Creativity and craftmanship will differentiate the Italian sustainab-Italy offering at Downtown Dubai this week
Italy has the highest number of design companies in Europe, confirming the country’s position as one of the global leaders in this sector with 7.8 billion Euro exported worldwide.
An array of Italy’s finest creations in furniture, home accessories and lighting are on display at the Italy Pavilion at Downtown Design this week, taking place from today until 12 November at d3 in Dubai. The 39 exhibitors at the official ITA Pavilion will showcase their creativity, design and style and embody a true representation of Italy as a purveyor of culture and design innovation.
Lorenzo Fanara, Ambassador of Italy to the UAE, said “Italian design is an expression of beauty and innovation. Over the last decade, Made in Italy has also become synonymous with sustainable design. Italy’s furniture and design industry is exported around the world. It’s an industry that we are renowned for, especially here in the UAE, and one of the main Italian manufacturing sectors, a highly integrated value chain from raw material to the finished product.”
Amedeo Scarpa, Italian Trade Commissioner to the UAE continued, “The U.A.E is a fundamental market for Made in Italy. Last year we exported a record value of Euro 200 million and we celebrated the 1st semester of 2022 with an additional increase of + 21% (105 mln Euro). The driver for this success is the perfect match between the Emirati clients, who are more and more demanding in terms of quality and exclusiveness, and the flexibility of the Made in Italy offering, which is every day more committed to sustainability. This is why our motto at Downtown Design 2022 is “Sustainability is Sustainab-ITALY”.
Indeed, the Italian wood interior decoration industry is 1st in Europe and 3rd in the world in terms of circular economy, by releasing less CO2 emissions than any other large EU producers: 26 kg per thousand Euro of production, compared to 93 kgs average by the 4 main European producing countries.
Furthermore, almost all of the Italian production of chipboard panels (93%) is made entirely with recycled wood.
In terms of production processes, 64% of companies have implemented efficiency measures that reduce production waste, and more than half reuse internal or external waste. In the last three years, 44% have activated mechanisms to reduce water consumption, including the reuse of process water. 60% of companies also procure from renewable energy sources and 40% manage to cover at least half of their needs with renewable energy.
Italy’s participation at Downtown Design is realized by ITA -Italian Trade Agency, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Confartigianato Imprese CNA (the National Confederation of the Craft Sector and Small and Medium Enterprises), CONFAPI, FIAC (the Italian Association of Cutlery, Flatware, Hollowware and Cookware Manufacturers).
For more information on Italy’s participation, download the exhibition catalogue here: https://www.ice.it/it/sites/default/files/inline-files/Catalogo%20Downtown_2022.pdf
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