Speeches

Speech by Stefano Vitali at 2021 ISU Chairman Meeting & International Think Tanks Forum on Silk Sustainable Development

Time:2021-07-09 Source:ISU Secretariat

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Stefano Vitali

Vice Chairman of ISU

President of Ufficio Italiano Seta

国际丝绸联盟副主席

意大利丝绸协会会长


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Ladies and Gentleman,

good morning to you all.

女士们、先生们,上午好,


My name is Stefano Vitali, I am a Vice Chairman of International Silk Union. I am also the President of Ufficio Italiano Seta, the association which represents the silk textile chain in Italy.

我叫Stefano Vitali,是国际丝绸联盟副主席,同时,我也是意大利丝绸协会会长,意大利丝绸协会代表意大利的丝绸纺织链。


Our last meeting was in December 2019. I am glad to see you again and I thank Mr. Zhang Guoqiang, the President, for his invitation. 18 months ago we could never have imagined what was going to happen during the coming months. 2020 will remain in our memory as the worst year for Italian silk industry, since the Second World War. No more events, no more meetings, no more tourism, shops closed in Italy, in France, in Germany, in UK, in Spain, in USA. After my speech my colleague, Giuseppe Bianchi, will take the floor and he will give you some more information about the situation of the Italian silk textile chain.

我们的上次会议还是在2019年举办,非常感谢此次张国强主席的邀请,有机会再次见到大家。18个月前,我们几乎无法想象下个月会发生什么。2020年将永远停留在我们的记忆中,对意大利丝绸行业来说,这一年是二战以来最糟糕的一年。这一年,意大利、法国、德国、英国、西班牙和美国没有活动、没有会议、没有旅游、商铺歇业。在我的发言之后,我的同事Giuseppe Bianchi将向大家介绍意大利丝绸纺织链的情况。


We expect some recovery by the end of this year. We hope 2021 will promote an increase in the demand for silk, but we see the clouds hanging over the future of our fiber. In garments making, we see increasing shift from silk to other continuous filament fibers. This is happening not only because of price pressure, as it already happened in the past, but also for innovation and marketing strategies of producers of man-made fibers.

我们希望到今年年底能有所复苏。希望这一年能够刺激市场对丝绸的需求,但我们看到丝绸的未来笼罩在阴云中。在服装产业中,我们看到越来越多的丝绸原料转向其它长丝纤维。这种情况在过去就已经发生了,这不仅仅是因为价格压力,而是因为人造纤维生产商的创新和营销策略。


And I come immediately to the point. HIGG material sustainable index aims to promote the image of synthetic fibers and discloses misleading, incomplete and not verified information on silk. Sustainable Apparel Coalition is a very powerful Association and marketing strategy may be very strong, but the scientific approach of HIGG Index is very, very poor. Moreover SAC has not revealed methods of calculation. No reference to ISO rules or Internationally recognized standards and China has not been consulted on the matter. SAC only based its data on silk production in India. By the way, the ISC (International Sericultural Commission), an Indian body representing the country’s silk industry, has lodged an official compliant to the FTC about silk’s score on the Higg Index.

现在,我们进入主题。希格材料可持续性指数(Higg MSI)在宣传合成纤维形象的同时,却误导性地披露了丝绸片面的、未经验证的信息。可持续服装联盟(SAC)是一个影响力非常大的协会,营销策略尤其突出,但其发布的Higg指数却不是足够科学,没有公开披露其计算方法。Higg MSI没有参考ISO或国际公认的标准,在制定丝绸指数时,也未与中国沟通交流,而仅仅是基于印度丝绸产量的数据。国际蚕业委员会已经代表印度丝绸业向FTC提交了一份关于丝绸的Higg评分官方文件。


“Cradle to gate” approach. Why? Silk is a renewable resource, can biodegrade unlike other fibers. As far as circular economy is concerned, the proper approach is cradle to end of life, including use. Arbitrary selection of some specific impact category and of their importance. Few sources of information and very poor quality of data used to calculate the Index. It is staggering to realize that HIGG Index does not refer at all to studies undertaken in China.  

为什么选择从摇篮到大门的方法呢?与其他纤维不同,丝绸是一种可再生资源,可以生物降解。就循环经济而言,合理的方法应该包含使用阶段,即从摇篮到生命终结。Higg随意选择某些特定影响参数及其重要性,用信息来源少、低质量的数据来计算指数。更令人震惊的是,Higg指数根本不涉及在中国进行的研究。


We have a lot to say about HIGG Index and the way it has been developed. We have a lot of arguments. For our silk Community it is important to react properly and wisely. We know how many universities may be active, especially in China, in making a serious study regarding the real impact of silk on the environment. There are several experts, in our opinion it is necessary to gather them and to coordinate the research with the support of the most valuable skills.

关于Higg指数及其开发方式,我们有很多话要说,我们有很多争论。丝绸行业需要正确而明智地做出反应。我们知道有一些大学可能正在积极开展有关丝绸对环境影响的研究,尤其是在中国。我们认为有必要召集专家们并在最有价值的技能支持下协调研究。


We may obtain very serious scientific baselines, with the support of the entire silk community and we do need that China can finally let hear her voice, as being the biggest producer of silk worldwide. It is the essential pre requisite.

在丝绸业界的支持下,我们将会获得严谨的科学基线,中国作为全球最大的丝绸生产国,我们需要中国的声音。这是必不可少的先决条件。


It is necessary, it is the first leg of our walk, but it may not be enough. Marketing approach is the second leg and this involves silk users all over the world and proper communication strategies.  We do not want a useless war against synthetic fibers, this is not our point. On the contrary, actually the platform provided by SAC, might be useful for us. We need to gather data asserting how eco-friendly the silk is and ask SAC to accept these data. Once these data will be inserted in SAC platform, silk will finally have and International recognition and her own voice.

这是必要的,是我们前行的第一步,但可能还不够。营销方法是第二步,这涉及世界各地的丝绸用户和适当的沟通策略。我们不希望与合成纤维进行无用的战争,这不是我们的重点。相反,实际上SAC提供的平台可能对我们有用。我们需要收集有关丝绸环保程度的数据,并要求SAC接受这些数据。一旦这些数据应用到SAC平台,丝绸将拥有国际认可和属于自己的声音。


Since ever, silk has always had its particular image, which makes it different from all the other fibers. Nowadays it is no more sufficient. Nowadays we must wake up and work hard for promoting a modern image of silk as well as underline that silk is not only a fiber, a fabric, silk is a cultural heritage not only of China but of the whole world and should be protected.

自古以来,丝绸传承着独有的形象,这使它区别于其他纤维。但今天这些远远不够用。我们必须觉醒,为提升丝绸的现代形象而努力。我们应当突出,丝绸不仅仅是一种纤维、一种面料,丝绸更是一种中国的乃至全世界的文化遗产,我们需要保护丝绸。


Up to now there has not been a new official strong voice defending silk and explaining the wonderful world which is behind this fiber. Now we have a great chance: to use the HIGG Index case to let the world know how green silk is.

迄今为止,还没有一个新的官方强势声音为丝绸辩护,并解释了这种纤维背后的奇妙世界。现在我们有一个很好的机会,以Higg指数为例,让世界知道丝绸是多么的环保。


I thank you for your attention.

最后,感谢大家的聆听。