It is time “to take stock”, we must “draw up a budget”: these are recurring phrases in the business world and beyond, which can very well represent the pride of telling a story, perhaps a successful one, but also at times communicating the monotony of mostly having our sight turned to the past.

Not that the past is not important, on the contrary: with its ability to keep track of our mistakes, contradictions, results and facts, the past constitutes an inexhaustible source of learning – for those who have the ability and intention to seek answers in the experience gained.

The Yamamay Sustainability Report – in this fourth edition – offers a unique, fascinating feature, that gives this tool a topical and modern touch: in fact, the reporting and analysis activity of the financial year ended on December 31 is enhanced with a dimension made of future planning, communication of objectives, sharing of strategies and demonstration of a programmatic orientation. All elements able to constitute – for the corporate organisation and for stakeholders – a valuable support to understand the evolution of the company within the framework of ESG policies and goals of the 2030 Agenda, combined with the ongoing regulatory revolution for the textile-fashion and retail industry at a European level.

The impression that one gets from reading this full-bodied, compelling document, is that Yamamay is an active part of this ongoing transformation process that seeks to guide the textile industry to evolve under the banner of sustainable capitalism, as a first person bearer of values, orientations, actions and commitments, as part of a discontinuity based on innovation and ethics.

The key to change is eco-design and its pillar is sustained by a deep rooting of the brand’s everyday positive values, which would become sterile if innovation and attention to people were not constantly practiced by our organisation’s leadership.

To change the world, we must be revolutionary in all those small things, we must have the courage to question customs and habits and we must dissolve any tension that may arise from the temptation to put our ego at the centre.

Only dialogue, collective intelligence and creativity can help us to deliver a better world to our children, in which the common good is the good of all and where “well-being” can be built starting from what we wear.

We should also add that in this complicated period of “polycrisis” and transformation, private organisations cannot act in isolation: creating a system, connecting proactively at all levels with employers’ associations and institutions, helps to create virtuous practices and a sense of community. This, because the example and learning that derive from networking, represent a resource that we simply cannot do without. So I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who, in the associative system, make their time, skills and energy available in favour of companies like ours.

I would also like to send a further heartfelt thanks from Yamamay to the volunteers who make possible the meritorious activity of DIANA ODV Luisa Romano: with few resources and a great deal of commitment, these brave individuals remind us just how much feelings and determination can make a positive difference in so many lives, without distinction of gender, age, social status or nationality.

Lastly, I would like to close my speech by underlining precisely how the production of value, economic growth and financial balance are the key dimensions that today, more than ever, must be part of the culture and objectives of a company that seeks to be increasingly responsible and sustainable.

There cannot be and there must not be a dichotomy between values and capital, between profit and the environment, between ethics and commitment: the Sustainability Report also highlights this, in its strengths as well as in the areas where it is necessary to take action to ensure a significant improvement. We can become more sustainable and we can do it much faster and much more profoundly if we truly embrace the capacity to welcome change within us.

It’s time for everyone to help make a difference, together.


Francesco Pinto
Chairman