Everything You Need To Know About Prato's Textile Industry

Most people reading this post probably never heard of Prato. This city of roughly 200,000 inhabitants located in the center of Italy is unknown to most, so it may be surprising to learn that Prato is to this day the largest textile center in Europe. This city manufactures 3% of all Europe’s textile production (Circular Economy Europa, 2019) and according to data from Confindustria Toscana Nord in 2022 this textile industry made a total of €1.680 million in exports (Confindustria Toscana Nord, 2023). 

This city is particularly popular for its wool yarn and fabrics, a tradition dating back to the mid-19th to the mid-20th century (Cittá di Prato, 2020). Back in 2020, Prato counted a total of almost 2500 textile industries and over 18,000 employees working in this sector. According to a Google report, every six months, the companies in Prato produce 60,000 new textile designs, 2,000 new yarns, and hundreds of new fabric collections (Google Arts & Culture, 2018). 

Plenty of businesses all over the world keep choosing Prato for its sustainability efforts, the top-notch quality of its textiles, and its constant focus on innovation. But, how does this ensure its products are as eco and environmentally friendly as possible?

Prato and Sustainability 

When it comes to sustainability, this hub is all about recycling. As the City of Prato’s official website likes to put it, Prato's textile tradition is ‘ecologically sustainable by vocation’ (Cittá di Prato, 2017). Quite interestingly, this city started to recycle its materials during wartime. It was during this period that regenerated carded wool, which became what today is known as ‘cardato,’ was first devised. This material was made by recycling old clothes as well as scraps from production wastes. These were then made into yarn again to be spun and woven a second time (Cittá di Prato, 2016). 

Cardato is now one of the many innovative fabrics that made Prato famous. To display the renowned ‘Cardato Recycled’ trademark, fabrics and yarns must follow three main rules. First, be manufactured in the Prato district. Second, be made from at least 65% recycled materials, and third, the companies producing them must keep track of all the data concerning their environmental impact, with a focus on CO2 emissions, as well as energy and water consumption. The ‘Cardato’ trademark follows similar rules but only requires businesses to use 60% recycled materials in their production.

The focus on recycling is what distinguishes Prato from other main textile hubs in the world. For instance, the water used by the textile factories of Prato is supplied by a system whose aim is to recycle industrial wastewater (Google Arts & Culture, 2018). This city was the first industrial district in Europe to develop a ‘closed water cycle’. This means that all the water employed in its textile production is used a second time and cleaned before being reintroduced into the environment (Circular Economy Europa, 2019). This is fundamental as, to this day, the fashion industry remains one of the most water-consuming sectors in the world. 

Another good example showing Prato’s commitment to a greener textile industry is the number of local factories that decided to endorse the Greenpeace ‘Detox My Fashion’ campaign, whose main purpose was to reduce the water pollution generated by the textile industry (PAD, 2022). Among the 80 companies that took part in this project, over one-third, 32 to be precise, were from Prato.

Despite the already incredibly positive results achieved throughout the years, the city of Prato continues to focus on innovation in the constant search for new materials and techniques able to boost the greener revolution and limit our CO2 emissions (Prato Circular City, 2021; Cittá di Prato, 2016). 

An historical production

Prato’s began to establish itself as a textile hub back in the 12th century, however, the city experienced a drop in textile activities between the 16th and 17th centuries. Luckily, production quickly recovered thanks to the many knitted caps manufactured here for the Arab markets. 

In the 19th century, Prato’s textile industry benefited from the Industrial Revolution which led to the mechanisation of most processes involved in the production of garments. Foreign investors, such as the Austrian Koessler and Mayer families contributed to the economic boom experienced by the city in this historical period, by establishing what became locally known as the ‘fabbricone’, which can be translated as ‘the big factory’. Prato’s expansion can also be attributed to the low production costs caused by the local tradition of reusing old industrial scraps and clothes. 

Before the beginning of World War II, this city’s textile industry was divided into two main categories. A low-level standard production, mainly focusing on carpets and military blankets and importing to poor markets including India and Africa, and a high-standard production creating high-quality clothes. In the years between the end of World War II and the end of the 50s, the former gradually disappeared while the latter flourished. 

In the 70s, Prato finally established itself in the global market as one of Europe’s main textile hubs, with a focus on sustainability and a preference for small businesses and firms rather than massive corporations, specialising in each process of the fabric production from spinning, warpage, weaving, dyeing, and finishing. 

Conclusion

With a rich history in the garnet industry, Prato remains one of the largest industrial districts in Italy and the most important textile centre in Europe. This city keeps producing high-quality garments ranging from yarns for the knitwear industry to non-woven textiles, as well as special fabrics for industrial uses. Thanks to its constant focus on sustainability and innovation, this city remains a positive example of how to produce high-quality textiles and fabrics without compromising on quality or causing irreversible damage to our environment.