MILAN — Most of the Italian fashion supply chain is made up by hyper specialized small-and-medium-sized enterprises that have collectively contributed to cementing the high-quality standards of Made in Italy.
Far from indulging in their hard-earned reputation, many have been at the forefront of innovation, keeping up with the sector’s demanding needs throughout years of seismic changes.
Not many can boast a 150-year history, though. Botto Giuseppe is marking that anniversary in 2026. The storied textile mill was established in 1876 by Giuseppe Botto Poala, known as Pin, in Valle Mosso, in the outskirts of Biella, Italy, a renowned woolen district. It has since added a second facility in Tarcento in the northeastern region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
“We have finally reached our 150th anniversary. Having the fourth generation of a family-owned business still lead the company is, I believe, statistically very rare… Every generation has had its own difficulties. I do not think there has been a single one that did not face major challenges,” said chief executive officer Silvio Botto Poala.
“The company has changed quite a lot [because] so much has happened since 1876: The first and second generations lived through two wars; then my father had to deal with a flood, which was an incredibly difficult moment, as it wiped out one facility and devastated another; then my generation faced the introduction of the euro, the 2008 financial crisis, COVID-19, and China’s foray into the market, which has swept up market dynamics,” he said.
“We’ve started over from scratch [many times] and invested heavily just to rebuild,” the executive opined.
Through many a challenge, Botto Giuseppe has tried to live up to its quality standards.
“One principle that has carried the company through these 150 years, even as so much else has changed, is quality. That is the one thing you cannot compromise on, because once you alter quality, you lose your nature,” Botto Poala said.
“Our goal is to preserve that quality and, if possible, raise it further. There are still many investments to make,” he said.
Inside the Botto Giuseppe woolen mill in Valle Mosso, Italy.
Courtesy of Botto Giuseppe
To mark the anniversary, Botto Giuseppe will celebrate with events at its Valle Mosso premises with its 350 employees and former workers, in addition to hosting a dinner for partners and clients in Florence during textile trade show Pitti Filati this week.
The Florentine fair, as well as the upcoming trade show Milano Unica, will also display a celebratory capsule collection called 360° and meant to spotlight Botto Giuseppe’s vertically integrated model and three business units of spinning, weaving and jersey making.
Centered on cashmere certified by the Sustainable Fiber Alliance, it will comprise full looks crafted from the precious material in knitted, woven and jersey constructions.
Sustainability has been an increasingly defining trait of the company, especially since Botto Poala stepped in his father’s shoes to lead the company in 2010. He shares the CEO title with his cousin Ferdinando Botto Poala, who has oversight on industrial capabilities.
“People sometimes ask me why I’m so interested in sustainability. I am because I believe it will make the difference in the future,” the executive offered. “We have already made many investments, but to do even more we need help from the downstream end of the supply chain [brands],” he said.
“That is why collaboration is essential. We need to deepen that with our clients so that we share not only the benefits of what we do, but also the goals and, above all, the costs,” he offered.
To be sure, the company has been embracing a strong sustainability journey since 2015, investing in renewable energy, for example, with solar panels and hydroelectric plants; enhancing its welfare practices; and zeroing in on material supply and manufacturing techniques with eco-credentials. Botto Giuseppe boasts certifications including the Responsible Wool Standard, the Global Recycle Standard, the Global Organic Textile Standard, and the ZDHC program on reducing chemicals, as well as the Cradle to Cradle, among others.
The company has published a yearly sustainability report since 2021.
The Botto Giuseppe factory in Valle Mosso, Italy.
Raffaele Busa/Courtesy of Botto Giuseppe
So far, the green transition has helped it navigate business with more resilience, Botto Poala opined. It was also instrumental in forging ties with luxury and premium fashion brands, which linked up with Botto Giuseppe on responsible textiles.
One such example is Ralph Lauren, which introduced Cradle to Cradle cashmere in 2023 for knitwear in its top tier collections, partnering with the textile firm to have yarns certified before also ensuring its garment makers were certified to achieve full compliance.
The Cradle to Cradle certification has been top of mind for Botto Poala, who touted its top-down assessment. The textile company introduced its first such certified yarn, Flair, in 2015 and fabric, Slowool, in 2016.
“Unlike other certifications, Cradle to Cradle … looks at the full picture, in the vein of a life-cycle assessment. It identifies the impacts along the pipeline, where intervention is needed, and encourages reducing waste so that leftover material can be recycled, whether through upcycling or downcycling,” he explained. “For us, that certification was important because it taught us a great deal about sustainability,” he said.
The CEO is very opinionated about the state of the industry and how more synergies would lead to better and more responsible products.
“Luxury has to be impeccable on product and quality. But it also has an obligation to support the upstream end of the supply chain, because the environmental impacts run throughout it. Carbon dioxide emissions, for example, largely sit upstream, at the farm level, which is where support is needed,” Botto Poala said.
Silvio Botto Poala
Courtesy of Botto Giuseppe
To this end, last year Botto Giuseppe joined a three-year pilot project spearheaded by The Woolmark Company alongside nonprofit environmental organization Pollination Group, entailing that downstream supply-chain players finance farms to support the development of regenerative agriculture and sustainable farming techniques. The Australian government will match the private companies’ contribution. “It is an excellent example of what can happen when the supply chain works together,” Botto Poala said.
Overall, the executive sees sustainability reaching a tipping point after the European Union’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, or ESPR, was finally passed in mid-2024 and is seen as driving the larger-scale adoption of the digital product passport.
“Today, real momentum around sustainability is still concentrated above all in France and the United States. France, in particular, is extremely proactive. Outside those markets, I see Italy as more limited on the topic, and in the Far East, the conversation is still far less advanced,” Botto Poala said. “I see less interest in pushing sustainability further, perhaps for cultural reasons. The French have clearly been the most aggressive in introducing sustainability laws, including measures on the impact of fast fashion,” he said.
The Congi farm in Woolbrook, Australia, is among Botto Giuseppe’s wool suppliers.
Jo Morris/Courtesy of Botto Giuseppe
“Fashion is a strategic asset for them, [but] it is for Italy, too. The country needs to protect fashion, because our supply chain has already shrunk dramatically over the past seven years… and that is a permanent loss. Once those jobs and those manufacturing capabilities disappear, you do not get them back,” he offered.
In 2025, Botto Giuseppe logged sales of 69 million euros, down 4 percent compared to the previous year, but the CEO is cautiously optimistic about 2026, despite soaring costs for raw materials and shipping.
“I am optimistic about 2026 because it was off to a good start, with sales increasing 10 percent year-on-year. I am more concerned about 2027. In this context, it’s hard to make forecasts,” he offered, citing currency fluctuations, supply costs and ongoing geopolitical instability.
The bulk of its revenues are generated in Italy, France and the U.S., with little exposure to Far Eastern countries, including Japan and South Korea.
“Looking further ahead, one possible area of investment for us is to achieve greater vertical integration. We already have a fairly integrated and complex supply chain, that spans spinning, weaving, dyeing — as we are shareholders in Romagnano, our key dye partner — through to finishing. There are still some stages we do not control internally, and in the future we could potentially bring some of them in-house,” Botto Poala said. However, this depends on market conditions. “Our sector does not offer the kind of visibility that makes five-year planning easy. This year has started on an excellent note; last year was fairly good, but 2027 is full of question marks. It may turn out to be a very good year — but for now we are playing it by ear,” he said.
