Masters of Linen hosts successful congress
29/10/2008
Over 220 delegates representing all aspects of the linen industry—from flax growers to spinners and weavers—gathered in Como, Italy, in mid-October for the 59th Congress of CELC, the European Confederation of Flax & Hemp.
Marie-Emmanuelle Belzung, recently appointed general secretary of the organisation, unveiled a new strategy for the promotion of European linen. She said: “CELC’s ambition is to demonstrate to the apparel, home furnishings and non-textile sectors, the excellence and ecological characteristics of European linen.”
Other speakers included Michele Tronconi, president, and Francesco Marchi, director of economic affairs at Euratex, the European Apparel & Textile Organisation who presented a macro-economic view of the global textile industry.
Bruce Montgomery, design director of clothing brand DAKS, alongside several top European retailers and designers, including Osamu Saito, European President of Issey Miyake, Nicole Bernardo of Le Bon Marché, Maria-Luisa Pasutti of Assomoda took part in a workshop discussing the interaction of creativity in a retail environment.
With sustainability a major topic at the moment, the apparent dichotomy between the demands of the fashion industry and the need for an ethically sustainable world taxed the members of the panel. It was generally agreed that as linen and the growing of flax requires no irrigation and no artificial fertiliser, it is ideally positioned to play a major role in the drive for sustainable ethical fibres and that information was considered to be key in educating the consumer about the natural origins and production ethics of European linen.
Nicole Bernardo said: “Ttraceability is being demanded by Bon Marché customers; if a product has a high price we need to tell the customer why, saying that it is from an ethically sustainable source.”
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