What is the short supply chain?
The short supply chain is a production and distribution model that minimizes intermediaries between producer and consumer, promoting sustainability, transparency, and local development.
This approach is particularly widespread in the agri-food sector, where it often translates into direct sales, farmers' markets, solidarity purchasing groups (GAS), or zero-kilometer shops.
However, the concept can also be applied to other production areas, such as our case of ethical clothing production totally Made in Italy: from wool to sweater.
Proximity and enhancement of the territory
One of the central aspects of the short supply chain is proximity, which can be geographical (local products), economic (direct relationship between producer and buyer), or relational (trust and transparency). This model allows shortening physical and social distances, strengthening the bond between territory, producers, and community.
In particular Lanaioli has chosen to acquire from some breeders in Italy, located in the Lazio and Abruzzo Regions, wool derived from local merino-cross sheep breeds for the production of its own line of knitwear and accessories at Km0.
The advantages of the short supply chain in the textile sector
The advantages of the short supply chain in the textile sector in which we operate are many:
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🌱 Environmental sustainability: by reducing transport and packaging, CO₂ emissions and the overall environmental impact are lowered.
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🐑 Valorization of the territory: local productions, native varieties, and agricultural and breeding traditions of endangered breeds are promoted.
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🔍 Greater transparency: the consumer can know the origin of the product, the production techniques, and often even the face of the person who made it.
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⚖️ Fairer price for everyone: by eliminating intermediaries, the farmer can obtain a fairer margin and the consumer can access quality products at a competitive price.
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🏘️ Local economic development: the money spent by the consumer stays in the territory, contributing to the vitality of rural and artisanal economies. A significant added value that involves all actors in the supply chain and not just the final part.
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🤝 Ethical management of farms and labor: European and Italian regulations where the farms acquiring wool for Lanaioli short supply chain garments are located provide stricter rules compared to other countries regarding animal welfare and the living conditions of workers in the agro-pastoral sector.
Challenges in the short supply chain of knitwear
As in other sectors, the short supply chain applied to textiles and our knitwear also presents some challenges.
In fact, logistics can be more complex for small producers, the variety of products may be limited compared to large-scale distribution, and the continuity of supply may depend on seasonal or climatic factors.
The application of European regulations on the management of dirty wool (the raw wool that is then washed and processed to make yarn), effectively treated as waste, to be managed with dedicated transport, procedures, and hygiene standards to be followed throughout the processing, can make the processing more costly and lengthy.
Added to this is the disappearance of washing and wool treatment plants on national territory, now almost entirely delegated to countries located outside the EU due to lower costs and fewer regulatory constraints elsewhere, which makes local processing more complex, but not impossible.
Future developments according to the Lanaioli short supply chain philosophy
Despite the difficulties, the growing attention to quality, sustainability, and the ethics of consumption has made the short supply chain increasingly popular, and our brand intends to be a protagonist of this new common awareness.
It is a model that responds to a conscious and responsible demand, capable of combining individual and collective well-being, which will inevitably come back into the spotlight in the coming years, because sooner or later the fast-fashion system will no longer be sustainable either economically or ethically.
