Furla Sustainable Design and Marketing Strategies

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

Lecturer Kim Jensen Anna Kozlovits thaibm3a Aneta Chabibulina thaibm3a Iuliia Malyshenko thaide3c

28/11 2012

Content List GROUP PART Preface…………………………………………………………………………………………………….….3 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………….…….4 Furla’s Sustainability Strategy……………………………………………………………………..6 Plan for Implementation of Furla’s Sustainability Profile…………………………….8 Communication of Furla’s Sustainability Profile………………………………………..…9 References………………………………………………………………………………………………...10 Appendixes……………………………………………………………………………………………..…11 INDIVIDUAL PARTS Anna Kozlovits How Furla should establish the right sustainability brand positioning on the market?................................................................15 Aneta Chabibulina Furla’s New Sustainability Profile Communication using Public Relation Management Tools……………………………………………………23 Iuliia Malyshenko Which fabrics can help building up a sustainable profile of Furla firm?........31

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GROUP PART

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Preface Today after more than 100 years of an active strive for expansion of industrial capacities and production of more goods, after continues taking from the nature and not giving back, people started to realize that the raw materials soon will finish, that the air, water and ground are polluted, that the people in developing parts of the world are misused and that the profits of unethical corporates are created for the price of the “health” of all the world.

Therefore, todays’ designers and the rest of the team, creating products, have a mission to think “out of the box” and come up with solutions for more sustainable propositions for the consumers. Thus the product should be developed in order to correspond to the company’s economic needs, but also to express responsible approach to society and environment. Moreover, the marketers play a crucial role for promoting sustainable lifestyle; hence all the members of this planet are responsible for the conditions in which will live their children.

For the “Sustainable Design” project it was chosen to analyse Furla brand and to come up with suggestions for the brand sustainability strategy development. Furla is a big international company that can make a difference in the minds of consumers and suppliers. The company was selected not just because it is influential, but also because the brand seems to be on the right path into a sustainable business, thereby, the developments suggested in this report would have logic to be implemented.

Because the group contains of one designer and two marketers, the focus in this report will be directed to Furla’s developments in design, branding and marketing strategies considering sustainability factors.

Furla communicates its merits in high quality, innovative design, Italian elegance and attention to details. It emphasizes that all the products are made in Italy. For that reason the group would suggest Furla to focus additionally on the sustainability, because the well-thought strategy for implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility policies not just expresses ethical and moral values but also provides positive economic return. Nowadays customers are increasingly affecting by the sustainability trend and the wish to feel closer to the brands they aspire, therefore the group would suggest creating a subbrand proposing sustainable products for conscious consumers. Moreover, will come up with the ideas for increase of communication and interaction volumes with the customers, thus the good deeds would be promoted too.

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Introduction In order to provide a detailed preposition for Furla’s sustainability strategy development, it has to be analysed the company’s current profile. Therefore, the report will start from a short description of the company’s history, the product it produces, the materials it uses, production places, managerial structure, economic situation, distribution and marketing strategies.

History The success story of Furla began in Bologna in Italy where the brand’s Headquarter is located. 1 This competitive firm was founded by Furlanetto family over 80 years ago, and today is still Furlanetto family owned and managed Joint Stock Company. 2 Management Furla is combining family ownership with a strongly managerial company structure, where the President is Giovanna Furlanetto. 3 The managerial structure of the company could be defined as mechanistic 4, thus the company is highly specialized, has rigid departmentalization, clear chain of command, narrow spans of control, it follows high formalization and is centralized. Furla has 810 employees worldwide with 130 employees in the company itself.

Furla has divided its management into five subsidiaries (appx.1): Europe, United States, Hong Kong, Japan and World Wide managing electronic commerce. 5The European subsidiary is divided into six branches: Italy, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany and Belgium.

Economics The turnover of the company in 2011 was €179 million that in comparison with 2010 has increased in 14%. An increase in profitability is also recorded with a forecast +47% growth in EBITDA, reaching 14% of turnover (or €25.2 million) compared to 10.9% last year. Japan and Asian market holds in total 28% of sales. The percentage of Furla product sales in the worldwide market is divided into following sections: 75% bags, 14% small leather goods and 11% of other accessories.

Production The company has its own local production in two places: in Castel Maggiore and in Florence. 6 Product Design Identity The key words for expressing the products are innovation, shape, sober lines, functionality, elegance and high quality. Shapes, with detail, style and functional attributes give the collection a strong sense of identity. 7

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www.furla.com https://amadeus.bvdinfo.com/version-2012119/Report.serv?_CID=152&context=219M5B73RNDXMDS&SeqNr=0

https://amadeus.bvdinfo.com/version-2012119/Report.serv?_CID=152&context=219M5B73RNDXMDS&SeqNr=0 Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A. & Campbell, T. T. (2010). Organisational Behaviour. Prentice Hall 5 www.furla.com 6 Camillini, A. (2009). Analysi dei flussi produttivi ed applicazione di tecniche per la programmazione della produzione in una azienda del settore fashion. Bachelor thesis 7 www.furla.com 4

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Materials The company prefers to work with high quality leathers, mostly with calf leather, and also with suede, calf hair, PVC which Furla often decorates with other natural or technical materials. 8 The company has suppliers for the materials in China and Italy. 9 Target group Furla’s target group are cosmopolitan women with high income, whose “elegance is an individual expression of their own lifestyle. A sophisticated, knowledgeable consumer that shuns provocation and short-lived trends.” 10 Marketing Furla was always directing its attention for getting a bigger visibility of the brand in the international market. 11 Furla’s marketing strategy is based on several issues. One of them is investing in acquiring shops in the most luxury streets in the world without too much of considerations on saving. Other aspect that Furla can be proud of is offering to customers a luxury that can be considered as an affordable one. 12 The prices of its products are in range of 30 till 615 Euros. 13 Annually Furla handles more than two million products across 14 different categories. The product mix consists of bags, wallets, belts, watches, key rings, small leather goods, scarfs, heats, gloves, jewels, shoes, umbrellas, boarding bags, beauty cases. 14 For Furla’s promotions and fashion shows the company collaborates with Furla Foundation. Main Public Relation strategy is to leverage the brand knowledge through the Furla’s award and other contests organized by Furla Foundation. 15 Distribution Furla covers 63 foreign markets from Europe to Asia and the United States with 319 single-brand Furla boutiques positioned on the most important international shopping streets and 1,290 sales outlets from shops to department stores. It has 145 own shops and 174 franchises. 16 Furla recently implemented a clustered distribution strategy, which allowed designing a map of sale parameters: consumption, country, channels, stock cluster and point of sale. 17

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www.furla.com Camillini, A. (2009). Analysi dei flussi produttivi ed applicazione di tecniche per la programmazione della produzione in una azienda del settore fashion. Bachelor thesis 10 www.furla.com 11 http://www.specchioeconomico.com/2005_12/furlanetto.html 12 http://www.specchioeconomico.com/2005_12/furlanetto.html 13 www.furla.com 14 www.furla.com 15 http://www.video.mediaset.it/video/tgcom24/servizio_artdirectory/291116/sissi-performer-intervista.html 16 http://www.thelabelfinder.com/storesearch/boston/furla-stores/index.php/shop/city/19591/4930956 17 http://www.sas.com/offices/europe/italy/success/pdf/furla.pdf 9

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Furla’s Sustainability Strategy Furla does not have a communication with a focus on sustainably. But from several articles and interviews it is possible to gather a more detailed information of their implementations that would correspond to CSR policies.

Society One of Furla’s main focuses is Human Resource management. The company is represented by its employees of whom 70 % are women of medium age of 34. The company states to consider that their major employees are contemporary women who have to find balance between their private and work life. Therefore, Furla implemented some modern conditions, such as part-time job during aftermaternity period, introduction of flexible hours, teleworking possibility, nurseries and kindergarten next to the headquarter. 18 The company considers that it has to give something to the society of Italy, which is the brand’s origin country and also the major market where Furla sells 55 % through its single-brand shops 19. As Furla considers that Italy is a country that is getting old, it decided to support the young people. Therefore, in 2001 Furla founded the Furla Award, supporting young artists. 20 Furla is also organizing a project Talent Hub 21 (founded in 2007) inviting local rising designers to create exclusive items for the fashion house.

Furla also supported the business school Bologna University, for financing the reconstruction of one of the schools in Emilia Romagna zone, stricken by an earthquake. 22 Furla participates in number of charities, for example collaborates with the Naked Heart Foundation for collecting funds for disabled children.

Environment Despite Furla does not communicate that it focuses on sustainability, some of its products are made from eco-friendly materials such as PVC and Coated Canvas.

There is another factor that could be seen as sustainable. Furla optimized its distribution strategy in order to positively affect the sales and the rotation of inventor, increase the productivity and margins. 23 Although its concern was increase of profitability, it could be regarded also as a strategy to have fewer waists. The bags are produced and delivered in those shops where there is a higher coefficient of sales of these specific products, thus there is less transportation used, when instead in opposite cases some bags would travel from one shop to another. Furthermore, there are less unsold bags, thus they do not need to be trashed or re-used, which would require more resources. In general Furla bags as all the luxury products tend to be sold and have longevity, their life span is long, and these products have request also after they are used, as second hand or vintage product.

Economics Furla supports actively young designers and artists, also participates in funding projects concerning children, therefore it uses its financial and human resources, but the profit of the company is increasing 18

http://affaritaliani.libero.it/culturaspettacoli/furla0404.html http://affaritaliani.libero.it/culturaspettacoli/furla0404.html 20 http://styleandfashion.blogosfere.it/2012/09/moda-milano-2012-furla-presenta-la-collezione-ss-2013-con-la-lightinstallation-le-foto-dei-vip.html 21 http://www.fashionandrunway.com/fashion/article.cfm?id_articolo=12619 22 http://www.mffashion.com/it/archivio/2012/07/04/furla-sostiene-le-scuole-dell-emilia-romagna 23 http://www.sas.com/offices/europe/italy/success/pdf/furla.pdf 19

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each year. Consequently it could be concluded that Furla takes and gives back, thus it could be considered as an example of entrepreneurship that tries to act in sustainable, responsible and ethical manners.

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Plan for Implementation of Furla’s Sustainability Profile A plan for implementation of the company’s sustainability profile illustrates that in order to develop a sustainability strategy Furla should analyse several aspects, such as Corporate Social Responsibility policies, design, production and quality management, as well as branding and marketing strategy which are tackled deeper in Gantt Chart (appx.2). The distribution, retail, supply and other issues are not analysed because of their irrelevance to the group members’ specialities.

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Communication of Furla’s Sustainability Profile In order to have a sustainable communication profile the main goal for Furla would be to increase its transparency level; therefore the company should state its values within all their communication channels. Moreover Furla should adapt itself to the modern consumer needs, thus be more interactive.

In this manner the consumer would better know the company and Furla would also be able to adjust its products to the customer needs. As Furla is actively communicating through public relation activities and is closely cooperating with Furla Foundation, the company could develop a PR strategy for communication of its sustainable profile.

The individual parts of the report will provide a deeper company’s branding and marketing strategy, as well as suggestions for developments of Furla’s new sub-brand’s product design and production.

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References Literature Camillini, A. (2009). Analysi dei flussi produttivi ed applicazione di tecniche per la programmazione della produzione in una azienda del settore fashion. Bachelor thesis Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A. & Campbell, T. T. (2010). Organisational Behaviour. Prentice Hall

Internet sites http://www.furla.com http://www.amadeus.bvdinfo.com/version2012119/Report.serv?_CID=152&context=219M5B73RNDXMDS&SeqNr=0 http://www.affaritaliani.libero.it/culturaspettacoli/furla0404.html http://www.specchioeconomico.com/2005_12/furlanetto.html http://www.thelabelfinder.com/storesearch/boston/furla-stores/index.php/shop/city/19591/4930956 http://www.sas.com/offices/europe/italy/success/pdf/furla.pdf http://www.mffashion.com/it/archivio/2012/07/04/furla-sostiene-le-scuole-dell-emilia-romagna http://www.styleandfashion.blogosfere.it/2012/09/moda-milano-2012-furla-presenta-la-collezione-ss2013-con-la-light-installation-le-foto-dei-vip.html http://www.fashionandrunway.com/fashion/article.cfm?id_articolo=12619

Video interview http://www.video.mediaset.it/video/tgcom24/servizio_artdirectory/291116/sissi-performerintervista.html

Consultancy Dr. Pierluigi Orati, Head of Country Analysis within the Group Risk Management of Enel SpA, Freelance Journalist and Sustainability Consultant and Expert

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Appendices

Appendix 1 Furla S.P.A. subsidiary chart

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Appendix 2 An Implementation of Furla's Sustainability Profile for 3 Years Gantt Chart

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Consultancy by Dr. Pierluigi Orati, Head of Country Analysis within the Group Risk Management of Enel SpA, Freelance Journalist and Sustainability Consultant and Expert

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INDIVIDUAL PARTS

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Individual Part of Anna Kozlovits, thaibm3a How Furla should establish the right sustainability brand positioning on the market?

Sustainability branding is the process of creating and maintaining an identity of a specific product, service, or business that reflects special added value in terms of environmental and social benefits. 25 According to Laforet's 26 description of the brand building process, positioning is one of the four key components to the brand strategy concept. In order to develop the sustainable strategy for the brand, the company should not only communicate the current attributes it has towards the environmental issues, but also economic and community matters. As one of the possible ways to identify itself as the sustainability brand, Furla should make the right positioning in the market.

Sustainability Consumer vs. Furla Target Group The consensus on who is the typical sustainability consumer has defined that it is high-educated urban woman aged 30-45 with the high income and liberal views, who has the children in elementary school. 27 As Furla company has stated in one of the interviews, the target audience for the current products are Furla’s target group are cosmopolitan women with high income, whose “elegance is an individual expression of their own lifestyle. A sophisticated, knowledgeable consumer that shuns provocation and short-lived trends." 28

Competitors According to Furla's former CEO Eraldo Poletto interview 29, the biggest brand competitor is Coach 30 American luxury lifestyle handbags and accessories maker and designer. Among the other competitors, the French fashion house Longchamp 31.

Both of these brands are family-owned and have a rich heritage. The market they operate in is very similar to Furla, as the products are made within the same price category, which is middle-end, high prices. In comparison with Furla company, the Coach brand does not have the Italian elegance and chic of the products, as the Coach bags are made for the wider target group and aimed to operate as the

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Belz F., Peattie K. (2009) Sustainability Marketing: A Global Perspective. John Wiley & Sons

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Laforet S. (2009) Managing Brands, McGraw-Hill Kreidler & Joseph-Mathews (2009) How green should you go? International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 3 Iss: 3, pp.228 - 245 28 http://www.furla.com 29 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/brand-equity/eraldo-poletto-to-launch-affordable-luxury-withfurla-in-india/articleshow/16840581.cms?intenttarget=no 30 http://www.coach.com 27

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http://longchamp.com

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trend-followers. As to the Longchamp brand, the product designs are underlining the French sophistication and heritage.

The competitors’ analysis showed that none of these brands follow and communicate the sustainability profile, however all of them have some of the tendencies within this area. For example, Coach has created the foundation for the children and women support called Coach Foundation.

With regards to the communication strategy Coach brand have more transparency, as it clearly gives the general company information, objectives and investor relations. However, as it was noticed before, the corporate social responsibilities have not been defined.

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Model In order to make the better analysis of the current target group of Furla Company and understand the possible value proposition for the new consumer it is essential to use Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning model.

Segmentation Level: Geographic: Demographic: Psychographic:

Targeting Gender: Age: Income: Education: Values:

Niche Worldwide Urban Female High income Education: high education Interests: culture, heritage, fashion Lifestyle: successfully combines work and personal life Values: high quality, elegance, sustainability

Female 30-45 High Highly educated High quality, sustainable design, elegance

From the target group analysis it is seen that Furla's target audience share the same values as the green consumer, which indicates that Furla has the potential market for the sustainability profile development and communication. Since the target group won't change, the brand can use the same marketing tools in order to bring the attention to the new products, as it is doing continuously.

From the moment the target group and nature of competition is defined, the basis of positioning itself can be fixed. In order to make the right positioning it is essential to establish the correct points of difference and points of parity.

Based on Furla S.p.A former CEO Eraldo Poletto's interview, the company's strength lies in the strong heritage, real history and great content of fashion and quality within the affordable luxury price 16

category. Moreover, at the moment Furla is the only brand in this category that has entered the Indian market. This fact indicates that the brand is confident in itself and not afraid to take the advantage.

Positioning Points of Parity • • • •

Large Company Broad range of products Middle-end/high price Wide distribution

Points of Difference • • • • • •

Strong heritage High-quality Local Production Timeless design Italian elegance Furla Foundation

In relation to the sustainable competitive advantage Furla brand already has the several advantages within the sustainability profile, as it can be seen from the table above. However, the sub-brand that will be created in order to introduce the new sustainable line of products will not only take the same values and points of differences, but also leverage the attributes that consumer will associate with the original brand. The additional points of difference for Furla will be the eco-labelling and sustainability profile.

Positioning Statement Current positioning statement Furla has says: Furla is a company that has been creating-strictly in Italy and distributing high-quality bags, shoes and accessories of essential elegance throughout the world since 1927. 32 With regards to the new sustainability profile development, the value proposition can be changed to the following one: Furla is a family owned Italian brand with the rich heritage that creates and distribute high quality elegant and sustainable eco-labeled bags and accessories with timeless, yet fashionable design to make the woman wearing Furla feel elegant, fashionable and supportive to the sustainability issues in the world.

Sustainable Competitive Advantage However, the sustainability must not only be the aspect that would be communicated to the target audience, but also should become one of the key points within the brand itself. The related positioning concept in that matters was described by John Czepiel (1992) and was called Sustainable competitive advantage 33(SCA). This concept possesses the firm's ability to create the unique valuable products, processes and services in the market for a prolonged period of time. SCA, in comparison with points of difference is a much extensive concept, as it can also relate to the business practices, for example to the human resource policies As Furla currently does not communicate its vision and sustainability profile, creating the competitive advantage towards the CSR and its sustainable fashion designs would emphasize its superiority in the market, considering that Furla's biggest competitors - Coach and Longchamp do not have the "green" profiles.

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http://www.furla.com Czepiel J. (2004) Competitive Marketing Strategy, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall

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With the implementation of the sustainability strategy the brand will be able to widen its target group and bring the attention from the new consumer. These new values would be beneficial for both the old customers and new segments and will have a positive impact on the brand image creation, as the sustainable profile should be in consideration while building the brand identity.

8C's of Sustainability Brand 8C's of sustainability brand is another guideline of how to build up and position the sustainability brand.

In 2010 Marc Stoiber made the summary of The five Cs of Sustainability Branding, 34 which underlined the following aspects: Consumer Facing, Competitive, Core, Conversational and Credible. However, later on this concept was revised by the Martin Benz, who came out with the 8 C's of sustainability branding. 35 Core In order to develop the credible sustainability marketing strategy it is essential to assess the key socioecological issues of products along the entire life cycle. Therefor the Life Cycle Assessment should be done before setting the brand strategy for Furla, which includes the business, branding and marketing strategy. Moreover, while tying sustainability with the key problems and the core business, which is production and selling of leather goods and other accessories, it is crucial to ensure that it resonates with the consumer.

Co-operative The solutions to the sustainability issues associated with product or the brand itself requires the cooperations with suppliers, retailers, consumer, scientists and NGO's, both in the process of innovation and marketing.

Through the Furla Foundation projects, the brand could not only encourage the young artists to develop their talents, but in general, encourage young generation to develop the new solutions for the environmental issues. As Furla has 5 subsidiaries around the world, it is possible to collaborate with the local organizations, which would lead the partnership not only within one country, but worldwide.

Credible Credibility is another key in developing the sustainability brand. Co-operation with the trustworthy partners and certification form the independent labels can increase the credibility of the brand.

To signal the quality the Swan labeling 36 was chosen for new Furla products. Considering that Furla mainly produces the leather goods, the Swan label is the most suitable for this brand, as textiles, skins and leather bearing the Nordic Ecolabel meet a number of environmental, health and quality requirements. This trademark can also become the marketing material and be communicated to the target audience.

Another alternative for the Furla Company is to develop an online tracking of the supply chain that would enable the consumers to the world behind the products.

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http://community.maddockdouglas.com/blog/entry/15421/The-5-C-s-of-Sustainability-Branding/ http://www.sustainability-marketing.com/2010/08/eight-cs-of-sustainability-branding.html 36 http://www.nordic-ecolabel.org/ 35

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Consumer Benefits Unfortunately, for most consumers the socio-ecological attributes are not the core benefits. In order to broaden the consumer mind towards the sustainability ideas, the brands should underline the benefits towards these attributes, including the cost efficient, health and safety, symbolism and status.

Furthermore, they should adjust the sustainability benefits with the typical characteristics that would meet the consumer needs, such as functionality, design and durability.

As for Furla, that currently meets the requirements of basic benefits, such as timeless design, durability, high quality, the company should emphasize the sustainability attributes in its business and marketing campaigns.

Conversational Sustainability branding is more effective as the dialog. Thus the brand should encourage the consumer to participate in a conversation about the sustainability process. Creating the surveys or holding competitions in the social networks, which would also strengthen the brand consumer relationship, could do this.

Consistency If sustainability is the indicator to brand positioning, it is essential to declare it to the consumer and also the employees consistently. This could be done through all communication channels used by Furla: advertising, retail, online communication, PR etc.

Moreover, this aspect requires companies to perform holistically with the overall environment, economic and social performance.

All the claims and the results must be communicated to the consumer in the annual reports of the company performance and CSR policies. This act would create the transparency between the company and the whole supply chain.

Commitment The commitment of top managers and marketing decision makers is also required for the sustainability branding. The employees in the company should have the same goal and vision towards the sustainability objectives, therefor it is important to set the goals by Management by Objective (MBO) 37 strategy.

Continuity Sustainability is the aspect should be incorporated into the DNA of the brand. The main point is to maintain the performance and brand promise over long-term. This indicates that the brand cannot change its sustainability focus too often. In order to achieve the broader sustainability brand promise for Furla every effort has to be mutually supportive.

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Drucker, Peter F., (1954) "The Practice of Management" Harper & Brothers

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Sustainability brand name selection The sustainability brand name section is an important business and marketing decision. Name, as the main brand element should correspond for the 6 main criteria: memorability, meaningfulness, likeability, transferability, adaptability, protectability. 38 Sustainability Brands, however, incorporate something that conveys the notion of social and/or ecological awareness.

Brand extension is a good solution for Furla Company to develop the sustainability profile. By creating the new product line within the existing product range, the brand would be able to market the new products as socially and ecologically friendly. This way would also leverage the existing brand recognition and would strengthen the brand image.

This step should be made during the business and brand strategy development.

Conclusion Case study based on the analysis of the leaders within the sustainability profile showed that one of the five key principals for the brand to take the leadership in this area is to integrate sustainability into the brand and client value proposition. 39 Furla's competitors and target group analysis showed that there is the market for the sustainable profile building and implementation, as the biggest Furla competitors do not have the corporate social responsibilities policies. This strategy could become the bullet point for Furla, as it would strongly differentiate itself from the other brands.

The S\T\P model showed, that the current target audience that Furla is reflecting the typical green consumers. This fact is beneficial for Furla, as they can remain the same marketing strategies with only several major changes, as the complete new profile would be generated.

In relation to the other points of difference the best suitable option for Furla would be maintain those and continue to actively communicate them though the different media channels, however, with the new sustainability profile, the brand should emphasize the social benefits and the outcomes from using their products. The clear positioning statement would build the higher brand awareness.

8C's of Sustainability Brand model indicated that Furla has to implement a lot of other strategies in order to build the strong sustainability brand. One of the major aspects in regards to this concept is credibility. The brand should emphasize its credibility by the trademark. I find Swan label the most suitable for the brand, although it is mainly known in the Nordic market. Another alternative would be

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Keller K., Aperia T., Georgson M. (2011) Prentice Hall

Strategic Brand Management: A European Perspective (2nd ed.)

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Brandologic Inc. (2012) Key to sustainability leadership. Five Best practices http://www.brandlogic.com/assets/Brandlogic5BestPractices_05-29-12.pdf

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the ISO 14000 40 certification which would help to minimize the negative affect from the operations, comply with environmentally oriented requirements and continually improve.

Choosing the right and comprehensive brand line name is very crucial, thus Furla should come up with the innovative, yet catchy name for the new product line. As that name would be actively used in the marketing strategy implementation.

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http://www.iso.org/iso/iso14000

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References

Books and Articles Belz F., Peattie K. (2009) Sustainability Marketing: A Global Perspective. John Wiley & Sons Czepiel J. (2004) Competitive Marketing Strategy, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Drucker, Peter F., (1954) "The Practice of Management" Harper & Brothers Keller K., Aperia T., Georgson M. (2011) Strategic Brand Management: A European Perspective (2nd ed.)

Prentice Hall Kreidler & Joseph-Mathews (2009) How green should you go? International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 3 Iss: 3, pp.228 – 245 Laforet S. (2009) Managing Brands, McGraw-Hill Websites http://www.furla.com http://www.coach.com http://longchamp.com http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/brand-equity/eraldo-poletto-to-launch-affordableluxury-with-furla-in-india/articleshow/16840581.cms?intenttarget=no http://www.brandlogic.com/assets/Brandlogic5BestPractices_05-29-12.pdf http://community.maddockdouglas.com/blog/entry/15421/The-5-C-s-of-Sustainability-Branding/ http://www.sustainability-marketing.com/2010/08/eight-cs-of-sustainability-branding.html http://www.nordic-ecolabel.org/ http://www.iso.org/iso/iso14000

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Individual Part of Aneta Chabibulina, thaibm3a Furla’s New Sustainability Profile Communication using Public Relation Management Tools Problem Formulation Main question How Furla could adjust its public relation activities for an effective communication of its sustainability profile?

Sub questions 1. How Furla could develop its online communication to be perceived as a sustainable brand?

2. How Furla could introduce itself as a sustainable brand using event marketing?

3. How Furla could use social investments in order to communicate its sustainable profile?

How Furla could adjust its public relation activities for an effective communication of its sustainability profile?

Furla is highly cherished for its bags and other products for more than 80 years, but the firm has to understand that the time when brands were what they made is over. According to Ottman (2011), “now, businesses and brands are what they stand for”.

According to Ferrell (2010), “the role of social responsibility and ethics in marketing strategy has come to the forefront of important business issues in today’s economy <…> In terms of marketing strategy, social responsibility addresses the total effect of an organisation’s marketing activities on society”. The author emphasises that “ethical marketing can build trust and commitment”.

Therefore, Furla could choose sustainability as its core values and focus its marketing activities on communication of it. In order for Furla to be perceived as a sustainable company, there has to be prepared a new brand communication strategy.

Since according to Kotler 41, “public relations and word-of-mouth marketing are playing a growing role within the marketing mix to build and maintain brands” and the company’s main communication is delivered by public relation activities too, this individual part of the report will concentrate on Furla’s PR strategy development.

According to Kotler (2001), “PR consists of many tools, which he calls the PENCILS of PR: publications, events, news, community involvement, identity tools, lobbying, and social investments”, this chapter will focus on few of these tools, which are specified in the next pages.

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http://www.marketingprofs.com/5/kotler1.asp

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Online Marketing The analysis of Furla’s public relation strategy development will start from online marketing, because the most visible company’s marketing strategy defect could be considered the absents of transparency and interactivity with the customers.

According to Ottman (2011), “It is no longer enough to have a well-known name. Today’s brands become trusted by practising “radical transparency”, disclosing the good and the bad”. The author reveals that “the brand consumers buy and trust today educate and engage them in meaningful conversation through a variety of media, especially via websites and online social networks.

Keller (2012) considers that “the main advantages to marketing on the web are the low cost and the level of detail and degree of customization it offers”. He encourages using interactive marketing for building relationships with customers. The author sees the challenge in entertaining people but still communicating desired information. Thus the message should be transmitted through a concept of verbal and visual communication.

Furla’s web site www.furla.com has eye catching design with many colourful high quality photos, therefore the visual communication could be considered as sufficient. But the verbal communication is poor; the information provided in the site touches just the surface of some aspects, such as “company, style and design and distribution” 42. The site is perceived by Furla just as a web shop, thus the company could use the potential of the site in a broader manner, like it is done by other luxury brands such as Gucci, Dolce&Gabbana etc. Since the Furla Group does not have a separate site, it could be incorporated in the existing site or it could be created as a separate one with linking between these two sites.

Since, according to Ottman (2011), “green consumers trust brand that tell all”, the company could provide such information as brand mission, values, history, its attitudes to employees, its production places, work and environment conditions and etc. Furla could public all the articles and interviews provided to media, thus customers could have possibility to choose what to read and the information would be easy to find. It also could write and post Sustainability and Financial reports. Currently some of information it is possible to find just browsing the internet and reading interviews provided mainly in Italian, but the information given is poor and does not cover all the aspects that transparent companies publish. Furla could think that companies could be considered as citizens, therefore, when customers see a brand that does not communicate; they may think that it hides something. Customers tend to be more and more conscious and demanding for more transparency. They want to know if the products that they buy are produced in ethical manners, thus if the company pays taxes, if there were respected social and environmental legislations, they want to know the value chain, thus Furla could not just promote that its products are made in Italy, but to clarify about their suppliers, materials and dyes that they use etc. Furla could be more social, thus customer oriented site would be appreciated and could increase the brand credibility, in this way also would augment the brand equity.

Furla should not be afraid to unravel some facts that would show the brand to be not perfect. According to Ottman (2011), “green consumers do not expect perfection”, they expect that brand would “set high goals <…> keep improving, and report on progress”.

42

http://www.furla.com

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To increase communication with customers Furla could offer to its customers a possibility to receive monthly newsletters. Newsletters are comfortable and environmentally friendly tool for promotions, information delivery and brand loyalty building. It could be designed as an online version flyer, poster, brochure or magazine.

Furla could also prepare special press releases and short movies with interviews to its management, designers and other employees in order to demonstrate its value chain and holistic view to the company and its values. Also all the company’s official videos uploaded on YouTube channel could be uploaded on Furla’s web site. This strategy would be appreciated by customers because it would make the company social and more close to the customer.

Furla has company’s profiles on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and it is active in LinkedIn professional platform.

The Facebook profile is updated almost each day, which could be perceived as a serious attitude. Also the profile provides costumers not just with pictures of the products, but also with scanned copies of publications about Furla’s products in the international printed magazines and with promotions and announcements of events organized by Furla. But the interaction with the customers is still slow, for example an unsatisfied customer complains that she was writing and calling to Furla because of a damaged product and she received a response just after one week after her publically written message on Furla’s Facebook profile. That is why Furla should think, how turn a production defect into something positive for the reputation through the practice of transparency and efficiency. This is one of the examples unravelling a deep problem of missing communication from Furla. Therefore, the company could learn from such companies as Laura Biagiotti etc., who are very active and quick to respond, thus the customer feels as if the company owners and employees are friends of them, and therefore they trust the brand and perhaps appreciate the products even more.

In order to increase the interaction with customers, Furla could hire a person responsible just for the company’s Facebook profile. This person would support the customer service office, thus invested money would return, because of satisfied customers who would buy the product not just because they would like the design, but also because they would feel the trust in the company. According to Keller (2012), direct response “facilitates the establishment of relationships with consumers”. He reveals that this allows “marketers to explain to consumers developments in their brand over time, as well as allowing consumers to provide feedback to marketers”. Therefore, Furla has to increase its attention to customer relationship management and in this manner raise its existing customers’ loyalty.

Ottman (2011) reveals that “green consumers are strongly influenced by the recommendations of friends and family, and trusted third parties”. Therefore Furla should try to increase brand credibility by influencing purchase decision makers and third parties like NGOs. Since number of blogs about fashion and lifestyle are constantly increasing, bloggers are a group of highly influencing people. Therefore, Furla could first introduce the bloggers with company’s new strategy to be sustainable. The company could also involve bloggers in promoting company’s new profile inviting them to participate in a contest of the best article about Furla’s sustainability trend. To the best writers it could be offered a professional blogger work opportunity in a new blog about Furla managed by company itself. Having its own blog Furla would have more possibilities to manage the information published about Furla.

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Furla currently is trying to spot highly read and reliable blogs, they collaborate with some blogs for advertisement of Furla’s products. Also Furla gives interviews to business magazines occasionally and invites fashion magazines in new collection openings.

After adding sustainability issues to its profile, Furla should re-examine its media channels and expand them in order to reach the new target group. Furla could also communicate through online magazines writing about sustainability issues, online business magazines interested for innovative and social companies.

Although the target group that Furla has now would still be interesting to the company, it should also investigate the additional market before communication. Also it important to find ways to attract animal-friendly people, who are sensitive about the fact that Furla is using leather for its production. It is an intriguing issue to understand how many of them would buy Furla’s new sub brand’s sustainable products even though the other part of Furla’s production would be done from leather. It would be important for Furla to use just leather from animals that are also used for food, thus this aspect could calm the fighters for animal rights. Even if Furla would decide not to target these people, the company would have to be aware of the fact that activists could influence Furla’s target audience.

Event Marketing Since Furla’s current public relation strategy is focused on adding value to its brand equity through secondary associations, such as organisation and sponsorship of events and contests, the next phase of the report will be the analysis of Furla’s event marketing strategy development.

According to Keller (2012), “event marketing is a means of creating or reinforcing consumer perceptions of key associations”. Keller reveals that “sponsored events can contribute to brand equity by becoming associated with the brand and improving brand awareness, adding associations or improving the strength, favourability and uniqueness of existing associations.”

Furla Group has its own foundation called Fondazione Furla 43 (eng. Furla Foundation) organising events and giving awards to designers and artists.

One of the projects is Furla for Art yearly awarding artists with Furla Price 44. The project could introduce a new award for sustainable art. In this manner Furla would encourage artists to create art pieces that could influence the society to change their lifestyle to a more sustainable one, because artistic people usually have a philosophical thinking, thus they have capacities to demonstrate and shock society.

Another project of Furla Foundation is Talent Hub project, with which Furla “becomes a cultural and social initiator, offering young, up-and-coming designers the opportunity to create and sign their own collections under the Furla brand” 45, could also take in consideration sustainability issues by promoting sustainable design. In the last year Furla took four designers for collaboration, thus the coming year it could start with one out of four chosen for sustainable design. In this way the company would support their goal to go “greener” and back up their new sub-brand for sustainable products.

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http://www.fondazionefurla.org http://tv.exibart.com/news/2008_lay_notizia_02.php?id_cat=112&id_news=6692&filter=&page_elenco=2 45 http://www.fondazionefurla.org 44

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For introduction of Furla’s new focus on sustainability and for celebration of the “birth” of Furla’s new sub brand the company could also collaborate with Furla Foundation. It could ask for ideas for the opening ceremony from the artists that it collaborated already with and / or from artist that are sensible to the sustainability issues.

Social Investment Hence the report is concentrating on Furla’s sustainability profile and corporate social responsibility issues the last but not least chapter will analyse how Furla could involve its employees, local communities and broader societies in its sustainable activities.

“Social investment is the practice of making voluntary financial and non-financial contributions that demonstrably help local communities and broader societies to address their development priorities.

Leaders of corporations and grant-making institutions increasingly recognize the importance of responsible social investment, ensuring not only the optimal impact of their contributions, but also their alignment with broader societal goals.” 46 Furla is a family owned company 47, managed mainly by women 48, maybe that is why the company invests so much in children and young talented people who are the future of the world. The company sponsors young designers and artists who do not have resources for raising and showing themselves to the world 49. It also sponsors rebuilding schools 50 after natural disasters and sick children 51. Therefore, Furla could increase the scope of the cases to fund and could expand the Furla Foundation incorporating a new project.

The project could involve the community of Bologna, where Furla’s headquarter is located and the Castel Maggiore and Florence, where its production places 52 are situated. It could organize a sustainable environment for children around these three Furla’s objects. Thus Furla could fund playgrounds for children and young people to play sports. There could be developed fields for football and the playgrounds for basketball made out of leftovers of PVC used by Furla for production. Furla could encourage the collection of PVC bottles from the local communities through collaboration with local municipalities, schools and kindergartens. Also around these playgrounds the company employees together with the local society members could plant trees that would provide oxygen. In this way the children will have more possibilities to grow healthy and conscious about their impact to the environment.

This project would not just show a good will from Furla, it also would be paid back. As Furla’s President Giovanna Furlanetto states, the employees in her company are mainly women (70%) of 34 and with children who usually go to the kindergartens and schools next to Furla’s headquarter and production places. The company reveals that it faces the usual disadvantages of mothers not able to come to work 46 47

http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/development/PSI.pdf

https://amadeus.bvdinfo.com/version-2012119/Report.serv?_CID=152&context=219M5B73RNDXMDS&SeqNr=0 48 http://affaritaliani.libero.it/culturaspettacoli/furla0404.html 49

http://www.fondazionefurla.org http://www.mffashion.com/it/archivio/2012/07/04/furla-sostiene-le-scuole-dell-emilia-romagna 51 http://www.philstar.com/fashion-and-beauty/2012/10/03/855312/furla-creates-special-bag-natasha-vodianova 50

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Camillini, A. (2009). Analysi dei flussi produttivi ed applicazione di tecniche per la programmazione della produzione in una azienda del settore fashion. Bachelor thesis

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when their children are sick. 53 A more sustainable surrounding in the local area will decrease days of absent at work, because the children will be healthier. In this way the company’s efficiency will stay stable and will be less influenced by external factors.

The football field and basketball playground could also be used by the employees and their families.

Furla could organize a weekly match of football and / or basketball, in this way the employees would be healthier; they would have some pleasant time together with the colleagues and family members. Both, football and basketball are games teaching people to be more collaborative, thus the employees also at work would save the team spirit.

Although the healthy environment is important today during the economic recession people are missing security about their future and stability. That is why Furla could not just implement ethical and legal conditions for its employees but also encourage them to build a trade union. Even if from first thought it would seem suspicious for many entrepreneurs because employees participating in trade unions are empowered to influence decisions, the trade unions also help to develop an efficient and business oriented communication between the work giver and the service providers, thus the employer and the employees. Therefore it is important to remember that the ability to find satisfying conditions for both partners is paramount for reaching common goals.

If Furla would decide to focus on sustainability and introduce a new sub brand offering sustainable products, the sustainable materials and production would be crucial issues to invest in. Since the range of sustainable materials is quiet narrow, it would be a logic solution to foster the development of sustainable production and materials launching a new project that could be called Furla’s Sustainable Innovation Lab. This project would focus on technologists, engineers and scientists who could apply to Furla for funding of their sustainability projects. In this manner Furla would not just improve the world conditions, but also create positive associations around the brand name and could use these new sustainable materials and improve its own production.

Conclusion Concluding it is possible to say that if the brand would communicate its values, including sustainability aspects, the customer would buy the products not just because of their design or because of being part of people wearing luxury products, but also because of wanting to relate to the brand, thus because of perceiving the acquisition of the product as acquiring of their desired personality and expression of their values and lifestyle. Focusing its profile on sustainability, Furla would also augment brand equity and expand its target group, thus focusing on society and environment the brand would also have financial return.

It is important to remember that Furla should communicate not just through its own communication channels. It should use such influencers as fashion, business and sustainable lifestyle magazines online and offline, also blogs and fashion tv channels. It could also collaborate with bloggers and journalists for getting its message through to its target group.

Although the increased communication and interactivity from Furla would favour Furla’s sustainability strategy, it is also important to incorporate the sustainability issues in company’s event marketing.

Therefore the company could introduce the new sub brand and the company’s expanded profile focused 53

http://affaritaliani.libero.it/culturaspettacoli/furla0404.html

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on sustainability as well through an opening event. It would be favourable also if the company would include sustainability thematic in its art and design projects organized by Furla Foundation.

The fundamental part of communication of Furlaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sustainability profile is delivering serious deeds that would back up the verbal communication. Therefore, the company could focus on social investments, thus organize and fund projects beneficial for the local communities, broader societal, employees of Furla and, thus to the company itself.

Furla is an international company that has to go ahead in front of its competitors, in order to continue to grow it has to follow the most modern requirements for entrepreneurship. The company could implement the corporate social responsibility policies not just for the matter to stay attractive to the market, but also for their own and their children health and quality of life.

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References Literature Camillini, A. (2009). Analysi dei flussi produttivi ed applicazione di tecniche per la programmazione della produzione in una azienda del settore fashion. Bachelor thesis Ferrell, O.C. and Hartline, M. (2010). Marketing Strategy. 5th Edition. Cengage Learning Keller, K. L. , ApĂŠria, T. and Georgson, M.(2012).Strategic Brand Management a European Perspective.

2ndEdition. Pearson Education Limited.

Kotler, P. (2001). Kotler on Marketing: How to Create, Win and Dominate Markets. 1st Edition. Simon & Schuster UK. Ottman, J. (2011). The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding. Greenleaf Publishing Limited.

Interviews in media http://www.marketingprofs.com/5/kotler1.asp http://tv.exibart.com/news/2008_lay_notizia_02.php?id_cat=112&id_news=6692&filter=&page_elenco =2 Web sites http://www.furla.com http://www.fondazionefurla.org https://amadeus.bvdinfo.com/version2012119/Report.serv?_CID=152&context=219M5B73RNDXMDS&SeqNr=0 http://affaritaliani.libero.it/culturaspettacoli/furla0404.html http://www.philstar.com/fashion-and-beauty/2012/10/03/855312/furla-creates-special-bag-natashavodianova http://www.mffashion.com/it/archivio/2012/07/04/furla-sostiene-le-scuole-dell-emilia-romagna http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/development/PSI.pdf

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Individual part of Iuliia Malyshenko, fashion design thaide3c811 Which fabrics can help building up a sustainable profile of Furla firm?

Introduction This question was chosen as a problem formulation because through my observations I realized that with current tendencies for such brand as Furla it could be relevant to have sustainable profile. Below a deeper research of eco-friendly materials as well as key characteristics of Furla’s brand are reflected in order to disclose this problem.

“Good design improves the quality of life, whether we speak about the user or the maker of a product.

Ecologically and ethically sustainable design is design of the future. It is also profitable. When high-class and sustainable design is combined, the world will become a little better. Even small choices can make a difference.” 54 The problem of protecting the environment does not leave many designers and consumers being indifferent. As a designer in this project I have the possibilities to come up with own ideas and propositions about the sustainable design for Italian brand Furla. Therefore, my proposition is based on launching a new independent sub-brand which covers such products as bags (handbags, boarding bags, beauty cases, clutch bags and etc.) and wallets produced of eco-materials. All products for eco-luxury sub-brand will be produced from bonded leather and E- leather as materials that are actually good for the environment (see Table 1).

Table 1: Furla’s materials

Materials already used by Furla • • • • •

Suede Calf leather Calf hair PVC leather Decorative stones and glass

Eco- materials for new subbrand • Bonded leather • E- leather

In this idea I would like to follow the principles of already established brand design because Furla is a family business, where three generations of an Italian family Furlanetto worked on its style so that it became classical today.

Analysis of current design approach and materials used in Furla Italy is one of the world’s leading design centers and this country became synonymous to the connection with the new ways of thinking about design, high functionality, and nature. Furla is Italian brand which is constantly evolving but at the same time keeps rich in tradition with a long history. Furla invented a new concept of luxury that was close to every woman and immediately became an 54

http://www.nurmiclothing.com/blog

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international “must.” High quality, classic lines and functionality were the distinguishing features of the bags in their collections. The products have a strong and distinctive personality: beautiful colors and clean lines reinvented through the combination of different materials, innovative finishing and technohandcrafted details typical of the ‘Made in Italy’ tradition 55.

From the one of interview the header of Furla firm Giovanna Furlanetto said that “a major task in the future Furla she considers the development of received heritage and deepening of the family traditions.

To compete in the fashion world, today we need to bring to market an uninterrupted stream of new product, which takes into account the constant evolution of consumer habits” 56. Throughout the year, Furla used many designers to design their products. They recently corroborated with Alice and Lisa Ferrari, Courtney Crawford, Nicole Brundage, Francesca Colussi, Silvio Betterelli, Bruno Laurenzano, and Max Kibardin who designs Furla’s footwear 57. Furla’s designs are based on elegance, femininity, and techno-artisanal details. Every single Furla product is modern, fresh and tells a brief, wonderful story of Italian creativity 58. This Italian brand makes women sophisticated and feminine with individual expression of their own lifestyle. As a brand Furla continues to invest in research and technology to assure constant innovation in all its lines and categories.

Nowadays a lot of well-known Italian brands have the production in China. In contrast to them Furla creates its main line directly in Italy. Furla’s production is located in two places – Castel Maggiore and Florence. The main argument that explains their position is that they do not risk making its production outside Italy. For Furla it is very important to save the crafts style typical for the Italian tradition and which is a part of a huge cultural baggage that has always distinguished Italy from other countries. The following explanation of their position lies in the convenience and ease of production controlling. The local production makes lower transportation costs, reduces currency risks as well as time to market, helps to invest more money into local economies which long term should reduce costs and improve revenues.

PVC and calf leather are the most widely used textile materials in Furla’s products but also the most harmful materials to the environment. PVC is a synthetic material made from natural resources (oil and salt). There are different opinions on whether PVC can be considered as eco-friendly. On the one hand, this material has minimal environmental load in terms of CO2 emission. 57% of PVC is made out of chlorine, which is derived from salt and 43 % from oil. Thereby, PVC contributes to saving oil, which is a non renewable resource, in contrast to other plastics whose composition depends entirely on oil. PVC is in addition a special plastic, since it uses less oil, gas etc. due to its high chlorine content. On the other hand, the material has a lot of disadvantages that can rather damage the sustainable profile of the company. PVC's entire life cycle, from production through use and disposal, has a negative impact on human health and environment. The industry has been plagued by workers health and safety issues for decades. When PVC is burned it gives off toxic hydrogen chloride gas which turns into hydrochloric acid on contact with moisture within human’s lungs 59.

Another Furla’s preferred material, leather, is traditionally made of calves and come from the European Alps. Very soft, pliable calf leather can only be produced from the top quality rawhide. It is the top 55

http://www.voisins.com/accessories-and-luggage/furla http://juliyahouse.com.ua/brand/furla/ 57 http://www.fondazionefurla.org/ 58 http://www.furla.com/us/style-design/ 59 http://www.acereport.org/pvc2.html 56

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quality leather that is very expensive and with a fine and uniform grain. The most important three stages of the leather production are preparation or warehousing, tanning, finishing 60. Traditionally, leather production and the tanning process utilize several toxic chemicals which produce pollution in the external and indoor air environments. The leather products decompose slowly because of the preservation treatment during manufacturing. The production processes of the hides creates solid waste, such as dust, hair, trimmings, and shavings, as well as large volumes of effluent contaminated with toxic compounds such as aluminum, chromium sulphide, and caustic soda. In order to preserve the condition of the leather products, harmful substances such as Dimethyl Fumarate (DMF) are intensively used. All these arguments related to the leather production show a major source of pollution and certainly can not positively contribute to the sustainable profile.

That is why to find alternative materials that are produced ecologically and ethically and are at the same time really durable and of high quality is the main task for creating a new sub-brand. The alternative for leather and PVC, which are so extensively used by Furla, can be such materials as eco- and bonded leather which are described in the next section. Adding them into the portfolio should support building the sustainable image of Furlaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brand.

Analysis of potential eco-materials and other sustainable aspects which could be applied by Furla Bonded leather, commonly called "reconstituted leather," is a man-made material constructed of 80% to 100% leather fibers (often from various pieces of leather scraps which are bonded together to form a single, blended leather product with the same look and feel). Bonded leather is a natural alternative to genuine leather (see Figure 1) 61.

Figure 1: Bonded leather Depending on the quality, a man-made pattern is usually discernible as a "grain-like" look. As with all types of leather, the material remains very durable, able to withstand a number of conditions, including heat and moisture.

Bonded leather is used to create high quality products through environmentally friendly recycled content. Leather scraps that wouldn't have been used are recycled in order to create bonded leather.

This type of leather, sometimes referred to as reconstituted leather, is an alternative to what is known as genuine leather, which are whole pieces of animal hide. 62 Bonded leather is produced in a similar 60 61 62

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calfskin http://www.ehow.com/info_8663870_bonded-leather-process.html http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-bonded-leather.htm

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process to paper manufacturing. Typically, bonded leather contains approximately 57% of polyurethane, 26% of poly-cotton blend, and 17% of leather. In the manufacturing process, the combinations of these materials are ground and pulverized together into a thick pulp mixture and then poured over a cheese cloth or other fabric material to create the bonded leather. In the final production phase, a layer of polyurethane is added to the surface and a grain stamp is applied to give the appearance of leather. To sum it all up, bonded leather is primarily a man made product for the consumer that wants the look of real leather but at the same time wants to stay true to protect the environment. The main benefits of bonded leather are: durable and resilient bonded leather surface, easy to clean and maintain, stain-resistant, smooth, and comfortable. By recycling leather scraps into bonded leather, Furla can provide an important contribution to the environmental protection and bring other benefits.

The term eco leather does not have any formal definition. Significant interest in leathers and environmental concerns has improved the process of its manufacturing. E-leather is made from recycled leather fiber. It’s made by upgrading a waste by-product of the leather industry that is normally landfilled (see Figure 2).

The production process of E- leather is relatively simple. The leather shavings and trimmings are ground into leather fiber. These small pieces are formed into two layers on both sides of a micro textile core.

Leather fibers are fastened with high pressure water jets rather than chemical adhesives. Afterwards color impregnation follows with final PU finishing. At the same time, leather texture is embossed with a paper template (see Appendix 1). 63 E-leather reduces the costs both environmentally and economically of producing high-quality and upholstery material. This is a clean technology product made by using sustainable natural leather fibers and 100% zero carbon electricity in its production process. The manufacturing process uses state of the art techniques which recycle 95% of the water and convert its own waste streams into energy which is fed back into the process. This is the essential difference to “bonded” leather or “leather board” often referred to as “recycled leather” where adhesives and resins are used to bond the fibers together into a sheet of material. 64

Figure 2: Eco- leather E-leather is the unique revolutionary composition leather which has a lot of benefits. First of all, it is environmentally friendly because made from recycled leather fibers (cut-offs which would normally be sent to landfill). Secondly, manufacturing of E-leather reduces landfill costs where less wastage reduces landfill levies. This kind of leather has high durability thus the leather resists tearing and has greater elasticity. E-leather is manufactured from fibers and unlike leather hides has no natural defects and 63 64

http://www.eleathergroup.com http://www.ecoleathergoods.co.uk/

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results in minimal batch-to-batch variation. This leather is available in huge range of colors which give for designers different options. Excellent flame resistance provides with the high safety standards and high cutting yield leads to cost efficiency for many applications. The material is supplied in rolls resulting in only 5% cutting wastage compared to up to 40% wastage for leather hides. Another advantage is a much lower weight comparing to traditional leather which leads to significant fuel savings and, as a result, less emissions. 65 E-leather products in Furla’s portfolio could bring the following environmental eco benefits (see Table 2).

Table 2: Eco-leather benefits

Production Recycled leather Reduced landfill Clean technology

Manufacturers Reduced waste by up to 25% Increased cutting yields

Consumers High performance products Scuff resistant Breathable Low maintenance

Besides introduction of eco-friendly materials, in order to create a sustainable image of the brand, Furla should pay attention to a number of additional aspects which are highlighted below.

Social Responsibility Naturally, Furla respect ethical and social principles in the selection of their international suppliers and customers. Additionally, in the future Furla could purchase most of raw material from European manufacturers, which means that the conditions of employment correspond to the high European social standards. For Furla the most important way to make sure the whole supply chain is sustainable is to know everything about it. Regarding Non-European suppliers it’s very important to have an ethical certificate. Furla should control that their raw materials have been manufactured without involvement of child labor and avoid of exploitative and health- and environmentally harmful conditions. In case of non-compliance, the supplier will be excluded from their supply chain. As Furla has local production, it will be easier to control and make guaranteed compliance with the high Italian standards regarding healthcare and industrial safety. Furla could provide in own workshops different trainee programs for the future generations of skilled workers.

Water Consumption The water which is used during production could be cleaned up in the purification plant beyond regulatory requirements. This would put though additional demands to Furla’s suppliers.

Energy Consumption Energy is an important factor in the product development and manufacturing. Through continuous improvements and investments in the field of energy management, a rational use of energy according to the current state of technology is guaranteed. The waste heat from their plants and offices could be reused through efficient heat recovery systems. Part of Furla’s power requirements could be covered through renewable sources which are now available in the market.

65

http://www.usm-canada.com/e-leather/index.html

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Waste Minimization Production related waste should be recycled directly in the production processes where possible. Other waste is correctly sorted and then forwarded into a recycling loop, providing that this is technically manageable. This, again, would put additional requirements to suppliers and certainly associated with investments. The ideal would be that no textile waste ended up on landfills. That means that all the materials should be recyclable â&#x20AC;&#x201C; either the material should be of such high quality that it can be used as it is or be up-cycled as fibers. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still a long way to the point where all garments travel from cradle to cradle.

Conclusion

The environmental connection is a part of the product and its use and it is a part of the design. Ecology should not be too visible, but it is an important value behind the garment. A piece of eco clothing can look exactly the same as any other (well designed) garment, but when looked more closely customer can find information of all the environmental and ethical aspects.

By launching the new sub-brand based on eco-friendly materials as well as focusing on the above aspects, Furla should in the future produce high quality and environmentally friendly products as well as to continue taking more social responsibility. It is although certain, that becoming a sustainable company is not cheap and requires additional investments not only within Furla but also puts burden on the supply chain. Obviously, the biggest environmental challenge in sustainable industry is a manufacturing process along with the right supply and selection of materials, since these processes involve chemical spill, transport, water and energy consumption, and waste issues. More knowledge of production methods and technological development will help to improve the environmental impact during the manufacturing.

Besides manufacturing, supply chain, and material selection, the importance of the role of the designer in the integration of the concept of sustainability and fashion should not be underestimated. If a good functional and eco-friendly concept is introduced, it can increase awareness of the brand and drive up revenues, which should be able to pay-back the investments.

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References Books Designskolen Kolding. 2010. Sustainable Fashion H. Eberie et al. 1998. Clothing Technology M. Fairs. 2009. London. Green Design Internet pages http://www.nurmiclothing.com/blog http://www.voisins.com/accessories-and-luggage/furla http://juliyahouse.com.ua/brand/furla/ http://www.fondazionefurla.org/ http://www.furla.com/us/style-design/ http://www.acereport.org/pvc2.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calfskin http://www.ehow.com/info_8663870_bonded-leather-process.html http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-bonded-leather.htm http://www.eleathergroup.com http://www.ecoleathergoods.co.uk/ http://www.usm-canada.com/e-leather/index.html http://grogangroup.com/479/rail-e-leather/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leather http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-10-17/news/34525462_1_furla-italian-brandmumbai-s-palladium

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Appendix 1: E-leather manufacturing process

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