MILAN — Italian policymakers have pushed back — for now — on a law regulating the Made in Italy fashion and luxury supply chain, which has been rocked by scandals over the past two years.
On Thursday, a Lower House Commission of Italy’s Parliament scrapped fashion industry-specific amendments to the “Small-and-medium-sized Enterprises Bill,” or “ddl PMI” in Italian.
The repealed articles outlined a voluntary certification system for fashion brands’ value chains, aimed at ensuring legality and traceability throughout the entire production process, across all tiers of subcontracting.
Adopting companies meeting the organizational models for crime prevention and all compliance requirements were to be entitled to use the designation “Certified Fashion Supply Chain,” under the supervision of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy and the Italian Competition Authority, AGC.
Industry associations Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, Altagamma, Confindustria Moda and Confindustria Accessori Moda issued a joint statement on Thursday expressing their frustration over the shelving of the proposal.
“While understanding the reasons that led the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy to look for further analysis of the matter, we express regret and concern over the postponement of a regulatory measure of strategic importance,” the four associations said. “We therefore reaffirm the urgency of adopting a national law on supply chain certification in a timely manner, an essential tool to protect workers, support businesses, strengthen the credibility of Made in Italy, and combat illegal practices.”
Trade unions have been among the strongest opponents of these measures, billing them as an attempt on the part of the fashion sector to seek “legal immunity from prosecution” should wrongdoings emerge across their supply chains.
In a statement issued earlier this week, Marco Falcinelli, secretary general of the Filctem Cgil union, said that the “criminal immunity provision in Article 30 of the bill must be immediately removed. As a union, as political forces, and as civil society, we must work to create regulations and control systems that allow the fashion supply chain to certify compliance with labor standards and respect for human dignity.”
Fashion associations continue to push back on that narrative.
“The proposed bill… does not include any criminal immunity provisions and remains a key reference point aimed at introducing a clear framework,” they said in Thursday’s statement. “This framework also includes the right to a fair hearing, a right guaranteed by our constitution, and seeks to promote transparency, accountability, and trust throughout the entire production chain, while at the same time ensuring certain and enforceable penalties for those who engage in illegal activities.”
As reported, the Italian Parliament had been open to implementing such a measure in response to the number of probes that uncovered ties of luxury brands such as Loro Piana, Valentino, Dior, Giorgio Armani, and Tod’s, among others, to subcontractors allegedly involved in sweatshop schemes, labor abuses and exploitation.
The repealed articles were previously passed by the Senate Commission.
Providing the rationale for the U-turn, Fabio Pietrella, a Lower House representative, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing party Fratelli d’Italia, and who proposed the delay, said that it was “driven by responsibility and methodology: we aim to create a framework for the fashion supply chain that is truly shared, cohesive, and effective. As Minister [of Enterprises and Made in Italy] Adolfo Urso has reminded us, legality, traceability, and transparency throughout the entire fashion supply chain are strategic objectives for the country.”
Industry associations have expressed their eagerness to collaborate with involved entities to move the conversation forward and eventually pass a bill.
