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Ratti Group | Sustainability Report 2022

Ratti and the Ethical Fashion Initiative

Social sustainability goes beyond the limits of the a meeting between two worlds which, although they
company and the local community and extends are far from each other, find in the ethics of beauty
to the neediest areas of the world. It is precisely and tradition a focus on exchanging and sharing.
in this environment that the partnership between After work had been completed to fine-tune the
Ratti SpA BC and the Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI), product, in 2021 The Peace Scarf found its place in
a programme of the International Trade Centre the collections of an Italian luxury brand. However,
of the United Nations, is located. The remit of the the difficult socio-political situation in Afghanistan
initiative is to combine brands and global fashion has put the brakes on the project. Fortunately, in
talent with a tradition of textile craftsmanship which 2022 the project continued with Burkina Faso where
goes back hundreds of years in some of the poorest the EFI is supporting 15 laboratories which produce
areas of the world. The goal is to support economic Faso Dan Fani, the fabric made from Burkinabé
independence, employment of women, and the fight cotton. It was precisely this exploratory mission
against poverty. among the fashion houses of the country in 2019
which was the start of the activities of Ratti and
“No charity, just work” is the hashtag of the initiative. the EFI in support of better organised production
The EFI has chosen Ratti SpA BC for its creative processes and the promotion of products on the
capacity and its business know-how. Ratti is international markets.
supporting the promotion of manufactured articles
and is contributing to the transition to the “just work” Over the years much work has been done on dyes
of the initiative. The prospect of earning a wage to guarantee the quality and technical performance
from the objects they manufacture is, for the local of the products. Dyeing processes have been
community, becoming a reality. studied and consultancy has been provided on
operational aspects. This has improved the efficiency
In 2020 Ratti SpA BC and the EFI signed a partnership of the looms and led to improvements through
agreement based on the shared objectives of the mechanical solutions. Colour cards were created,
United Nations’ sustainable development goals the most suitable yarns were selected to produce
and inspired by the principles and logic of the the product and chemical compliance was checked
International Bill of Human Rights. In particular, to ensure that products can be used in international
Ratti SpA BC is committed to The Peace Scarf, a markets. Finally, in 2022 Ratti SpA BC joined up with
programme featuring silk scarves from Afghanistan, the Ferragamo brand – who are due special thanks
the Faso Dan Fani programme, featuring fabric from for being the first label to embrace the project –
Burkina Faso which is a symbol of national pride, and and added Burkinabé fabrics to their collections,
the Bogolan programme, featuring cotton fabric from enabling the transition from “charity” to “just work”.
Mali with motifs created using natural colours and On 25 September, at the awards ceremony of the
fermented mud. 2022 Sustainable Fashion Awards organised by CNMI,
Ratti received a “Giving Hope” special mention for
In detail, The Peace Scarf project involves more the programmes it has undertaken for the EFI.
than 30 silk producers in the Shekidan district in
the province of Herat. These producers follow the
entire production chain from growing mulberry trees
to breeding and producing silkworms, from the
weaving and dyeing of fabric to the manufacturing
of precious silk shawls, the result of the high level
of craftsmanship offered by the hand looms with
which each individual accessory is made. Ratti’s
contribution is to add further value to the prowess of
Afghan craftsmanship, ennobling the garments using
the a planche manual printing technique. This marks

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