The funding threshold for development programmes proposed by SMEs within the fashion supply chain has been lowered to EUR 1 million. Confindustria Accessori Moda (CAM) welcomes the measure introduced in the SME Bill. However, its president, Giovanna Ceolini (pictured), highlights the urgent issues still awaiting resolution. The association representing the leather supply chain also took part in a conference on counterfeiting held at the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy during Anti-Counterfeiting Week. It additionally participated in a mission to Brazil aimed at boosting exports of Italian fashion.
The SME Bill
According to Ceolini, the annual SME Bill, approved in its first reading by the Senate, “represents an important sign of attention from the government and parliament towards the fashion sector”. That attention, she stresses, should now be directed towards key unresolved matters: access to credit, financial sustainability and the long-running issue of the R&D tax credit for prototypes and collections.
Counterfeiting
“Counterfeiting poses a real threat to companies and the entire production fabric. Battling it means protecting not only the country’s economy, but also the culture and identity of Made in Italy”. Ceolini made the remarks while speaking at the conference entitled “Battling Counterfeiting in the Fashion Industry: Industrial Best Practices and the Role of Consumers”. For the CAM president, Italy has a valid and efficient regulatory system in place to monitor and prevent counterfeiting. “But the rise in higher-quality fake products, combined with the diversification of sales channels, requires new action”. Confindustria Accessori Moda is launching a school awareness campaign aimed at promoting conscious purchasing. “It is also essential to act at company level, by providing training on the protection of intellectual property and encouraging the adoption of advanced technologies for traceability and product authenticity”.
La Dolce Vita in Brazil
The association took part in the 13th edition of “Exporting La Dolce Vita”, a report by the Confindustria Research Centre presented in Rio de Janeiro during São Paulo Fashion Week. “In Mercosur countries, interest in Made in Italy is very strong, but it is now essential to promote a more structured and shared economic and commercial strategy”, said Roberto Briccola (chair of CAM’s Young Entrepreneurs Group). Briccola hopes for the finalisation of the EU–Mercosur agreement to strengthen industrial partnerships and further boost Italy’s presence in Brazil.
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