SITIP AT PERFORMANCE DAYS: THE COMPANY’S SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT

The principal aim of this functional fabric fair in Munich is to showcase today’s cutting edge technical textiles, with innovative materials and captivating designs that have sustainability at their very core. It’s against this backdrop that the Bergamo-based Sitip will allow its fabrics to do the talking as the company underlines its commitment to reducing its environmental impact. A commitment that’s been demonstrated not just through the publication of its Sustainability Report, and the plethora of certifications obtained, but also by recently joining the UN Global Compact initiative.

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Since 2008, the Performance Days event has been attracting designers, stylists and specialists from brands and companies throughout the textile industry, bringing them under one roof bi-annually for a B2B event that shines a spotlight on today’s cutting edge yarns and fabrics.

The upcoming edition will take place in Munich, Germany, on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th March, providing a first-hand preview of the latest innovations that clothing companies will be featuring in their spring/summer 2025 collections, as well as in their colour cards for winter 2024/25. Indeed, the PERFORMANCE DAYS fair enables companies to showcase the solutions they’ve developed for a wide variety of uses, but which share the same "performance" characteristics in terms of recent advances in textile science, with a particular focus on sustainability for a market that’s traditionally had a significant impact on the environment.

SITIP AT PERFORMANCE DAYS. Sitip Technical Textiles will be among the exhibitors at the 30th edition (Hall 1, Booth F13-F14) with a range of fabrics showcasing the company's success in producing highly technical fabrics capable of meeting a wide variety of sports sector applications, from cycling to outdoor pursuits. In recent years, with the wider use of certified recycled yarns, textile production has become increasingly more sustainable.

A COMPETITIVE PARTNERSHIP. The pieces featured at the Sitip booth include the SCOTT Racing Team kit for the 2023 cycling season. The Italian mountain bike team will wear a jersey produced using Sitip recycled fabrics made using the ROICA™ EF premium sustainable recycled stretch yarn from Asahi Kasei. More specifically, two fabrics made from post-consumer recycled polyester, and which are GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certified, were chosen: Native-Bicimania and Native-Pirata, both featuring the NATIVE Sustainable Textiles and MICROSENSE soft performance technologies that render the fabric super-comfortable on the skin, is easy care and provides maximum breathability during physical activity. The SCOTT Racing Team kit, produced by Rosti, also includes shorts made using Native-Thunderbike Power fabric that’s produced using pre-consumer recycled polyamide and ROICA™ EF premium recycled stretch yarn from Asahi Kasei. This fabric, which is specifically designed for high-performance sports, ensures breathability, comfort and fit and is particularly ideal for cycling shorts: no-see-through with maximum UV protection (UPF 50+) provided by the ECLIPSE Sun protection technology.

THE CHOICE FOR THE PERFORMANCE FORUM. Sitip has chosen one of its many fabrics for the Performance Forum, the perfect platform for introducing the most state-of-the-art innovations, with a focus on fluorocarbon-free, bluesign-certified and recycled products. Since 2019, to be selected and exhibited at Performance Days, it has been a prerequisite that all fabrics must meet exacting sustainability requirements and standards. This year's theme will follow in the footsteps of past editions: “On The Journey to CO2 Neutrality - Create. Align. Compare.” The theme is part of a much larger project, supported by the event organizers, the clear aim of which is to feature only those companies able to demonstrate, with irrefutable data, that they’ve reduced the levels of CO2 generated by their fabric production processes. The Sitip product selected by the forum is Native-Cosmopolitan Sydney, composed of 76% recycled polyamide and 24% elastane (130 g), which is particularly suitable for producing women's leggings and tops. This is a fine-gauge post-consumer recycled fabric featuring the NATIVE Sustainable Textiles technology that’s used for products made from recycled yarns and using chemicals with a low environmental impact, enabling the consumption of natural resources to be kept to a minimum. Bi-stretch, free-cut and full dull, it offers compression and excellent elastic recovery. The ECLIPSE Sun protection technology is no-see-through with maximum UV protection (UPF 50+) while the MICROSENSE soft performance technology gives the fabric a gentle softness making it pleasant to the touch and super-comfortable on the skin. This product is bluesign and OEKO-TEX certified. 

A VAST COLLECTION OF FABRICS. But that's not all. Three fabrics from the COSMOPOLITAN Fashion Tech line will also be on display in the Sistema Italia area (Booth No. N13-N14): Cosmopolitan Orion, Cosmopolitan Brera and Cosmopolitan Citylife. The first, made up of 76% polyamide and 24% elastane (135 g) is a warp-knitted fabric with a wide range of urbanwear applications. Bi-stretch, free cut and printable, it’s perfect for base layers, such as tops and shirts, and leggings. Cosmopolitan Brera, 75% polyamide and 25% elastane (170 g), is also warp-knitted and is primarily used for men's/women's athleisure pieces and shirts. Bi-stretch and free cut, this material offers compression, excellent elastic recovery and is printable. The ECLIPSE Sun protection technology is no-see-through with maximum UV protection (UPF 50+). Finally, Cosmopolitan Citylife, also composed of 75% polyamide and 25% elastane (175 g), is a warp-knitted, bi-stretch fabric widely used for urbanwear, and is ideal for "techno sartorial" garments such as men's suits. The ECLIPSE Sun protection technology is no-see-through with maximum UV protection (UPF 50+) while the MICROSENSE soft performance technology gives the garment a gentle softness making it breathable, pleasant to the touch and super-comfortable on the skin. These three fabrics are all bluesign and OEKO-TEX certified.

SITIP'S SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT. For some time now, Sitip, a Bergamo-based company that's become a benchmark brand for the production of high-performance fabrics for the sportswear and urbanwear sectors, has been paying close attention to the sustainability of its fabric production processes, not just environmental but also from a social and ethical perspective. The company, which has its headquarters in Cene, in the province of Bergamo, published its first Sustainability Report in 2022, holds various certifications, and recently joined the UN Global Compact initiative. UN Global Compact is a global network of 17,000 companies and 4,000 non-profit organisations that have chosen to commit to building a more sustainable future. It’s a call for companies around the world to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles covering the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, as well as to actively support the UN's objectives and themes incorporated in its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About Sitip

Established in 1959 by Luigi Pezzoli in the heart of the Seriana Valley, near Bergamo, Italy, and currently managed by the second generation of that same family, Sitip is a benchmark brand in the production of synthetic and stretch warp-knitted fabrics, as well as circular knitted fabrics, for technical industrial applications and clothing, particularly sportswear and urbanwear. A major aspect of the company's approach is the research and development it conducts in close cooperation with its clients and partners, enabling Sitip to become a key player in the textile sector. A strong commitment towards reducing its environmental impact and a desire to constantly focus on taking an ethical approach resulted in the company publishing its first Sustainability Report in 2021, underpinned by various certifications, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 50001, bluesign®, OEKO-TEX® and GRS. Sitip S.p.A. exports to all corners of the globe from its Italian production sites in Cene in the province of Bergamo, Asolo in the province of Treviso through its subsidiary Accoppiatura Di Asolo, and from Malta through its subsidiary Nylon Knitting Ltd. The company employs more than 600 people and its consolidated turnover for 2022 was 120 million euros.