After the central government’s approval of Royal Decree-Law 5/2021 for measures to support business solvency, the fashion sector claims that certain activities have been put aside, as highlighted in the statement that we reproduce below.
“From Confederación ModaEspaña we want to show the general discontent of the sector at the latest decisions made by the central government. With the approval of Royal Decree-Law 5/2021, new measures to support business solvency were established in response to the pandemic. With them, a new line of direct aid is established, managed by the autonomous communities, divided into almost a hundred different beneficiary activities.
We consider that the established criteria do not correspond to the current situation that the sector is going through , since this comparative offense causes members of the same area to join a competition that destabilizes Spanish fashion and goes in the opposite direction of the objective pursued by Confederación ModaEspaña : getting all the actors to work hand in hand to achieve the common good.
Due to this division, many of the fashion companies intensely affected by the coronavirus crisis are excluded from being eligible for the relevant aid. For this reason, from the Confederation we ask for the expansion of activities and the non-dismemberment of the sector so that everyone who needs it, can request them.
The fashion sector, due to sanitary restrictions, perimeter closures and other administrative decisions taken to control the pandemic, has lost more than 30% of its turnover in this last period. Furthermore, we cannot forget about exports , which are practically sunk today. After the big rise in 2011 (14.2% more than the previous year), the figures did not stop growing until 2020, the year in which exports in clothing, footwear, accessories and jewelry plummeted by 18.5 % compared to 2019.
There are many people in mandatory ERTE due to the modality of their employment. Members of the fashion industry whose product is directly linked to currently restricted activities – such as weddings or holiday events – are unable to trace their business .
The government is now studying expanding to 25 activities plus access to direct aid of 7,000 million euros approved for SMEs and the self-employed. But it is not enough, since other activities in the sector such as knitwear, hosiery or underwear manufacturers would still be excluded. From Spanish fashion we question why some members are eligible for such aid and others not , knowing that the crisis is global and has affected all areas equally.
We are a sector that, despite having been hard hit by the crisis, we have tried to contribute our grain of sand with our industry and support our country in the most difficult moments. For this reason, we believe it is fair that all industrial headings can benefit from this extraordinary aid. The entire economic activities of the sector must be incorporated and not dismembered since, unfortunately, all areas of Spanish fashion have been directly affected ” , the statement concludes.
