Stability and Transition. Sustainability Models for the Fashion Industry in Tuscany.

The Tuscan territory has been a place of production linked to the theme of recycling-reuse since the Middle Ages: just think of the Prato textile district, which has made regenerated wool its fortune and trademark. This contribution aims to analyse and narrate the current scenario of the Tuscan textile and leather goods industry and its vocation in setting up sustainable production and design models. It aims to introduce the theme of stability - not sustainability - which is the most anthropocentric thing that can exist (Caffo, 2022). The stability of a system that has been going on for centuries and that has made regeneration and recycling its strong point long before these practices became, as we now observe, urgent and indispensable in order to stem climate change. It is this propensity for a "slower pace" and for stabilisation referable to a particular territorial component that leads us to analyse and compare three case studies: the project of ZeroLab, a leather recovery and recycling hub and incubator for emerging designers located in Scandicci; Rifò, brand based in the city of Prato that creates Made in Italy garments from textile waste; Pangaia Grado Zero Group, a venture located in Montelupo Fiorentino, which offers high-tech solutions and materials. This mosaic of experiences testifies to the existence and strength of the innovation engine of a territory, that of Tuscany, where the man-nature relationship has triggered a virtuous mechanism of realities that also interact with the productions of the large international luxury groups present in the area.