Footwear and Fashion: what to expect in 2021!?

In these incredible months of sacrifices and anxious waiting, we are all asking ourselves, but especially those who, owners and managers of footwear and accessories manufacturers, carry on their shoulders the weight of their dreams or ambitions and of the employees who allow him to make them happen.

It goes without saying that the trends will always be driven by the big houses in the sector, those that have had the strength (especially economic) and the courage (crucial to be counted among the “big ones”) not to stop or let themselves be swirled into the abyss of uncertainty but have decided to act by inventing new strategies and launching initiatives which, of course, will have no small influence on next year’s market trend.

Fashion has staked everything on strengthening the financial department, making use of specialists able to make the right choices.

Investments have left room for the request for financing in order to obtain the liquidity necessary to compensate for the silence of large investors.

Among the most popular loans in recent years by companies we have the so-called “green debt”: through different types of bonds (green bonds and sustainibility-linked loans), companies undertake to achieve certain environmental objectives or to implement important ecological projects.

This is the case of PRADA, the first in the fashion sector to sign (already at the end of 2019) a five-year loan with Credit Agricole Group of 50 million euros, whose interest rate can be reduced based on the achievement of objectives linked to sustainability, such as the number of stores with LEED certifications, employee training and the use of regenerated materials.

While Salvatore Ferragamo in the wake of the American VF Corp (which controls Timberland, The North Face and Vans) launched a “green” bond at the beginning of the summer, pledging to achieve a 42% reduction in GHG emissions by 2029 absolute values of the company compared to 2019 and the 42% reduction in emissions deriving from the purchase of goods, services and transport.

“Operating responsibly means being aware of the impact of your business and consequently working to find serious and innovative solutions to mitigate them,” said the president Ferruccio Ferragamo. – source

Adidas also committed to a green bond in 8-year bonds of 500 million euros to be used to lead the company to become a “leader in the field of sustainability” (Harm Ohlmeyer, chief financial officer of the group) through the purchase of recycled materials, investing in renewable energy and producing its products in low-energy buildings, without forgetting the improvement of working conditions and under-represented communities. – source

This type of financial strategies are very attractive in the eyes of investors both because they are demonstrable as they are based on concrete objectives and specific timelines, and because they also physiologically affect marketing, adding to the companies values that are strongly felt at this time also by the end customer and positioning them as examples to follow for small production companies.

Furthermore, many of the companies that at the beginning of the year had to remedy the blocking of exports from China by using local suppliers, have decided to continue and consolidate the partnership with neighbors to reduce as much as possible the CO2 emissions deriving from long distance transport.

All these strategies, choices and collaborations will inevitably have an impact also in the immediate future. It seems that green will be the hottest color next year!

This is why SAMAC‘s research and development team has selected some products obtained with totally or partially recycled materials, thus giving its customers in the footwear department the opportunity to source from their trusted supplier and ensure that this trend is not just a passing fashion.

Here are some products that we recommend:

3D recycled NETS: three-dimensional nets produced entirely in recycled polyester and in neighboring countries, consequently, able to minimize CO2 emissions into the environment;

SAMDRY SILKY: latest generation microfiber produced with 70% recycled polyester and, consequently, recyclable in turn;

VILTEX RC: a particular membrane coupled according to the specific needs of each customer, whose film is made up of 75% recycled polyester.

Furthermore, many of our historical articles can be entirely produced, on request, in recycled material: Amarcord, Zeffiro, Cant, Vellutino lining and all our synthetic furs in polyester, such as Velboa and Spirale.