MILAN – The Prada Group is joining the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Fashion Task Force, a private-sector coalition aimed at accelerating the transition toward a more sustainable future. The SMI’s Fashion Task Force focuses on sustainable solutions in the global fashion, textile and apparel sectors.
“We are honored to be part of this coalition and to contribute by sharing our experience in the field of traceability,” said Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group head of corporate social responsibility. “Building on everyone’s valuable expertise and trying to achieve common goals in sustainability is a productive way to face today’s complexity and to constantly improve.”
The SMI was launched by then-Prince Charles during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2002. Its Fashion Task Force, which counts other members such as the Aura Blockchain Consortium, Brunello Cucinelli, Burberry, Chloé, Gabriela Hearst, Giorgio Armani, Puig, Moda Operandi and Zalando, is chaired by entrepreneur and former Yoox Net-a-porter chairman and chief executive officer Federico Marchetti.
“We are thrilled to welcome Prada Group and Lorenzo Bertelli to our action-oriented Fashion Task Force,” said Marchetti. “Lorenzo and I share the same passion for customer-centricity and innovation, and Prada is an excellent fit with a cohesive group of leading brands who are striving for one shared purpose: fashion in harmony with nature.”
Since its inception in 2021, the Fashion Task Force has been driving tangible projects in multiple areas which include the launch of the Digital Product Passport at the G20 in Rome, and regenerative agriculture projects in the Himalayas and Apulia, Italy.
The Prada Group is part of the Fashion Pact and is a cofounder with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Compagnie Financière Richemont of the Aura Blockchain Consortium.
UNESCO last year invited Lorenzo Bertelli to become “Patron of the Ocean Decade Alliance” in recognition of Prada’s support of ocean literacy through its Sea Beyond educational program, as well as Bertelli’s personal vision and efforts to raise awareness of the role that the private sector can play in supporting ocean knowledge for sustainable development. The Sea Beyond project was launched in 2019 and is dedicated to the promotion of ocean literacy and ocean preservation.
Prada Group has committed to donate 1 percent of the proceeds of the Prada Re-Nylon collection to the Sea Beyond project, strengthening the partnership with IOC/UNESCO. In 2021, the group achieved full conversion to Re-Nylon, extending the use of the regenerated nylon to ready-to-wear, footwear and new accessories. It has also embraced a fur-free policy.
The group’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets have been approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative and its goal is to reach net-zero emissions in 2050.
