Fortunale: thanks to 100% organic wool and natural dyes, these Italian sweaters combine high recyclability with style

Fortunale
Type of organisation or company
Country
Italy
City
Cassano delle Murge (Bari province - Puglia Region)
Language for original content
Key Area
Project elaborated in partnership
Yes
Submitted by
ICESP (Italian Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform)
Start/End date
Ongoing
Yes
Type of funding
Description

The Fortunale project aims to create 100 % natural sweater with innovative textile technologies. They use only high quality pure organic wool, coloured with natural dyes such as flowers, leaves, berries and roots. Fortunale is entirely eco-friendly, and it is inspired by modern principles of circular economy: a Fortunale sweater is designed, from its origin, to be recycled at the end of its natural use until 80 %, because it is made of pure wool, and this precious characteristic allows to regenerate its fibers into new prime materials.

The total absence of synthetic fibers enables to recycle a sweater up to 80 %. They will be glad to accept a return of your old Fortunale in exchange for a 30 % discount on a sweater of their new collection: a small incentive to appreciate their philosophy.

Even the packaging is entirely reusable. Every sweater is shipped in a recycled cardboard box designed to be reutilised as a perfect container.

Main activity field
Identified challenge (s)
Main results

Multiple beneficial impacts:

  • lower environmental impacts from innovative sweater production (about 80 % less than an ordinary one)
  • consumer health protection (absence of chemical substances in fibers and dyes)
  • fibers recycling with significant savings in natural resources and water consumption
  • social and environmental commitment by planting the Fortunale forest (one tree for each sweater bought) that is beneficial to the environment, to people (as a job opportunity for the social cooperative) in a land confiscated from mafia.