OSMO is still an international reference point in the ecological field: the bio- derived products range for wet and finishing phases has been launched
“In these two years we have made a sort of revolution, finally launching on the market the new project called ZenZero, represented by a range of bio-derived products for environmental sustainability used for wet and finishing phases.” In line with this strategy, the four owners of OSMO, based in Arzignano (Vicenza province), confirm to be at the top in terms of attention to the environment. The company, specialized in the production and sale of technical chemicals and dyes for the tanning sector, founded in 2006 and led by entrepreneurs Andrea Piazza, Ludovico Massignan, Fabrizio Nicoletti and Paolo Armelli, stood out among protagonists the at the EuroCongress, hosted last September in Vicenza, also being one of the sponsors and supporters of the entire event.
That’s exactly where we met, inside their stand (as seen in the photo), the four owners of the OSMO Group, also owners of the HTF brand, who explained us the project and the future prospects of the company in detail.
“ZenZero features a very high percentage of bio-derived substance, which means vegetable, therefore not derived from fossil carbon or oil. Most are almost 100% bio-derived, obviously all tested on the leather and on samples. A two-year period of work has guaranteed an excellent result, so much that these products are already used in the tanneries. The path we are pursuing is the right one, given that a renewed ecological awareness is spreading in the tanning sector and is changing little by little the way to work leather.”
How have the scenarios changed in the last decade?
“Interventions aimed at improving process technologies or treating polluting effluents have led to a reduction of the most evident negative effects on the environment, but the path pursuing the research and development of cleaner technologies still seems long. Legislations get stricter every day, with increasingly stringent specifications regarding the environment and the finished product. The large manufacturers of leather goods want hypoallergenic, metal- free products, but they also want them to keep unvaried characteristics and performance that only chrome leather has been able to give over decades of leather processing history.”
Ultimately something is changing…
“Yes, but we would like that, apart from big names that require the use of eco- sustainable products, also others would start to seek for items made with processes with a reduced environmental impact. Our ambition is that it becomes a common desire, which goes beyond mere economic and propaganda interests. ZenZero is the frame in which this idea is enclosed: environmental impact aiming to zero, process balance in harmony with the ecosystem. A journey meant to explore and draw a precise path towards a shared goal.”
Can the ZenZero Project represent a turning point in the field of environmental sustainability?
“It is certainly a path that has been started, which will characterize 2023 but also the following years, so it will be our future, a method that can be followed in the tannery to protect the environment, without risk of pollution and more in contact with nature. All without forgetting the technological evolution, connected to it as well. In particular, those who ask to proceed with these strategies are fashion brands; as chemicals company, we often sit at the tables with the brands’ technicians to develop new projects. Consequently, we know in advance their strategies and how we need to move towards the future. It is our duty to keep on carrying out R&D activities, a field in which we invest considerable resources every year: it’s a wellstructured department, headed by engineer Nicoletti (one of the partners, ed.) and made of engineers and graduates in chemistry, but also equipped with a staff with over 40 years of direct experience in the tanning sector.”
How do you overcome the challenges of a “race forward” that always requires improvement?
“The basic thing is going beyond mere theory; for us, the support of longtime tanning technicians is essential to combine technology with practice, therefore with industrialization. We work daily to improve ourselves; we are already developing something new for the future, but we cannot unveil anything. We are sure, however, that it will be something sustainable not only from an environmental point of view, but also from an entrepreneurial point of view, because the final goal is to make the right leathers. Often research in other contexts only means studying a prototype: one thing is to carry out the experiment in the laboratory with flasks, another is to guarantee a highquality, sustainable final product. That’s the case of Cosmowhite, launched in recent years, which manages to develop a 90% biodegradable leather. We were among the first to offer a solution to be applied to industrial products.”
Do you currently consider yourselves at the international top in environmental sustainability?
“We are, as demonstrated by the goals achieved in recent years. For example, we have already solved the problem of aldehyde, for us it no longer exists, since with our products it is possible to work leather without chrome and aldehyde. At the Congress in Vicenza, we displayed leathers treated with our products, where the label specifies that despite the absence of these two substances, all possible processes can be done. In 2017 we took part in Lineapelle, together with a tannery, our client, which showcased biodegradable leathers, bags and shoes treated with our products.
The current OSMO market? The export share is around 20%, but we believe there is room for growth. Currently we are mainly working in Europe, the goal is to enter other world markets.”
In the search for the best sustainability, according to the same highquality features, what role do the big names play?
“It is important that luxury brands do their part: however, by expecting impossible performances there’s the risk to volatilize the work behind it. Probably this subject has become a “cultural topic”; we technicians who work on the front line are making a mistake by always saying “yes”. The tanneries try to please the big names and then they address to the chemicals companies, without realizing that some of the requests are unattainable: in fact, there are limits, established by chemistry and physics, beyond which one cannot go. On the other hand, we cannot wage war alone: the tanning trade associations should sit down to make it clear how far can we go.”
On the left: Andrea Piazza, Ludovico Massignan, Fabrizio Nicoletti e Giampaolo Arnelli