A lot was said at FIMAST about sustainability

FIMAST, held at Fiera di Vicenza from Nov. 6 to 8, is a B2B event that shines a spotlight on technological innovations in the hosiery and sock, 3D and seamless footwear, as well as technical and sportswear supply chains, bringing together major industry players, brands and protagonists of the production districts for yarns, production machinery, technologies and finished product.

A context harbinger of some interesting presentations of projects capable of interpreting the theme of sustainability in an innovative way.

Like the eco-sustainable sneakers made using recycled tires and biobased by-products of agricultural activities – derived from corn, apples, mycelium and grapes – of the ID.EIGHT project, born from the meeting between creative designer Dong Seon Lee and the brand’s co-founder Giuliana Borzillo.

Or like the elegant ballerina shoe noteworthy as the first handcrafted shoe designed by a generative artificial intelligence questioned about market trends and models best suited for the luxury market. The initiative is by Peron Shoes, a historic footwear industry on the Riviera del Brenta. A reality with 50 years of experience, representing the union between the best Italian footwear tradition and new technologies, able to develop shoes from recycled and fully recyclable materials.

An artisanal Italian shoe, but designed by artificial intelligence and notarized, at every stage of processing, by blockchain technology. It is a hitherto unprecedented combination that has given birth to “First handmade shoe designed by AI,” the project created in collaboration with EZ Lab, an innovative Padua-based company specializing in blockchain technology that through its Made in Block platform enhances and protects Made in Italy productions.  The pair of ballerinas, which was already presented in early 2024 at the World AI Cannes Festival, an international event on artificial intelligence issues, houses an NFC tag inside the sole that, when in contact with a smartphone, allows consumers to access the Digital Product Passport to discover all the information they want about sustainability, traceability, origin and company history. “These ballerinas are the first product in a new line of shoes designed by artificial intelligence for our Via della Paglia brand,” explains Alberto Masenadore, manager of Peron Shoes. “In today’s market, there is an increasing number of conscious consumers who favor products for which it is possible to know the origin in addition to the quality and safety of the product itself. For this reason, we decided to register our footwear with Blockchain, which provides certain information, to guarantee every single sale of our products. Our goal is to share with customers, in a transparent way, all information about the origin and authenticity of our items.”

Finally, a moment of discussion and inspiration for the future of the sports industry. During the talk organized by ASSOSPORT, entitled “Footwear and Tubular Knitting: Innovations and Challenges for the Sports Sector,” key topics such as sustainability and innovation for the footwear world were explored.

With contributions from Armando Cietto of AC Studio and Davide Slongo of SIDI, the possibilities and challenges related to the development of tubular knitting shoes were discussed, with a focus on the outdoor and bike sectors.

From the discussion, it emerged how tubular knitting applied to the construction of a shoe (a sock that is joined to a sole) is indeed a technology with great advantages: construction is very easy since neither cutting nor stitching are needed, processes that are typically critical, particularly in the current historical moment that suffers from a severe shortage of skilled and experienced labor. “Knit is undoubtedly the right way to make the footwear construction process increasingly automated,” the speakers stressed. There is no shortage of weaknesses: flexibility, wear and tear, and water repellency are some of the issues yet to be ironed out. Not to mention the little collaboration between sports brands and those who manufacture machines and yarns.

For Edoardo Iannuzzi, ACBC‘s Chief of Innovation, tubular knit construction also has advantages: “Four years ago we decided to invest in this construction process together with Missoni because tubular knit produces no waste and reduces the number of processes with consequent savings in energy and logistics, as it is not necessary to outsource some processes. It allows for process optimization.” And ACBC has believed in it so much that it has developed together with BASF an innovative material that Iannuzzi previewed just at FIMAST and that will be launched on the market in the coming months: “We will offer companies the basic building blocks to make fabrics and knits in TPU of excellent quality, so much so that it resembles polyester in terms of breathability and touch. A very durable, fully recyclable yarn that can be used to make knit soles and uppers. A shoe, therefore, monomaterial and therefore entirely recyclable at the end of its life.”

ACBC also does not overlook the financial sustainability of the project: “For 1 euro of recycling cost, a material worth 3 euros is produced, with no waste or rejects.”