TCLF appeals to European Commission
Employers’ and workers’ representatives from the European textile, clothing, leather and footwear (TCLF) sectors recently came together to request safeguarding support of the European Commission (the Commission) in the face of what TCLF called the current green and digital transition.
TCLF is composed of the following “social partners”: trade union industriAll Europe, the European Confederation of the Footwear Industry (CEC), leather industry representative body the Confederation of National Association of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community (COTANCE) and Euratex, otherwise known as the European Apparel and Textile Confederation.
In a joint statement, which acknowledged the necessity of the Commission’s update to its economic recovery-oriented New Industrial Strategy earlier in May, TCLF highlighted how only European tourism had faced greater disruption during covid-19, with retail sales dropping 25% last year.
Recovery remains extremely fragile for the sector, TCLF said, with rising energy prices and reported difficulties with accessing raw materials adding further pressure. Despite this, it described employment as relatively stable for the time being.
TCLF jointly issued a public list of demands to EU policy makers, which notably included asking for support with future-proofing the skills of its workers, as well as with addressing the decarbonisation of production (to ensure that the EU remains globally competitive) and local issues surrounding transitioning to a circular economy, more generally.
The perceived need to fully engage all supply chain stakeholders in the forthcoming EU textiles strategy was also singled out.
“We can build a more resilient ecosystem by ensuring that the specificity and needs of our industries are considered in the development and implementation of the updated industrial strategy at regional, national and EU levels,” commented CEC’s general secretary, Carmen Arias.
Secretary general of COTANCE, Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, added: “The companies and people working in Europe’s TCLF ecosystem excel not only in generating wealth and jobs for our economy, but their creativity is also a distinctive cultural feature that is unparalleled in the world.
“It is therefore essential that our regulators apply the utmost care in finding the right mix of incentives and directives for ensuring their sustainable development and that their service to society is not compromised.”
Image: COTANCE.
