On the occasion of the State Visit to Italy by Their Majesties The King and Queen of The Netherlands and a Dutch trade delegation led by the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Mrs Lilianne Ploumen, the Italian and Dutch fashion and textile industry will join hands.

Modint, the Dutch association for the Fashion and Textile industries and lead of the fashion mission and Sistema Moda Italia (SMI), the Italian association for the Fashion and Textile supply chain in Italy, have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which emphasizes the growing interaction between the Dutch and Italian fashion and textile industries.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

During the Best of Both Event on Friday June 23rd in Milan, the Minister and a delegation of Dutch and Italian VIP’s and innovators active in the Fashion and Textile industry will witness the signing of a promising Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU defines actions by Modint and SMI to help the Dutch and Italian fashion and textile industries work together on recycling, labour standards, sustainable raw materials and domestic production.

Members of the International Apparel Federation (IAF)

Modint and SMI are both members of the International Apparel Federation (IAF), an international organisation that supports industry development by helping to build intelligent connections among its members. In the MoU, Italian and Dutch businesses will explain how they cooperate, how they can support sustainable value chains, how they envision their business growing together in the coming years, and what their respective governments can do to support that growth.

Italy, famous for its high fashion design, also has a strong integrated apparel and textile industry with a focus on recycling, spinning, weaving, knitting and garment manufacturing. The Dutch industry is known for its distinctive design and ground-breaking innovations in for example recycling and strong fibres. Because the apparel and textile industry business models are relying more and more on sustainability and transparency, responsible production within Europe is gaining popularity and Dutch and Italian supply chains are becoming more intertwined.

The MoU as well as the event will support working towards the ‘Best of Both’, a cooperation for improving sustainable business practices.