Prato textiles, with its unique supply chain made up of small and medium-sized enterprises and its future in an era of technological transition with the advent of artificial intelligence. It is the heart of the event that will be held in Prato on 2 July, at the Textile Museum, for the Qn Distritti series of meetings entitled “Textiles: district without borders between tradition and future”. It will be a unique opportunity to explore the challenges and opportunities of the textile sector in an era of rapid change, an occasion that will bring together industry experts, trade associations, banks, entrepreneurs and institutions to discuss the latest technological innovations, sustainable and strategies to keep the Italian textile tradition alive.
There were many notable guests and speakers. The meeting will be opened by a greeting from Filippo Guarini, director of the Prato Textile Museum. This will be followed by speeches by Ilaria Bugetti, mayor of Prato, Cristina Manetti, head of cabinet of the Tuscany Region, Fabia Romagnoli, president of the Textile Museum Foundation and vice-president of Confindustria Toscana Nord, Dalila Mazzi, president of the Pistoia-Prato Chamber of Commerce, Claudio Bettazzi, president of Cna Tuscany center (also representing Confartigianato).
The technical interventions will instead be entrusted to Luiss School of government, Mita Academy, Alessandro Canovai, director of the environment business area of Alia Multiutility, Serafino Cavallini, corporate territorial manager of Central West of Bper Banca, Gabriele Innocenti, coordinator of the Ctn yarn group and director of Omega Filati, Francesco Marini, managing director of Marini Industrie and Marco Ranaldo, president of Pratofutura and owner of Pointex. Luigi Caroppo, deputy director of La Nazione, will moderate.
Many themes will be addressed during the event at the Prato Fabric Museum, from the circular economy to new eco-compatible materials, from advanced production techniques to design. The debate will also offer an opportunity to enhance the cultural heritage of Italian textiles and to discuss policies and initiatives that can support a sustainable transition of the sector.
At this stage it is particularly important to question and discuss the future of the textile district, because the latest economic data, as noted by the Confindustria Toscana Nord Study Center, indicate a collapse in industrial production in the first quarter of 2024 and stagnation in orders. The minus sign affects all sectors, even those which in recent years, undermined by pandemics, wars and floods, have withstood the blow. In detail, production compared with the first quarter of 2023 is at -7.8%. The greatest contribution to the negative result comes from the -9.8% of textiles.
The conference, organized with the support of Bper Banca and in collaboration with Confindustria Toscana Nord, Luiss School of Government and the Prato Textile Museum, will therefore be an opportunity to focus on the future challenges of the district, without forgetting the know-how. The appointment is for July 2nd at the Textile Museum: the link to register is quotidian.net/distretti/tessile. At the end there will be a networking cocktail.
LB
