MILAN, 3 June 2009 (AFP) – The companies and trade unions of Italian fashion and textiles on the 3rd of June called on the next European Parliament to take steps in favour of their sector, which has been particularly affected by the crisis, during a press conference in Milan.

Employees moving Matino jeans during the production process - Photo : AFP

The main actors in this “Made in Italy” group are demanding the establishment of a parliamentary commission for the fashion sector in order to “promote one of the most dynamic and important manufacturing sectors in Europe for today and tomorrow.”

The representatives of Italian fashion are proposing that MEPs achieve eight objectives during their next session in power, of which the introduction of a label indicating the place of manufacture for all products made in Europe, reciprocity in international commerce with the decrease of customs rights for European products outside of the Union, contra-subsidy and anti-dumping measures and an increase in the fight against counterfeiting.

“We are launching this appeal, not to save individual businesses, but to maintain the richness of the whole of this sector and to allow it to survive this crisis,” declared Michele Tronconi, president of SMI, the Italian fashion and textile federation.

“Faced with a drop in orders, every small artisanal business specialising in embroidery, ribbon, lace-making, etc, have been forced to put their teams into technical unemployment,” stressed Rietta Messina, director of the Tessilivari Federation, which represents around twenty specialised industries.

“In six months, the majority of them will have to close as they are too small and do not have access to credit,” she warned.

In Italy, the main producer of clothing and fabric in Europe, the whole field employs 757,000 people and has a total turnover of €70 billion.

By Jonathan Fulwell (Source: AFP)