Filo Focuses on Circularity During 2-Day Show in Milan
The 61st edition of the International Yarns and Fibres Exhibition (Filo) closed in Milan after yielding “highly positive” results.
The exhibition saw 2,500 guests from throughout the world attend—a notable uptick against previous years, according to the organization. Regarding buyers, the collaboration between Filo and the ICE Agency—the Italian Trade Agency—resulted in 27 foreign operators from countries like France, Spain, Portugal, and more in attendance. Meanwhile, the collaboration between Filo and the Piedmont region resulted in 10 buyers from Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands and more visiting the fair through financing from the Integrated Supply Chain Project (PIF) Textiles of the Piedmont region.
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“Filo proved to be a unique working platform, totally reserved to the professionals belonging to the industry: textile professionals are aware of finding at Filo high-quality collections and services aiming at facilitating the collaborations and the match between demand and supply of yarns and materials,” Paolo Monfermoso, head of Filo, said. “Speaking of collaborations, the presence of dyeing mills and associations and producers representing the world of natural and manmade fibers was particularly appreciated by all operators who participated in the fair, precisely because it fosters an effective dialogue among the companies working in the different steps of the supply chain.”
The predominant theme of the fair was circularity in textiles. That topic was discussed at length during the inauguration ceremony, utilizing the Recycling Hub pilot project in the Biella region as an example.
“In a world that clamors to reduce waste, Biella is ready to make available its unique know-how in the textile field and its extraordinary ability to innovate,” Elena Chiorino, councilor for Education and Merit, Work and Training of the Piedmont region, said during the opening ceremony. “The Recycling Hub is not only a great opportunity for the area, but it fully reflects the idea of a green economy that I believe is right to pursue: environmental protection and industrial relaunch are not opposing concepts, on the contrary—they can and must become a driving force for our economy.”
Participants in the discussion included Chiorino, Sergio Tamborini, president of SMI Sistema Moda Italia; Paolo Barberis Canonico, vice president of the Biella Industrial Union; Marco Farina, A2A Ambiente project evaluation and development manager; and Giovanni Marchi, president of MagnoLab.
“As president Tamborini reiterated, the textile-fashion clothing sector needs to address the issue of sustainability, also through the creation of an alternative supply chain committed to the recycling of materials,” Monfermoso said. “We are therefore particularly pleased that, right here at Filo, the Biella recycling hub project was illustrated in detail, involving the in the discussion the protagonists who, in their various roles, contributed to its conception and the implementation of the pilot project.”
The project involved an entire supply chain, Monfermoso continued, and is based on collaboration between institutional and industrial actors, oriented toward the “concrete solution” of real and pressing challenges for companies in the sector.
The 62nd edition of Filo is scheduled for September 18-19 at Allianz MiCo-Milan.
