There is a lot of talk about sustainability, but claims are not always matched by an actual commitment to take a concrete and responsible stance. The risk is that it then appears to be only a stance taken to sound good. 'Being sustainable today,' says Massimo Bertocchi, owner of Colzip and brand ambassador Ecoinside - is a tough mission that requires both a constant commitment at every level to adopt the most serious practices in production and efforts to transmit the value to the entire upstream and downstream distribution chain'. With this in mind, Bertocchi has for more than 15 years embarked on a path to offer customised garments that respect the principles of sustainability, considering not only the product itself, but the entire production process: from the sourcing of materials, through to processing and packaging.

The company, which has 30 years' experience in screen printing, specialises in the textile sector and offers a wide variety of printing solutions for customisation with a particular focus on the promotion sector. What distinguishes the approach to production is a commitment to making the environmental impact produced as ecological as possible, starting with the energy supply (which since 2018 has come only from renewable sources), the choice of suppliers, the use of inks that comply with 100 Oeko Tex standards, and an optimisation of the use of resources.

The goal now is to achieve Sa8000 certification for the entire production activity: a standard that sets stringent parameters also as part of social sustainability with special attention to the working environment. At the same time, a brand with a profound ethical sense was launched on the market: Ecoinside employs end-to-end ecological production, from the media (certified organic t-shirts or sweatshirts) to the technology adopted to customise them, to packaging and communication. 'Communication is the real challenge at the moment,' Bertocchi emphasises, 'because you need to be able to tell the story of the product and convey the value of a choice that aims at branding and not just dressing people. If we limit ourselves only to thinking about prices, aiming downwards, we are off track”.