Page 11 - Sustainability Report 2019

expand through a number of acquisitions. In the early 2000s, economic changes in the world of fashion and, most of all, the silk industry drove greater synergy and a subsequent strengthening of the balance sheet.
In 2010 an agreement was reached with the Marzotto textiles Group and with Faber Five Srl, which became shareholders of Ratti SpA, holding a controlling interest. Donatella Ratti, daughter of the founder,
is currently Chairman of the Ratti Group, one of the largest manufacturers in the world of fabrics with a high technological and creative content.
Ratti SpA is a member of organisations including Confindustria (Unindustria Como and Sistema Moda Italia) and Centro Tessile Serico. In 2018 it also became a member of the BCI (Better Cotton Initiative, an association consisting of producers, intermediaries and non-profit groups) to promote the cultivation of sustainable cotton that respects the environment.
The other companies in the Ratti Group are not members of any national or international associations.
Mission, vision and values
In a world that is built on the search for beauty, Ratti operates by taking great care of and enhancing its work.
RATTI GROUP | Sustainability report 2019
Ratti chosen by Deloitte
Ratti has been chosen by Deloitte as part of its study
of “Made in Italy” and Italian excellence. The study is titled “Making IT – fitting the future”.
This survey, which was presented to the European Parliament
in Brussels, is a collection of interviews aimed at deepening knowledge of the fashion industry from the experiences of 25 entrepreneurs who form part of Made in Italy – their norm.
The book, produced by Deloitte with assistance from Scuola Holden in Turin, places an emphasis on the points of strength of the sector, as it
does on the challenges that are leading the sector as a whole to consider how to do business in Italy. The analysis showed that the fashion sector represents the excellence of Made in Italy at international level. Its reputation
is based not only on the quality of materials but also on intangible aspects of production such as creativity and the savoir-faire of craftsmanship.
In this context, Ratti was chosen because for over seventy years it has represented one of most important voices in the world
of printing. It is one of the few points of excellence in terms of creativity, professionalism and sustainable responsibility.
Since 1945 it has, in fact, encapsulated a world of aesthetic and ethical values in which style is a natural dimension. It is this working approach that led to Ratti being selected for this survey, with the aim of telling a story
of expertise and beauty that is deeply ingrained in its people and their talents.
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It was Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, who accelerated the growth of the world of silk, obliging the local peasants to plant mulberry trees throughout the kingdom and, in this way, favouring the development of this new textile and replacing traditional wool production.
This was a forward-looking vision which, according to many historians of economics, represented the first seeds of Lombardy’s characteristic entrepreneurial spirit.
The start of this trend in the seventeenth century meant that Italy, and Como in particular, became a centre of excellence in the production of wonderfully designed and coloured fabrics.
The industrial revolution, between the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century, spread twisting and spinning machines throughout the area. Growers of mulberry trees and producers of spinning machines became entrepreneurs in the most modern sense of the word – they were able to create a new culture as they were the unique custodians of a wealth of knowledge and inimitable craftsmanship.
The twentieth century then became the century that consecrated Italian style throughout the world, with Como at the forefront of the great Italian and international luxury and fashion groups.
it was yesterday