April 2021
The environment is an increasingly significant subject for consumers and many companies are now adopting eco-friendly strategies, technologies and products. Bikes are by definition an environmentally sustainable means of transport so bike lovers in particular are increasingly focusing on new ways to help safeguard the environment. Santini Cycling Wear has always been a keen Zero Miles advocate. It also introduced several models made from recycled fabrics in 2020 and this year added TIPA compostable packaging to the mix. Even the World Champion jerseys have been sustainable since January 2021!
It is fair to say that sports people are sensitive to the issue of environmental sustainability but cyclists are particularly so because they live their passion for cycling in the open air. In urban contexts, the city bike is the physical manifestation of many people’s conscious decision to seek a virtually impact-free alternative to cars.
One of the many Italian companies in the cycling sector, Santini Cycling Wear has been working hard for quite some time on implementing a concrete programme to reduce its environmental impact. Based in the Bergamo area of Northern Italy, it has been making cycling clothing wear for over a half a century and has been working closely with several other local (and thus Zero Miles) technical textile manufacturers. Furthermore, Santini also switched to making facemasks during the Covid crisis last year and worked with a supply chain of five companies in the Bergamo area to do so. Nonetheless, Zero Miles is not the only environmentally friendly choice the company has made as since 2020, Santini has also been using fabrics made from recycled and recovered materials.
This was initially done for the jerseys made for the Trek Segafredo men’s and women’s World Tour road racing teams. In the same spirit, the replica versions for retail sale were also made from recycled fabrics. Because both of the latter experiences proved so successful, this year, Santini extended its use of eco-friendly fabrics to two jerseys from the cycling collection, the Eco Sleek Dinamo and the Eco Raggio (see box at end for full details). The official jersey for the Granfondo Stelvio Santini will also be made from two Polartec fabrics made from recycled PET bottles: Polartec Power Dry recycled and Polartec Delta recycled.
Fabrics made from recycled yarn will be also used for the World Champion Rainbow Jersey: all winners of UCI world titles will be stepping onto the top step on the podium wearing an eco-friendly jersey also. A double victory in other words!
Last but certain no less important is Santini’s decision regarding the packaging of its products. Since January 2021, international compostable packaging company TIPA has been supplying the packaging for its jerseys, cycling bib shorts and all the rest of its range, with the aim of replacing all plastic bags with green solutions. The new packaging looks exactly like regular plastic but is fully compostable and biodegradable thanks to a mix of special polymers, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional wrapping materials. In fact, if it is disposed of in your organic waste bag or bin, it will disintegrate within six months and completely biodegrade within a year (for further information: https://tipa-corp.com/). Given that Santini produces over 1.2 million garments per year, we can just imagine the amount of plastic this prevents ending up in the environment!
SANTINI’S ECO-FRIENDLY JERSEYS FROM THE 2021 CYCLING COLLECTION
Eco Sleek Dinamo Jersey (men)
This men’s jersey from the Santini spring/summer 2021 collection featuring 100% recycled fabrics: RECY by Corno Ecofabric is made from recycled yarn woven from a combination of used materials and others discarded in the environment, while Sitip’s Native – Ecoknit is also made from recycled fibres and yarns without the use of polluting chemicals to reduce natural resource consumption and our dependency on non-renewable energy sources. The Eco Sleek Dinamo jersey has the same fabrics and characteristics as the jersey worn by Team Trek-Segafredo for the 2020 season. It has a body-hugging, aerodynamic fit and features a striped design in a choice of four colours: black, navy blue, khaki, and silver grey.
Eco Sleek Raggio Jersey (women)
A women’s jersey from the Santini spring/summer 2021 collection featuring 100% recycled fabrics: RECY by Corno Ecofabric is made from recycled yarn woven from a combination of used materials and others discarded in the environment, while Sitip’s Native – Ecoknit is also made from recycled fibres and yarns without the use of polluting chemicals to reduce natural resource consumption and our dependency on non-renewable energy sources. The Raggio jersey has a sleek body-hugging fit and the same characteristics as the one worn by the Team Trek-Segafredo athletes for the 2020 season. It has an optical striped motif and is available in silver grey with blue/green detailing, black with grey/strawberry details, navy blue with orange details and purple burgundy with pink/fuchsia detailing.
