All in the Family with Tonello
When brands want to finish their denim, they often turn to Tonello for three things: quality, innovation and sustainability.
The Italian garment finishing tech company, our latest feature in our “All in the Family” summer series, has been in business for more than 35 years, not just because brands want machinery for washing and dyeing, but because brands want machinery for washing and dyeing created by people who bleed blue and constantly innovate in the denim space. In 1975, Osvaldo Tonello built the company’s first washing machine and Tonello’s history as a company unfolded from there.
For Tonello, success has been a lot about improving production processes, leaving a smaller environmental footprint and doing all things with passion.
Passion is something Alice Tonello, Osvaldo’s niece and daughter of Flavio Tonello, Managing Director and CEO of Tonello who now runs the business, believes in and wants for her own children, whether or not they join the family business.
Either way, the passion for denim is all in the family for Tonello, and here is what Alice, who works in marketing and R&D at the company, has to say about the sector.
Carved in Blue: What was your very first impression of the denim business?
Alice: I got the first impression of the denim business in the 90s, and to me it looked like a hectic world, in constant evolution and with a strong interest in innovating. I remember my visits to the factory when I still didn’t know the difference between a nail and a bolt, the impossible working hours, the pizzas eaten between the washing machines, and the smell of iron: that’s how I got involved in the world of denim.
Carved in Blue: Did you always want to go into the denim business? Did your dad want you to join him?
Alice: I’ve always thought I’d be doing this job, it has been my goal since the beginning. I think that you have to love your job, otherwise it would be better to do something else. Luckily for me, my dad always supported me. I think we have some kind of empathy.
Carved in Blue: What about your children—do you want them to follow in your footsteps?
Alice: I have two children, and I hope they will do what they like the most. Because when you do something with passion you do it better.
Carved in Blue: When did you realize you are a blueblood?
Alice: Still have to realize it. I simply believe in what we do and in the innovations we’re bringing to the Blue World.
Carved in Blue: What’s the best advice your dad ever gave you?
Alice: Here’s the best advice I received from my dad: “It’s your attitude, not your aptitude, which determines your altitude in life.”
Carved in Blue: What do you think is in store for the future of denim?
Alice: In my opinion, the denim industry is going to a point where consumers will be connected with the entire production chain, in order to make them better engaged and educated in buying denim products with greater awareness. Consumers are more and more interested in knowing how the garments they are buying are made and produced. All the information should be communicated through labels explaining exactly how the garment was made, the chemicals used, the water consumption etc. More or less like a food label.
Carved in Blue: What does Carved in Blue mean to you?
Alice: Carved in Blue for me it means that we are the advocates of our own future. It is us who can shape the future of the industry. This represents all of us.