Sustainability innovator celebrates 10 years of progress

“Our industry changed quicker than our design studios,” says Giusy Bettoni, founder of C.L.A.S.S., the eco-conscious consultancy hub based in Milan which celebrated its 10-year anniversary by hosting “an evening of smart innovation” on International Water Day. FashionUnited sat down with her at the elegant NYC event to evaluate a decade of progress in a loft hung with handmade textile installations using responsibly innovated fibers by Cecile Feilchenfeldt, a Paris-based knitwear designer who works with couture houses, while nibbling on amuse-bouches of roots, seeds and vegetable confections that pay homage to nature, and fair-trade chocolate. “Organic or green or even sustainable no longer resonate,” says Giusy. “When we say smart we mean a precise thing. We innovate. We don’t say that casually. We know that our Reverso wool saves 80 percent of water because a third party has done an assessment and also found it to be so.”