Carrera Jeans is an Italian clothing manufacturer that was established in 1965 and which exports all over the world. For three years, the energy that powers the offices and the shops of Carrera in Italy, in addition to being green, is also 100% EKOenergy. On the occasion of our recently launched Passion for Green Fashion campaign, aimed at encouraging fashion companies to use renewable energy, the CEO of Carrera Jeans – Gianluca Tacchella – has agreed to answer our questions. His answers surprised us and they made us discover interesting and positive aspects of this company that we were not aware of.
What led you to choose EKOenergy?
One day my grandfather told me: “If you leave to your children a worse place than I left you, I don’t see the usefulness of your coming on the earth.” This is the philosophy on which our company is based. After installing our first solar panels on the roof of our warehouses, we decided to expand our consumption of renewable energy and, thanks to ForGreen, we had the possibility to green all our shops in Italy. Here at Carrera we try apply sustainability 360°. We don’t do it specifically to give the brand a greener and more sustainable imagine, in fact, we don’t shout it out loud. We do it because it is right to do it, because it is ethical and because we want to take responsibility for our actions.
Don’t you think that declaring your sustainability is important for sending a positive message and encouraging other companies to do the same?
There are many big fashion companies that are concerned with declaring how green they are and how much they are committed to building a better world; and just as many are the scandals that fill the pages of newspapers that concern the same companies. I believe that a declaration of sustainability from a third party, namely the EKOenergy ecolabel, is more valuable and credible rather than a self-declaration.
Do you think the demand for more sustainability within the fashion industry is growing?
I believe that in general there is a greater focus on sustainability. However, we find that when the sustainable option weighs too heavily on consumers’ pockets, a breaking point is reached. I don’t think it is fair to blame it all on consumers though: the big clothing chains that are taking the lead of the market, and that applies the fast fashion business model, offer products at very low prices and so customers got used to such prices. Each of us has the obligation to do the best we can to be sustainable but since we are immersed in a consumerist economy, either we radically change the consumption pattern or the sustainable option become a luxury reserved for the elites. We cannot have everything we want and also have sustainability.
What would you recommend to other companies in the sector that want to do something more for sustainability and for their CSR? And what role does energy play?
I don’t feel I can tell other companies what is best to do because every company is a different world, a complex entity that requires that revenues cover costs. We use green energy because it is right and because we care about the future of our planet, but also because we can support it economically. It wouldn’t be possible otherwise. In this sense, it is positive to see that the renewable energy market is growing and that prices are getting more and more competitive. And in order that this trend in the energy market continues, it is essential that more and more companies take part in the process of transition towards renewable energy.
We thank Carrera Jeans for choosing EKOenergy and we thank our Italian licensed seller ForGreen for making it possible. We also thank Gianluca Tacchella for his time and for his patience in answering our questions. EKOenergy works every day to help individuals and companies to find the most sustainable renewable energy and to facilitate the transition towards a 100% renewable world. We hope that this positive example from Italy can be an inspiration for other companies in the sector.
If you work for the fashion industry and are interested in joining our campaign, please get in contact!
Written by Valeria Pauletti
Posted on 25 April 2019
