## 3 Materials and Methods
### Phase#1: Document Review
#### 3.1.2 Step#1.2: Characterization of the Textile Sector in Italian Scenario
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l} \hline \hline
**Stages** & **Ateco-Sector** \\ \hline \multirow{7}{*}{Upstream Stage} & 01.16.00 Cultivation of textile plants \\  & 17.21.00 Manufacture of corrugated paper and paperboard and of packaging of paper and paperboard \\  & 20.12.00 Manufacture of dyes and pigments \\  & 20.16.00 Manufacture of plastics in primary forms \\  & 20.17.00 Manufacture of synthetic rubber in primary forms \\  & 20.59.60 Manufacture of auxiliary products for the textile and leather industries \\  & 20.60.00 Manufacture of synthetic and artificial fibers \\  & 22.19.00 Manufacture of other rubber products \\  & 22.22.00 Manufacture of plastic packaging \\  & 22.22.00 Manufacture of other plastic products \\  & 32.99.20 Manufacture of umbrellas, buttons, zippers, wigs, and similar \\  & 71.20.00 Testing and technical analysis \\  & 74.10.00 Specialized design activities \\  & 13.00.00 Textile industries \\ Manufacturing Stage & 14.00.00 Manufacture of clothing articles; manufacture of leather and fur articles \\  & 15.00.00 Manufacture of leather and similar articles \\  & 46.41.00 Wholesale trade of fabrics \\  & 46.42.00 Wholesale of clothing and footwear \\  & 47.51.00 Retail sale of textile products in specialized stores \\  & 49.20.00 Rail freight transport \\ Downstream Stage & 49.41.00 Transport of goods by road \\  & 50.20.00 Maritime and coastal transport of goods \\  & 51.21.00 Air freight \\  & 95.23.00 Repair of footwear and travel goods \\  & 95.29.03 Alteration and repair of clothing items not carried out by tailors \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: The different activities of the textile supply chain (ATECO). through parameters such as the place of production, the legal and operational headquarters of the company, and the presence of branches or factories in certain regions or countries [28]. The textile sector is significantly present throughout the national territory even if it is distributed with a clear concentration in the northern area. The industries of the Italian textile sector are mostly located in central-northern Italy (see Table 3): north-west (33.5%), central Italy (31.2%) and north-east (18.3%). The remaining 17%, however, is found in southern Italy (13.8%) and in the Islands (3.2%) [5]. Lombardy, with an incidence of 24.2% and almost three thousand companies, is the region with the highest number of companies belonging to the textile supply chain. It is followed by Tuscona (23.7%), Veneto (9.2%), Piemonte (8.2%), Emilia-Romagna (6.9%), Campania (5.2%), Puglia (4.5%), Marche (3%), Abruzzo (2.5%), Lazio (2.3%), Umbria (2.1%), Sicilia (2%), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (1.3%), Sardegna (1.2%), Liguria (1%), Calabria (0.9%), Trentino-Alto Adige (0.8%), Basilicata (0.3%), Molise (0.2%), and Valle D'Aosta (0.1%). Another element that characterizes the sector is linked to the average size of companies: the productive fabric of the Italian fashion system is mainly made up of medium- and small-sized companies, strongly interrelated with each other. This peculiarity allows for a high capacity for innovation, greater flexibility, and a significant degree of specialization, guaranteeing a strong competitiveness of the supply chain. Companies in Italy are mostly small- to medium-sized, while there are few large ones. In terms of employees, 81.1% employ between 0 and 9 workers, 18.7% between 10 and 249 workers, and only 0.2% have 250 employees or more [5]. Table 4 shows the production structure by the class of employees in the fashion sector.