MILAN — Renzo Rosso, founder of OTB, has increasingly been embracing his more public and institutional role. So much so that, on Tuesday, he was in Rome at the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy to present Minister Adolfo Urso the M.A.D.E. — Made in Italy, Made Perfectly — campaign.

The campaign is aimed at promoting and enhancing the Italian fashion and luxury goods industry and its vital supply chain and is an acronym for Manual Dexterity, Artisanal Skill, Dedication and Excellence, shining a light on OTB’s suppliers, as well as the bond forged with them over the years.

Urso acknowledged that the project is a strategic initiative for the promotion of Italian products, in line with the government’s proposal to establish a national Made in Italy Day. Accordingly, the campaign, which OTB will launch through its communication platforms, will culminate in the Made in Italy Day that the Council of Ministers has set for April 15.

“The small producers, the artisan enterprises, the true artists are the ones who are the lifeblood of the Italian fashion supply chain. It is thanks to them that Made in Italy is recognized and loved around the world,” Rosso said. “With this campaign, we want to turn the spotlight on the artisans who produce beautiful and well-made Italian products, in which creativity, craftsmanship and innovation meet.”

OTB comprises Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor&Rolf, as well as manufacturing companies Staff International and Brave Kid, and holds a minority stake in the Amiri brand.

The initiative coincides with the 10th anniversary of the C.A.S.H. (Credito Agevolato, or facilitated credit-Suppliers’ Help) project launched by OTB, which aims to provide concrete support to the Italian fashion supply chain.

OTB, continued Rosso, has over the years offered “its supply chain opportunities for growth, training, innovation, digital and technological transformation, and guidelines for respecting the values of sustainability and transparency. To really help the supply chain and Made in Italy production, we cannot think in terms of aid and the government cannot do everything on its own: the resources must be invested well and so they must be entrusted to large and medium-sized companies that have the tools to manage them and the ability to support the smaller ones, helping them to develop and grow.”

Rosso expressed his pride in OTB’s commitment to C.A.S.H. “which has provided our suppliers with financial stability and security.” With the campaign, he said the aim is “to raise awareness of the value of the companies and professionalism behind the finished products we see on runways and in stores all over the world.”

The campaign will present the artisans’ faces, materials and working environments, paying tribute to unsung heroes, their expertise and their fundamental work behind the scenes. They will be selected according to specific criteria, ranging from their long-term relationship with the group, to their participation in the C.A.S.H. project, and their focus on sustainability and innovation.

The participating companies are located in different regions of Italy and belong to the textile, ready-to-wear, footwear, tannery and leather goods, and metal accessories sectors.

“With good reason, M.A.D.E.’s aim is to turn the spotlight on the wealth of knowledge and know-how of all those who create value every day, through their work, in all the stages of the supply chain,” Urso said. “This is the greatness of Italian fashion, which continues to set new records year after year: We are the leading exporter in the sector in Europe and second in the world, since our creations are considered ‘must haves’ by everyone, works of art capable of gifting the wearer a little piece of Italy that goes far beyond the garment itself.”

The Italian fashion industry has been increasingly active in aiming to protect its supply chain, where Italy’s 62,000 fashion firms are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises, according to Confindustria Moda. They form the backbone of Made in Italy production, and a supply chain that works with the best luxury brands in the world. Entrepreneurs have realized it has become essential for the future of the industry to protect this pipeline and this is expected to involve more consolidation and more M&A activity following, for example, the Ermenegildo Zegna and Prada Group’s acquisition of stakes in Filati Biagioli Modesto and in Luigi Fedeli e Figlio.

The C.A.S.H. program allows suppliers to collect their receivables from OTB in advance through a bank and offers them the opportunity to benefit from extremely favorable economic conditions, thanks to the fashion group acting as a guarantor.

The line of credit is made available to companies all along the supply chain, from those that provide raw materials and fabrics to those producing for the company and offering special processes, such as dyeing and washing.

The credit is handed out on the basis of an OTB evaluation system taking in consideration three parameters updated twice a year. They include performance and quality; reliability of the information provided, as well as compliance and sustainability.

The project has allowed the companies in the supply chain to face even the most difficult periods, such as the pandemic, with greater confidence. C.A.S.H. now involves more than 60 active suppliers that have assigned 90 percent of their receivables. Since the program began, the total volume of the payments disbursed has exceeded 510 million euros.

In 2021, Confindustria, Italy’s largest association representing 150,000 domestic manufacturing and service companies, asked Rosso to be the association’s delegate for excellence, beauty and taste of Italian brands. He is a member of the strategic committee for Italy’s Camera della Moda and the Ministry of Tourism. ENIT, the national agency of tourism, had selected Rosso, among others, such as chef Massimo Bottura, Olympic swimmer Federica Pellegrini, and ballet star Roberto Bolle, as an ambassador of Italy in #LiveItalian, the global institutional campaign which promotes the country and its beauty around the world.