Gianpiero Tessitore (Vegea)
INTERVIEW WITH Gianpiero Tessitore
(Founder of the eco-sustainable fashion company ‘Vegea’)
“PRODUCING ECO-SUSTAINABLE AND VEGETABLE LEATHER FROM MARC OF GRAPES…”
Premise
The textile industry (the fashion industry) is one of the most profitable and at the same time polluting industries of the Earth. Its annual turnover is 1,500 billion euros and it produces over one billion clothes per year. And the projections are clear…With a 63% increase in the textile production by 2030, it is obvious that this sector will have an ever-greater impact on the environment and on the Earth ecosystem. In this perspective, various initiatives are emerging: they conceive production and consumption processes in a rather different way. One of these is VEGEA, an eco-sustainable company that produces innovative vegetable materials through the transformation of fibres contained grape’s byproducts in leather and ecological animal-free materials. How was VEGEA born? Why use an alternative business model? How important is for companies to follow an eco-sustainable model? Can circular economy models meet the global demand for clothing? Gianpiero Tessitore, founder of VEGEA, answered these and other questions.
Gianpiero Tessitore graduated in architecture at Politecnico of Milan and he is the founder of VEGEA and the creator of ‘Wineleather,’ the innovative production process that transforms the fibres and vegetable oils present in grapes’marc into an ecological material with the same mechanical, aesthetic and sensory characteristics of a skin.
VEGEA. In recent years, trends in fashion, consumption and social habits are changing: consumers, especially the new generations, are increasingly aware, informed and aware, and there is a growing demand (now unsatisfied) of green and animal-free products; By adopting the most demanding consumer needs and by joining a circular-economy model, VEGEA was born in 2016 as a manufacturer of innovative plant materials for fashion, furniture and automotive sectors as an alternative to the traditional animal or synthetic materials.
http://www.VEGEAcompany.com
This interview was made in August 2017 and published in December 2017 on www.lteconomy.org
Subject: eco-sustainable textile items
This interview was made by:
Grazia Giordano (writer and co-editor)
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Highlights
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1. Dear Gianpiero Tessitore, thank you for being with us. You are the founder of VEGEA, a very innovative eco-sustainable company which makes animal-free leather from marc of grapes. What was this idea born of? What are the goals of VEGEA?
Thank you…Well, where does VEGEA come from? From the merging of my professional career and my ethical choices (you know, respect for animals and the environment). I am an architect, and, working in furniture design, I have always faced the problem of finding a valid alternative in the market, to animal and synthetic upholstery materials.
The problem is not only ethical. It is very serious: the fashion industry is one of the six most polluting sectors in the world, if we consider the entire supply chain, from raw materials, to the disposal of products. This is why I have engaged in research to find a solution to this problem, but also to give an answer to the increasing group of consumers who are more and more sensitive to environmental issues.
VEGEA’s Wineleather
Source: VEGEA
2. Why have you chosen fibres from ‘grapes’ and not from other (more diffused) natural fibres? What are its strength and weakness (quality, costs, environmental impact, etc ...)?
Research began in 2014. In collaboration with the University of Florence and specialized research centers, I began to analyze the characteristics of different vegetable fibres in order to transform them in sustainable materials. After years of hard research, Francesco Merlino, an environmental chemist at the University of Florence (now my business partner), discovered that marc of grapes (peels and seeds) contains fibres and oils that are ideal for production.
It seems something of low interest. But it isn’t! The numbers at stake are very big…Let me explain: In the world, every year, 26 billion liters of wine are produced and from this process we can get 6.5 billion pounds of marc of grapes. That means we can potentially produce 2.6 billion square meters of VEGEA fibres every year. The raw material abounds, especially in Italy, which is the first wine producer in the world and, to date, most of the marc of grapes ends up in incinerators.
VEGEA transforms what is commonly considered waste in the wine industry in high value added renewable raw material… This is why many wine-makers are interested in partnering with us.
3. Does your company make use of any innovative and peculiar manufacturing processes and machines?
We use existing machinery in textile and synthetic leather production companies. They, of course, must be modified to fit our production process perfectly.
Question 4. VEGEA is a great example of the so-called 'Circular Economy.' Based on your experience, what do you think of this new model for sustainability in the manufacturing industry?
What do I think? I Think that separation and enhancement of the by-products of the winery industry, such as skins and seeds are important imperatives for sustainability. As I said, VEGEA’s process transforms what represents waste (a cost) in one sector, into a value-added raw material in another sector. And we do it without using toxic pollutants, without any waste of water. That means doing ‘Circular Economy!’
The Circular economy model gives a valuable answer to the many problems of the linear economic system, which is becoming increasingly unsustainable, inefficient and expensive.
Items made with VEGEA’s Wineleather
Source: VEGEA
5. VEGEA is the result of a collaboration with some specialized research centers. How important is scientific research to improve eco-sustainability in the textile sector? Are universities and research centers in Italy working on this aspect?
Research and innovation is crucial for sustainability in our society. It is also crucial for companies’ competitiveness. We are a company with strong ethical values: we believe in our future as a sustainable company in a sustainable society. This is why we are strongly investing and will continue to invest in research and innovation. Our target? For the moment: developing more virtuous models with less environmental impact.
6. VEGEA won the H & M Foundation Global Change Award 2017 (the most important international competition as for innovation in fashion industry). How important was this award for you?
It has been a very wonderful experience…Our efforts have been well paid. And we will always be grateful to H & M Foundation for this. It has selected us from 3,000 innovations all over the world, and has declared us the winners of the first Global Change Award. Our visibility and media presence has increased; it has given us a grant we are using to carry out research and industrialize VEGEA's production process.
The bright and colourful VEGEA’s Wineleather
Source: VEGEA
7. In April 2017, Vinitaly (an international wine competition and exposition held annually in April in Verona - Italy) hosted the first furniture made with VEGEA fabrics in the historic center of Verona (Italy). Were your products appreciated by the audience? Do you think is the demand for eco-sustainable products bound to increase?
Vinitaly has been another big opportunity for us. People there showed great appreciation for our products, both during the exhibition and in the historic center of Verona. Our reputation is increasing. More and more people (specialized and non) see us as the perfect combination between ‘wine and design.’ This is also why now we are working a lot in order to create important, deep collaborations and special synergies with companies operating in the wine sector.
Now let me face your second question…The future demand. The trend is clear…There is a marked and strong ecological consumer sensitivity; in the future we will see an increasing demand for low-environmental-impact and animal-free materials, and VEGEA is working to meet and satisfy as better as possible this increasing demand.
8. What are your future plans?
We are currently in the starting phase with a pilot production of VEGEA. We are also making the first prototypes of clothes, bags and shoes that we will officially exhibit at our demonstration event in October in Milan.
Gianpiero Tessitore, founder of Vegea, with the Wineleather
Source: VEGEA
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