The great absentee of the festival: sustainability

At 3Bee we were very disappointed by thelack of attention towards sustainability at the Sanremo Festival. We believe that such important events represent a unique opportunity to raise awareness of environmental issues and promote more sustainable behaviour. Our participation as Sustainability Partner at FantaSanremo was precisely aimed at promoting the importance of biodiversity. As a company actively committed to the protection of the environment, we believe that it is crucial to disseminate the culture of sustainability. Our concrete and monitorable projects for citizens and companies are many: including "Adopt a 3Bee Beehive" and "Adopt a Tree". The Festival did, however, give us the opportunity to reflect on what can be considered sustainable and what can't, especially thanks to Marco Mengoni who unlocked the Sustainable Bonus by wearing on the Ariston stage vintage faux leather clothes. Virginia from 3Bee elaborated.

The term 'leather' is used to indicate when the materialis actually of animal origin. To stop the decomposition process, it is subjected to various processes that make it hygienic, breathable and resistant. 'Faux leather', despite one might think otherwise, is always of animal origin, the difference being in how it is processed, i.e. in a more sustainable manner. In contrast, imitation leather is a synthetic material that imitates the look and feel of real animal skin. Similar leather can be made from different materials, including polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and is mainly used for the production of clothing, accessories and furniture. It has a lower durability than real leather and is less breathable.

To understand the sustainability of any product or service, it is necessary to start with data. 99% of the real leather currently on the market comes from food waste, i.e. from the animals people eat. One could therefore consider leather an example of a 'circular economy', even though there may be questionable ethical principles behind it and a sector that is actually very polluting, namely livestock farming, especially intensive farming. First quality leather does not in fact come from the latter. One might then think that leather from animal welfare farms is sustainable. However, an enormous amount of water is used to produce the leatherand toxic substances are often used during tanning, such as Chrome. There is an alternative called natural tanning. However, this solution is more expensive, slower and produces more waste.

To understand how much water is needed for leather products, we consulted Friends of the Earth's 2015 "Mind your Steps" research, which examined the water footprint of some routinely used items: a smartphone, a chocolate bar, or a pair of cowhide boots. The investigation divides the water footprint into blue water (rivers and freshwater streams), green water (rainwater), and grey water (contaminated water created by factories). The research starts at the beginning of the production line and reaches the final product. The effects on water and the environment may vary depending on where and when production takes place. For boots, the water footprint varies from country to country, with a value of 14,503L in Italy. It is important to consider that most of the water used in the production process of boots is used in the agriculture and livestock stages, while only 4% of the water can be attributed to the tanning stages.

To claim that real leather per se is sustainable is very difficult, as several factors come into play. However, we can make considerations that if well balanced can lead to a positive impact. Genuine leather is a durable material, which means buying one garment for a long time and avoiding polyester garments that have to be changed, thrown away and disposed of every year. With faux leather, sustainability also comes into play with regard to the production process where limits are placed on: water consumption, chemicals, waste produced. To return to Sanremo, Mengoni not only wore eco-leather clothes, but mainly fromthe vintage archive, lowering consumption and the negative environmental impact created during the production of those garments. We hope that in the future, important media events such as the Sanremo Festival can become a platform to promote values such as sustainability and environmental protection.