Leading Italian warp knitter Eurojersey says its commitment to sustainability has been growing ever stronger since it launched a new culture of responsibility towards the environment, society and people in 2007 with the introduction of its SensitivEcoSystem programme. A concrete reorganisation of every aspect of corporate life and its entire supply chain oriented towards limiting environmental and social impacts, has been undertaken.

Eurojersey’s Sensitive Fabrics, are chosen by the leading brands in the sports, clothing, underwear and swimwear sectors, not only for their performance but also by virtue of the excellence of the production processes with which they are made and the measurement of their impact. Thanks to the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) study, verified and validated by an independent third party, it was possible for Eurojersey to be certified as the first company to be Made Green in Italy, the voluntary national scheme proposed by the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security for the evaluation and communication of the environmental footprint of its products.

This is the first and only certification that has matched the environmental performance of the 8 types of Sensitive Fabrics processing methods calculated on the impacts for all 16 categories in the PEF methodology and is able to enhance the responsible textile manufacturing of the Italian production system.

“For Eurojersey, the Made Green in Italy certification represents an important step in the journey of sustainability that began in 2007. In 2019 we pioneered PEF by self-declaring our impact on the environment and today the Company reaches yet another milestone with the aim of further reducing its footprint to protect our territory and our Italian textile supply chain,” says Andrea Crespi, the company's Managing Director.

The company’s Footprint Report 2023, now in its fourth edition, reports on Eurojersey's commitment and responsibility towards the environment, society and people and constitutes an assessment of the results achieved and its strategy for the near future.  The report is a clear and simple text to communicate the company’s Environment Social and Governance (ESG) footprint with a focus on environmental aspects and significant activities to ensure a responsible use of resources throughout every stage of the production process along the supply chain.

Many goals were achieved in 2023, thermal efficiency, where Eurojersey can boast a saving of 643,000 cubic metres of methane gas compared to 2022 thanks to the complete renovation of its thermal power plant, to energy consumption where the company relies exclusively on electricity from renewable sources. The photovoltaic solar panel systems, installed at Eurojersey in 2008 and 2019 and expanded in 2023 with a new 478 kWp system, have enabled the Company to increase its energy consumption by 454,000 kWh, covering 5 % of its overall energy needs.

With regard to water conservation and water saving, the commitment has been to introduce technological innovations to reduce waste and mitigate the environmental impact of the production process. With the introduction from 2010 of the innovative Ecoprint printing technique, Eurojersey has been able to reduce the consumption of water used for the printed fabric by 60%, with the elimination of the steaming and finishing stages.

Within the supply chain, Sensitive Fabrics waste has also been recovered and reused thanks to membership of the Sistema Moda Italia's Retex Green Consortium. Eurojersey, a founding member of the consortium, has implemented optimised management of textile waste, anticipating regulations on recycling, as well as providing a functional tool for the entire process.

In addition, Eurojersey can claim an economic value generated of approximately €76.7 million against approximately €73 million distributed, a measurement that expresses the company's ability to generate a positive impact for the benefit of stakeholders and the territory, a complementary representation to the profit and loss account, which offers the opportunity to create the distribution of value.

Another important project has been added to the company's path of responsibility, the creation of a virtuous and innovative partnership with Humana People to People Italia Onlus, an international cooperation organisation that has been generating social and environmental value for over 25 years through a worthy and transparent process of collection, selection and sale of used clothing.

By entrusting garments to Humana it is possible to give them a second life and thanks to everyone’s contribution it is possible to contribute to conscious change. Together with Eurojersey training and information, webinars for its employees will be promoted to generate awareness of environmental and social issues with a focus on sustainability in the textile supply chain and identification of anti-waste, sustainable purchasing and consumption actions. The aim is to make more and more people aware of the issues of recovery and the circular economy, which is why Eurojersey is promoting the collection of used clothing for all employees, starting in September 2024, through a Number of Eco Boxes located within the company's production departments.

Eurojersey’s Footprint Report 2023 can be found here and its Made in Green In Italy certification can be viewed here.

www.sensitivefabrics.it