Fashion crisis in Tuscany: Supply chain workers to strike on July 9 in Florence

Production workers in Tuscany, Italy, are preparing to go on strike on July 9 as calls for a restructuring of the supply chain landscape escalate.

According to figures provided by local trade unions, 830 leather goods companies in the province of Florence have closed since 2019, affecting 7,000 employees who were partially reabsorbed by other brands. Meanwhile, in the last two years, the use of the temporary redundancy fund has increased by 250 to 260 percent.

830 leather goods companies closed in Florence province since 2019

"We challenge the designer labels to come to the table to redesign the district together. The workers cannot be the ones to pay for the crisis; capitalism cannot be purely extractive; we must rebuild the quality of this district together," said the Florentine secretary of the CGIL, Bernardo Marasco, in a recently recorded video. Trade union representatives will take to the streets in Florence on July 9 to protest against the crisis in the fashion sector and to find solutions.

The unions are demanding urgent answers to avoid the risk of deindustrialisation. The Florentine secretary of the CGIL, Bernardo Marasco, added that “we are not only gambling with an industrial model but also a social one”. Among the points highlighted by the unions to revive the sector are anchoring production to the region, implementing reshoring policies to bring back offshored production to Italy, and ensuring traceable and sustainable supply chains.

Unions state brands must safeguard employment in the district

In detail, five proposals have been put forward by CGIL Florence, CISL Fi-Po, UIL Tuscany Coord. Florence and the relevant categories (for CGIL: Filctem, Fiom, Filcams, Filt) to save the sector.

A statement read: "We ask the Region to reconvene the sector's round table and involve the large groups present in the area. The major brands must maintain production volumes in our territory. For these brands, our territory must remain the benchmark and centre of excellence for production, design and product creation activities; they must, therefore, implement reshoring policies.

"At a time when new markets are opening up, such as South America, with the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement that came into force on May 1, 2026, it is even more important that production remains anchored to the territory. Trade benefits must not translate into offshoring. The region has a strong manufacturing tradition that must be preserved. Brands must safeguard employment in the district and guarantee the full use of social safety nets aimed at maintaining employment and skills in the area."

Access to credit and financial support are other desired measures

Furthermore, it was stated that "the production chains of our district must be legal, traceable, sustainable, and characterised by excellent workmanship. They must continue to be composed of all the product components of the production cycle. It is necessary for major brands to implement policies to shorten subcontracting levels, taking into account the absorption of existing skills within them".

The organisations added: "They must openly commit to the full legality of their supply chains in collaboration with public control bodies and trade union organisations. They must also commit to guaranteeing margins for the economic sustainability of the entire production chain."

Access to credit and financial support are other measures suggested by the unions.

The fourth point is professional training, which "must be the subject of shared planning between brands, the business system, social partners and the public body. This should enhance existing tools, from bilateral bodies to inter-professional funds, and build targeted paths to preserve and renew the manufacturing knowledge of the district".

Finally, as the fifth point, the unions demand that European structural funds for Tuscan SMEs be accompanied by clear employment clauses and tenders accessible even to the smallest artisan businesses. These businesses "form the productive backbone of our district, together with the safeguarding of our territory's commercial and logistics chain, which is essential to guarantee employment and continuity of flows".

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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