Sustainable fashion: the case of Italian middle-end brands

Abstract

This research aims at analysing the phenomenon of sustainable fashion in Italian SMEs, both in light of the fastening digitalization process and the effects caused by COVID. In the first two chapters, we addressed the role and implementation of sustainability in the fashion sector and we described the evolution of the retailing system, focusing on the impacts caused by digitalization. In the third chapter, we narrowed our analysis to the solo Italian market, introducing the Italian fashion industry and its characteristics, focusing on how “Made in Italy '', craftsmanship and Creative Districts have enhanced the implementation of sustainability in the Italian fashion market. Finally we conducted an empirical research analyisis through a series of one-to-one semi-structured interviews on a selected sample of Italian sustainable fashion SMEs, in order to make the analysis more substantial and to have the possibility to see the issue from different perspectives, to highlight commonalities and differences, to consider which actions drove to success or failure, and to draft a more complete analysis.