A model to follow to protect the planet: 100% green products and entirely made in Italy.


“Sustainability is not fashion, it is a law” - Oscar Di Montigny

Sustainability. A term so used in so many sectors as to inflate the concept, emptying it of its true meaning. This is not the case for the Gabel Group for which sustainability is a real imperative, "a law" (as Oscar Di Montigny argues in his aphorism - which well represents the culture of the Como company) to which we must all adhere in daily life . Not only.

It is important that the human being perceives that companies are subjects who live in the present and participate in the construction of the future: a profound revision in a green key must therefore also be implemented at the company level, both in production and in consumption.

Today the social responsibility of a company does not consist only in donations or sponsorships and must be imperatively applied to the daily business management: for this reason the Gabel Group has been at the forefront of protecting the health of its employees and those who use it since its inception. their garments, in full respect of Nature, the Planet and the generations to come.

The Gabel Group is the only Italian textile company that has chosen to invest and produce in Italy and does so by focusing on high quality, ethical and sustainable standards, offering - through its four brands - Gabel1957 and Somma 1867, Pretti and VallesusaCasa - collections that express Italian style and creativity, and over the years adopting increasingly concrete environmental policies, as summarized below:

 

  • 1957: Style, innovation and sustainability


The company was founded in 1957, with solid roots, between Como and Sondrio, absorbing that culture of taste, quality and internationality typical of the area which has always been the cradle of textile creativity. A "home made" production, a real "industrial tailoring", which offers very high quality in every phase of the production cycle, thanks to a chain managed and controlled entirely in Italy, starting from weaving up to the finishing of fabrics, through conscious choice of the best yarns - wool and cotton - processed and woven with the most modern production lines, up to the realization of the finished product.

A sensitive and socially responsible attitude has led Gabel to follow production process logics aimed at impacting less and less on nature, with studies in research and development of increasingly less invasive printing and finishing techniques. The company philosophy encourages, day after day, to make decisions and implement maneuvers of respect and love for the environment and well-being for its employees. All this is reflected in the well-being that the company wants to convey to its customers, guaranteeing an Italian and sustainable product since the late 1950s.

 

  • 1970s: Water purifiers and green energy

In the mid-1970s, the architect Gregotti built the headquarters in Rovellasca (Como) and subsequently the studio followed the construction of the extensions and constructions of the Group's production and logistics plants (Rovellasca and Buglio in Monte), using cutting-edge technologies : the building, one of the most representative industrial architectures designed, uses only certified green energy, coming from renewable sources, purifiers (installed when it was not yet mandatory by law!) and a very advanced water recycling system that allows to protect the environment, sustainability choices also adopted for all the stores owned by the Group, GabelCasa.

Since the 1980s, the Group has thus fully controlled the supply chain: from the production of clean energy, in the hydroelectric plant on the Isonzo, to weaving, printing and dyeing (finishing) up to the packaging of the finished product.

 

  • 1999: Naturae Collection and WWF Italy Oasis

In 1999, Gabel1957 supported the WWF Italy Oases and does so concretely through Naturae, one of the brand's most iconic and famous collections, which has always been characterized by timeless charm and elegance. The collection, created for over 20 years exclusively with natural fibers in full respect of the environment, stems from the desire to use untreated cotton to create the least possible impact on the environment, in full compliance with the regulations on its protection of nature and that of people.

Naturae is a 100% Made in Italy and certified production that is characterized by the use of raw cotton fabric that is neither bleached nor over-dyed and is still today one of Gabel's iconic collections.

 

  • 2018: Reduction of plastic consumption


The National Observatory on Sustainable Lifestyle found that in 2019 sustainability was a reason of interest for 34 million Italians, 67% of the population; 97% of citizens believe it is essential to reduce the use of plastic through awareness campaigns and targeted laws, in fact the majority has welcomed the decision of the European Union to ban the use and throw away from 2021.

To further enhance the commitment "towards a greener world", the Gabel Group has undertaken to drastically reduce the consumption of plastic for packaging; The data collected by the Company in the last three years is impressive: in 2018 95.3 tons of plastic were consumed, in 2019 consumption decreased by 11% reaching 85.1 tons, to reach 30 tons * today, for a appreciable decrease of about 65%.

(* actual data as at 30 July 2020, total forecast based on an estimate of consumption up to 31 December 2020).

To make up for this decrease, the Group has created new totally PLASTIC FREE packaging: the finished product is now wrapped in a fabric - always GOTS certified - closed with a simple cord of twine or "recycled" fabric, embellished with a paper label in which tells of the certification and placed in a 100% plastic free envelope.

 

  • 2019: The Code of Ethics and a famous international certification


2019 is a fundamental step for the Company, which collects a series of important results regarding ethics and sustainability: among the most important, the stipulation and adoption of a very innovative internal Code of Ethics, drawn up as a guarantee and reconfirmation of corporate values.

The target? To inspire behavior and tell the principles that animate the Company every day, to strongly reaffirm the culture and the set of values ​​in which the Group recognizes itself.

The intention is therefore to adopt a Code of Ethics that summarizes the principles and rules of conduct that must inspire the Company's activities, with the clear objective of forming a solid ethical integrity and a company philosophy that leads to compliance with the laws in vigor and love for the environment and well-being for employees.

At the end of the year another important objective: the Como-based company proudly announces the recognition of the prestigious STeP by OEKO-TEX® (Sustainable Textile Production), the environmental certification for ecological textile plants that wish to communicate, in a transparent and credible way, its own path towards more sustainable production conditions. There are very few Italian companies that today can boast such an important certification, which rewards companies that stand out for ethical and environmental responsibility.

STeP is a certification made possible thanks to a path that has led the Gabel Group to choose to invest and produce over 93% of products in Italy, an operation that not only guarantees high quality standards typical of Made in Italy but which at the same time ensures special attention to the impact on the environment of production processes which, outside of Italy, cannot be totally controlled. A complete analysis of corporate and social sustainability led to obtaining a very positive assessment from the audit that placed the company in the highest segment (the third level), that of "best practices".

Two important corporate objectives for a clear, transparent, fair Corporate Social Responsibility, always aimed at the well-being of people and the protection of the environment.

 

  • 2020: the second certification: Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)


At the beginning of 2020, the GOTS certification, the most important internationally, was awarded for the sustainable production of textile products made with natural fibers from organic farming.

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) refers to an independent certification system for the entire textile production chain. The use of organic natural fibers, their traceability along the production chain and the adoption of eco-sustainable processes, has led to the formalization of the international GOTS standard, which allows the production and promotion of textile products that respect the environment and fundamental social rights. of workers.

GOTS was developed by international organizations - leaders in organic agriculture - in order to guarantee the consumer that organic textile products are obtained in compliance with stringent environmental and social criteria, applied at all levels of production: for example, only products containing at least 70% of natural fibers from organic farming can obtain certification. The GOTS certification excludes the use of harmful chemicals, providing for restrictive rules on wastewater treatment and imposing procedures to reduce water and energy consumption. The social criteria of the international labor organization must also be respected, regarding safe working conditions, the absence of discrimination and of course the prohibition of child labor.

 

  • March 2020: the Memoria collection and the GOTS certification


Thus was born Memoria di Somma1867, not a simple collection, but a choice.

The investment of a totally Italian company, a project that has become a message of love for future generations. A collection capable of combining environmental and social sustainability values, without giving up the love for beauty and well-made products.

It is an iconic line, characterized by precious, timeless solid colors, which was promptly recognized the GOTS certification.

With Memoria di Somma1867, the Group confirms this desire for increasingly sustainable choices and paths.

In Italy there is nothing similar to this collection and it is also a proudly homegrown production: Memoria loudly recounts the values ​​of Somma1867 with style and charm. Somma1867 currently intercepts an increasingly urgent need for well-being and sustainability: well-being intended as a relief from the daily frenzy, choosing to live with serenity in an ethically sustainable way.

 

  • July 2020: the Ethos collection: a cry for help for a future in full respect of nature


Respect for the environment, despite having deep roots in the Gabel Group, is finalized with Ethos by Gabel1957, the new collection with which the company confirms its mission, its values ​​and its sustainable choices undertaken for decades and actively engages in safeguarding the planet for the next generations.

In Italy it is confirmed that it is mainly women and girls who are most interested in sustainability: it was the young designers, creative minds of the company and particularly sensitive to the subject, who conceived and created this entire collection.

A "conscious" choice of yarns characterizes the entire collection: the bed and bathroom sets are in pure cotton certified by GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards); natural components (cotton, wool, kapok and latex) and regenerated (such as down and polyester, with GRS certification) were used for the quilts and bed accessories.

Thanks to a completely natural packaging, Ethos is 100% eco-sustainable: all the products in the collection have been packaged with an envelope that guarantees adequate protection, characterized by a low environmental impact. Boxes, bands, brackets, pendants are made with paper and cardboard obtained from a woody raw material, deriving from forests managed in an ethically and ecologically sustainable manner, produced by FSC and PEFC certified companies (paper obtained from responsibly managed forests). The protective bags are made of mater-bi, cotton or regenerated and certified polyester.

And to further strengthen the message of love for our Planet, for the first time in 60 years, only for this collection, Gabel1957 "dresses again" its logo, changing its iconic color: abandoned the historic red, the logo is tinged with dove gray, a shade that strongly recalls the earth, flora, fauna and the environment that surrounds us, so that Nature's cries for help can reach us all loud and clear.

Nature observes us and Ethos by Gabel1957 represents its face. The inertia that has characterized modern society in recent years can no longer be either an alibi or a refuge.