Patagonia presents: “Rompere il paradigma”
“Rompere il paradigma” (breaking the paradigm), the panel organized by Patagonia to help the conversation on the impact of the textile industry on the environment
The outdoor brand has chosen Milan Fashion Week to talk about pioneering methods to transform the sector, with the aim of achieving a more positive impact on the people and the planet.
“Rompere il paradigma” has been held on Wednesday 19th September, an event organized by the outdoor brand Patagonia during Milan Fashion Week. Starting from 7pm, the brand store in Corso Garibaldi hosted a conference attended by various companies in the sector, media, students and all those interested in more conscientious environmental practices.
Patagonia has always embraced a form of business that is attentive to environmental protection, a philosophy that has also inspired the company’s mission: “build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis”.
An event that involved several guests: Luca Testoni, Editor in Chief of Pambianco, moderated the evening, telling how companies are increasingly opening up today to a less destructive form of business.
Matteo Ward, a young entrepreneur founder of the brand WRAD, spoke about his personal experience in fashion: he worked for several years for an international brand in the fashion industry, then decided to totally change his life and built his own business in response to the destructive practices employed by most “fast fashion” brands. Thanks to an innovative study on the subject, now his company dyes the garments of his clothing line with graphite. “I started a personal and professional research to understand what the real cost of the fashion industry was: a paradigm shift is now necessary and is achieved through information and innovation”, explained Matteo.
Marina Spadafora, Country Coordinator for Fashion Revolution, focused instead on the social impact of the fashion industry and on the responsibility that brands hold not only to the planet, but also to those who work upstream of the production chain. Marina explained that nowadays consumers ask themselves questions such as, “How can a T-Shirt cost only 5 euros?” And practicing more conscious consumption are the only ways to go forward: “it must become the norm and not the exception and everyone has to rethink his daily way of life” Marina said.
Mark Little, Global Product Line Director Men’s Sportswear and Surf Apparel Patagonia, concluded the discussion by underlining how the transparency required by consumers, increasingly informed and aware, requires brands to be consistent and truthful.
Here comes the need of social and real commitment efforts, shared and credible, for example the one that Patagonia demonstrated with this event in Milan. “We are those who are living the revolution and this is why we go to work every day,” explained Mark. “We love uncontaminated places, we want to protect our rivers and the natural resources of our planet, and to do that we must always keep in mind where we come from and where we want to go. We have to ask ourselves how we consume and why we do that”.