Italy's textile industry projected to make full recovery in 2022

The Confindustria Moda (Italian Federation of Textiles, Fashion, and Accessories) has defined this transformation as a cultural change. There is a need for Italy’s textile industry to address two crucial issues: the evolution towards a production system that is more environmentally sustainable, and digitisation of the supply chain, which must include SME players.  

“Entrepreneurs in the textile industry have realised the urgency of enacting the digital transformation of their businesses and this is precisely why ACIMIT has accelerated its Digital Ready project for certifying Italian textile machines that adopt a common set of data, in order to more easily integrate with the operating systems of their client businesses,” Alessandro Zucchi, president of the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT), said in ‘The Italian Textile Industry’ published by ITMA Services, organiser of ITMA 2023. 

Despite 2020 being a particularly difficult year for the textile and clothing industry, the textile machinery sector remained resilient, particularly in exports. Italy is the fourth country in the world for textile machinery exports, with a 10 per cent share. 

In the coming years, industry associations in the sector will continue to support the development of clusters through vertical and horizontal integration among companies and the building of business networks within the districts. This will make it possible to pool resources for the purchase of new machinery and the employment of specialised human resources. The Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) under the Next Generation EU programme put in place by the European Union to respond to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, amounts to €235 billion for Italy in funding over a six-year period. 

Some of the funds will provide the resources for the technological and cultural change of the Italian textile and clothing industry. With this and other programmes in place or in the pipeline, the Italian textile and clothing sector will be able to ride on new opportunities and offer increasingly innovative products, beyond the classic and popular fashion and clothing market, the report added. 

“We are looking forward to the staging of ITMA 2023 in Milan. Our members, together with many of the leading brands from Europe and the rest of the world, will be able to leverage this global textile and garment technology exhibition to launch our latest innovations, especially those that will help the industry to digitalise and be more productive, as well as those that help us build a more sustainable and circular economy,” added Zucchi. 

ITMA is the world’s largest international textile and garment technology exhibition. ITMA 2023 will be held at Fiera Milano Rho, Milan, Italy from June 8-14, 2023.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)