The 60th edition of Filo, the international yarns and fibres Exhibition, has closed with very good results.
The important goal of the 60th edition – marking the thirty years of Filo’s activity – has been distinguished by an increase in visitors’ number, as well as in exhibitors’ one – growing by 30 percent. The two days of the fair have been characterised by intensive work, and a constant flow of buyers, both Italian and foreign ones.
Paolo Monfermoso, responsible for Filo, says: “We close the 60th edition of Filo with great satisfaction for the job that has been carried out. We are convinced that once again Filo has proved to be a unique business platform, totally reserved to the operators working in this industry. These are the elements which determine the success among textile industry professionals: by taking part in Filo, they know that they will find very high-quality collections, as well as services designed and intended to make the collaborations and the matching between supply and demand of yarns and materials easier. With a view to strengthening the vision of supply chain which Filo wants to offer, I would like to stress the participation of the Cotton Egypt Association, which took part in the fair for the first time, representing one of the most refined and versatile fiber.”
The fil rouge of the 60th edition of Filo was the “good, healthy, clean, fair, and durable” textile. The topic was discussed in particular during the opening ceremony, with Dario Casalini, the Founder of Slow Fiber, and Barbara Nappini, the President of Slow Food Italy, together with some of the companies adhering to the network, some of which are also Filo’s exhibitors. Monfermoso also underlines: “We have chosen to tackle with the issue of the ‘good, healthy, clean, fair, and durable’ textile since we thought it was essential to discuss about it during a fair reserved to textile insiders, to understand the problems and the way to pave the way for sorting them out. Sustainability is an issue that we are going to deal with for a long time, it’s defining the future textile industry, also from a regulatory point of view: shedding a light on these themes is one of the tasks of Filo, which is a place for meetings and debates, as well as for business.”
Explaining and clarifying the contents of the new UE strategy concerning sustainable products, linked to the European GreenDeal is a goal for Euratex, the Association which represents the textile industry in Europe. Dirk Vantyghem, Euratex General Manager, was the protagonist of one of the “Dialoghi di Confronto”. Vantyghem declares: “It was very interesting to participate in Filo. It was the occasion to show to upstream companies in the supply chain both the implications and the challenges resulting from the new European legislation. The hope is that this is the beginning of a long collaboration between Filo and Euratex.”
The commitment of Filo to sustainable creativity and responsible innovation is also shown by “Sustainability from A to Z”, the service made available by Filo in cooperation with the eco-hub C.L.A.S.S. to give information and concrete suggestions to the companies about sustainability in its many facets.
The increase in foreign visitors and exhibitors’ number (16 more in this edition) proves the international nature of Filo. As far as buyers are concerned, the historical collaboration between Filo and ITA Agency enabled to organise a delegation made of 41 foreign professionals coming from 11 countries: Belgium, Chile, China, South Korea, France, India, Palestine, Peru, U.K., South Africa, and Turkey.
The collaboration between Filo and Piedmont Region resulted in the arrival of a delegation made of 18 buyers coming from Polland, Denmark, Czech Republic, the U.K., Belgium, and Portugal, which visited the fair thanks to the Progetto Integrato di Filiera (PIF) “Tessile”, implemented by Ceipiemonte – the regional agency for internationalization – on behalf of the Piedmont Region, as part of the Piano di Sviluppo e Coesione 2000-2020. As part of the collaboration between Filo and Piedmont Region, at the end of the fair, buyers have participated in a study tour in Biella’s district, to better understand the excellent production pipeline distinguishing the territory of Biella.
Monfermoso adds: “The edition of Filo that just ended was the sixtieth, an important milestone. We wanted to celebrate the anniversary through a show retracing some of the main steps of our thirty-year history through some images. The show was also designed to thank all those people who contributed to making Filo one of the most appreciated exhibitions within the textile panorama. Since the success of Filo is largely due to the skills in researching and innovating of our companies, which means their ability to imagine the future, we, as Filo, start today to think about the future, and the 61st edition of Filo.”
The 61st edition of Filo will take place on the 21st and 22nd of February 2024 at Allianz MiCo-Milan.
