Italy’s Confindustria Moda advocates for tackling illegal practices without sensationalism

United “firmly against all forms of illegality,” provided that this does not inflict “profound and unjustified damage on the image and, consequently, on the economy of the entire sector.” This is the stance set out by Italy’s Confindustria Moda and Confindustria Accessori Moda in a joint statement, released in the wake of the latest developments in investigations into labour exploitation (caporalato) in the country’s fashion industry, which have brought 13 new brands under the scrutiny of Prosecutor Paolo Storari, including Prada, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana.

The associations warn against the growing media sensationalism sparked by the investigations led by the Milan public prosecutor’s office. “Safeguarding workers’ dignity, legality, and transparency is a shared, indispensable value in defending a strategic sector of Made in Italy, recognised worldwide for excellence, quality, and creativity,” the statement reads. However, it continues, “the public exposure of brands and companies at preliminary, non-conclusive stages of the investigations risks compromising the reputation of a sector that represents one of the pillars of the national economy, exports and the country’s cultural identity. Moreover, all this lends itself to easy misinterpretation by the international media, generating negative fallout.”

Since 2021, 23,000 shops in the fashion sector have closed in Italy (data from Federazione Moda Italia-Confcommercio). Such a forceful and disproportionate media campaign ends up generating further “mistrust among domestic and international consumers, investors, and the entire supply chain,” the note reads.

Confindustria Moda and Confindustria Accessori Moda emphasise that they “are at the forefront, alongside the competent authorities, in developing control, audit, and monitoring systems to be implemented across the supply chain, and have participated from the outset in the ongoing legislative process on the regulation of a single conformity certification for fashion supply chains, aimed at encouraging legality in the sector.”

In their appeal, the associations call for “balance, responsibility, and respect for the work of thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of workers, so that the necessary fight against illegality does not turn into a mere media spectacle, causing irreparable damage to a supply chain that embodies the value of Made in Italy worldwide,” the statement concludes.