Luxury streetwear and ethic sustainability in the Made in Italy brand R3UNITE

Over the last few years, sustainability has become one of the most important issues in the fashion industry, an awareness from which to start imagining a different future. In the months of the lockdown, the story of an Italian and under 30 start-up that combines the experience and love for fashion and textiles with the social awareness typical of late millennials began. R3UNITE is the project founded by Emanuele Bianchi - with a degree in Economics at Bocconi University and one in Management in London - together with his brother Francesco and friend Matteo Sommaruga.

R3UNITE was founded with the aim of using fashion as a means for social change and of expression. The emphasis is therefore on durability, on the de-seasoning of the garments, that are seasonless, genderless, minimal, made to withstand the test of time. The brand's sales model is also based on the drop mechanism, a practice dear to the streetwear world, which avoids stock and unsold items, limits waste and optimizes production.

The union to which the brand name refers is the basis of the project: each drop - launch/collection - is linked to a social or environmental goal, that comes to an end at the end of the collection. Every launch features a limited number of pieces: during the launch period, part of the revenue is channelled towards the social project linked to the drop. The first launch, set in October, will see hoodies, t-shirts and bandanas work towards financing two objectives: the first is the reforestation of a mountainous area in Ethiopia, in partnership with the non-profit organization Green Ethiopia. The second for the recovery and disposal of plastic dispersed in the Mediterranean, in collaboration with the Australian tech company Seabin Project.