has always realized collections of quality products, created by a team of design and product development experts who have constantly striven for eco-innovation,” Carlo Bertoni, executive director of CSP International Fashion Group, explained. “We have implemented an approach integrating sustainability into and across all our activities, through the selection of recycled and recyclable raw materials and the assurance of full traceability all along the production chain. The latter process is facilitated by the fact that almost the entire production cycle is performed within the Province of Mantua, Italy.
We have collaborated with RadiciGroup for years and, more recently, have developed the important “Save the Oceans” project together for the production of tights to adorn women’s legs and, at the same time, benefit the environment.” This partnership between the two family-owned businesses, both with strong local roots and an impressive international reach, has given birth to a totally transparent, traceable and zero kilo metre Italian production chain located in the Provinces of Bergamo and Mantua. “Oroblù Save the Oceans” tights will available for purchase at selected premium lingerie boutiques and department stores starting in August 2021, when the Fall/Winter 2021 collection is delivered to sales points.
