The Prato District Working Group has resumed its work, aiming to revitalize the local textile supply chain. As La Nazione reports in the article “The District Working Group Restarts. 600,000 Euros for Businesses Now,” the working group brings together institutions, trade associations, and representatives from the manufacturing sector to develop joint strategies to support businesses.
Approximately 600,000 euros have been allocated, from residual resources from previous ministerial calls, which will be used for technological innovation, training, and ecological transition projects. During the meeting, the desire to give new impetus to the district emerged, working collaboratively to enhance the quality and sustainability of Prato’s textile industry. The next step will be the opening of a technical working group to establish criteria and methods for using the funds, with the aim of encouraging the concrete recovery of businesses.
For our part, as FIL-3, we welcome this initiative with interest, but we believe that financial resources alone are not enough. The main problem facing the Prato supply chain, and particularly the carded spinning mills currently struggling, remains the high tax burden and labor costs.
Compounded by this is the competition from open-end yarn, which has lower production costs but also lower quality, and is gradually eroding the market for traditional carded yarn.
Today, the market focuses primarily on price, making it difficult to compete by relying solely on grants or occasional funding. What’s needed instead is a broader, more structural vision, capable of truly supporting the work, quality, and value of Prato’s products, to give new strength and perspective to the entire district.
