{"id":15941,"date":"2026-06-03T09:42:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T07:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/from-industry-underdogs-to-rule-makers-a-review-of-the-physis-annual-summit-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T09:42:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T07:42:45","slug":"from-industry-underdogs-to-rule-makers-a-review-of-the-physis-annual-summit-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/from-industry-underdogs-to-rule-makers-a-review-of-the-physis-annual-summit-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"From industry underdogs to rule-makers: a review of the Physis Annual Summit 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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They arrive at our doorsteps. They are small, lightweight parcels, sent by people with unpronounceable names. They cost less than a hundred euros, incur no customs duties, and for the fashion sector alone, between 120 and 150 million of them enter Italy every year. An industrial scale disguised as personal shipments. From July 2026, the rules will change: new duties on non-EU parcels below the \u20ac100 threshold will come into force. Too late, according to many.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those parcels are the face of ultra-fashion, the perfect negative of another story. That of Italian workshops, electroplating plants, engineering firms and finishers that produce luxury metal accessories and would never end up in those parcels. It is the supply chain that, over the past twelve months, has stopped asking for permission. And has started writing its own rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

The third edition of the Physis Annual Summit<\/b>, held in Florence on 28 May 2026, showcased the incredible work developed over three years of participation in various working groups.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Physis Consortium \u2014 a benefit corporation and innovative start-up founded in 2023 \u2014 has grown to over forty member companies across four sectors: process materials, industrial plant engineering, accessory manufacturing, and finishing treatments. There were eight at the start.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Alessandro Pacenti – Presidente Consorzio Physis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ester Falletta – Direttrice Tecnica Consorzio Physis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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STANDARDS<\/span><\/p>\n

A year ago, at ISO headquarters, the Italian request for a working group dedicated to resistance testing for metal accessories was viewed as the request of a sector with requirements too specific for a global working group. In short, the \u2018younger siblings\u2019 of fine jewellery and watchmaking. Today, that working group includes more than ten countries, because the fine jewellery sector has also recognised that those requirements were its own as well. ISO\/CD 25392-1<\/b> on resistance to humid heat will move to the DIS stage in September 2026, following the final consultation in May. It is a small standard, but it is Italian, and it comes from an industry that for decades had been testing its own accessories using methods developed for the electronics and automotive sectors. Meanwhile, ISO 19376-1:2025<\/b> on terms and definitions and ISO 9202:2026<\/b> on methods for determining the purity of precious metals have been published, whilst another working group (WG 6) is addressing the dimensions and functionality of jewellery items, from bracelet sizes to clasp specifications. Regarding recycled metal<\/b>, the definition of \u2018recycled gold\u2019 established by ISO has already been adopted by the RJC and the LBMA. The next step comes from Italy: in the coming weeks, a proposal will be submitted to establish a European CEN working group dedicated to supply chain due diligence and the recycling of all precious metals.<\/span><\/p>\n

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CHEMICALS<\/span><\/p>\n

The same pattern applies to substances. The textile, leather and footwear sectors have had an MRSL \u2014 the list of restricted substances in production \u2014 for years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Metal accessories, however, do not. A conversation between Ester Falletta \u2013 technical director of Physis \u2013 and Elisa Monica Gavazza<\/b> \u2013 Sector Lead and Quality Assurance Director of the ZDHC Roadmap to Zero \u2013 gave rise to a project that now sees the Consortium as the technical lead, with the patronage of ZDHC and the support of Kering and LVMH \u2014 at the summit with Maria Cristina Ligi, Gaia di Tommaso and Enrico Fatarella<\/b>. The first draft has been sent; the technical council is being formed; kick-off in June 2026; publication expected by the end of the year. Future extension to paint formulators is already on the agenda. The message from the two luxury groups was clear: no one is asking to stop electroplating; the aim is to enhance a sector that is already performing well and to make its commitment measurable.<\/span><\/p>\n

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WATER<\/span><\/p>\n

In bronze and alkaline copper baths, cyanides are a technical necessity, not a whim: they entered production precisely when, for regulatory reasons, nickel had to be phased out. For years, the only way to dispose of them was through chemical treatment with hypochlorite \u2014 a process that doubled the volume of water to be managed and which, in LCA tests, caused impact indicators to skyrocket. The solution developed within the Consortium is called electrochlorination<\/b>. It started in the laboratory, moved through pilot lines, and is now in production. It operates continuously at low voltage, breaks down cyanides up to 40 grams per litre without increasing volume, and is scalable from a few hundred litres upwards. And \u2014 a detail of no small importance \u2014 it simultaneously recovers non-precious metals, which until recently were sent for disposal. Integrated with evaporators, it paves the way for a virtually closed-loop cycle.<\/span><\/p>\n

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