The trend has been gaining momentum since the beginning of the health crisis because artisanal workshops and local productions have been expanding. A sort of rebirth that, encouraged by the rediscovery of past values and the desire to break away from the crisis and emergencies, has been consolidated among those who have been able to open up to a global market while maintaining local specificities.

“The pandemic will change values around sustainability, intensifying the debate revolving around materialism, over-consumption and irresponsible business practices”, notes Professor Giovanni Maria Conti, Professor of Fashion History and Scenarios at the Polytechnic University of Milan.

The study published in the US Journal of Marketing - citing research by Stijn van Osselaer of Cornell University - calls the phenomenon, which has led consumers to consider craftsmanship as an added value, the "handmade effect". According to research results, the change of pace imposed by the global pandemic has led consumers to reconsider their needs and priorities and consider craftsmanship as an added value, capable of guiding their choices and increasing sales.

In Italy, craft enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) generate 67% added value, 10% more than the European average.