Italy first addressed the issue of sustainable fashion a few years ago.

It started in 2012 by publishing the sustainable development manifesto of Italian fashion: ten commandments focusing on the principles that the entire industry needed to adopt.

In 2016, the first guidelines for eco-toxic standards to be complied with in manufacturing were issued.

Leading names in Italian fashion have long made sustainable development a rallying cry.

Italian fashion house Genny for example has unveiled several wholly ecological items. It uses silk that is certified 100 per cent sustainable. All collections are manufactured within a 100 km radius and the supply chain is monitored to make sure that working conditions are respected. Genny has also drawn up a charter of global values which is clearly spelled out on its garments' labels.

The fashion industry isn't very sustainable and companies have to start paying greater attention to the impact they have on the environment.

However sustainability comes at a cost. It is more expensive and the production process is longer and more complicated since the manufacturing and supply chain have to be fully adapted to these standards.

For Genny price rises may be about 30 per cent.

But the company is going ahead anyway, because it strongly believes in the approach.