Emilia-Romagna to create a support institution for fashion industry

This economic sector is of flagship significance for the region and Italy

In many minds, Italy is synonymous with fashion. And one of the key regions in the boot-shaped country that concentrates a lot of that economic activity is Emilia-Romagna. That is why representatives from local authorities in the region went to Moda Makers 2021, an exclusive trade sector exhibition and fair to present their vision of boosting the fashion industry.

Their plan has already begun with the establishment of a permanent regional fashion table – as a model of public-private collaboration, to create an opportunity for direct meetings among operators in the sector at a time of great change linked to the digital and eco-sustainable transitions. 

The regional fashion sector employs 87,000 people

The attending of the industry event is the end of the first phase of starting the activities, which began on 15 July with the establishment of the aforementioned roundtable. A work perimeter was jointly defined on the eve of a new phase of the dialogue, in which the role of the table will be to identify and propose how to concretely intervene.

The fashion sector in the region today has over 87,000 employees in the manufacturing industry, trade and services: it is the third sector in terms of export value, with 7.7 billion euros of value-added, per year. The regional table brings together local authorities, Confindustria, Cna, Confartigianato, Confcommercio, Confesercenti, trade unions, the world of training and research, Unioncamere Emilia-Romagna, Centergross Bologna, Carpi Fashion System, Fashion Research Italy, Cercal and the Clust-ER Create.

In a video message sent to the participants, the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Gilberto Picchetto Fratin, recalled how the pandemic crisis that deeply affected the sector was an opportunity for Made in Italy to diversify and face new challenges, embracing the changes deep in the market and consumption models increasingly oriented towards sustainable and quality products.

In the round table with some of the entrepreneurs in the sector, the debate, therefore, focused on identifying the potentially most innovative interventions which, if supported by regional action, are able to trigger improvement processes.

The vision is to make a difference and guarantee the competitiveness of companies and sustainability of the supply chain, as the levers that can encourage the recycling of textile waste and the use of recycled raw materials, eco-design, and the development of the second-hand product market, among other things. 

The regional government of Emilia-Romagna expressed the intention to prepare specific calls to facilitate the process and product certification of the supply chain and to launch a program of thematic in-depth studies to be held by mid-December.