A race for solidarity for Valencia’s footwear industry, hit by DANA in late October is underway. Meanwhile, the local shoe district, the most important in Spain, is suffering the effects of the disaster due to the blockade of the port of Valencia.
The condition of the Valencia’s footwear industry
The Valencian Community is home to nearly two-thirds of Spain’s shoe factories (1,552 out of 2,400) and accounts for more than a third of the country’s total exports. A leading district that is suffering the consequences of the flooding that began on Oct. 29. The port of Valencia is not functioning regularly, leading to delays in the arrival of materials and the departure of finished products. In addition, reports Modaes.es, retail chains are visiting stores in the municipalities affected by the flooding to analyze the situation and decide what to do.
The solidarity race
Meanwhile, Amancio Ortega, founder and majority shareholder of Inditex, has made available through his foundation 100 million euros in aid (source Fashion United). Inditex itself announced a donation of 4 million euros. Luxury brand Loewe has partnered with the Red Cross with an undisclosed contribution. Companies Silbon and Mayoral also made contributions, while, writes Fashion Network, leather accessories company Mercules organized a solidarity raffle of 50 bags, with all proceeds going to Caritas.
Shoes to rescuers
Alicante-based conglomerate Illice Brands Group donated 400 boots. According to the latest figures released by the Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries (FICE), more than 22,700 pairs of shoes have been donated so far, mostly rubber boots and technical and household footwear. A figure that is steadily growing. The Federation itself has provided 3,600 pairs of rubber boots (source Cuero America), while the Spanish association of footwear and leather goods manufacturers (AEC) has donated 3,000 euros to the NGO Conciénciate Foundation. This was revealed by Revista del Calzado.
A calendar to be rewritten
In addition to the cancellation of the Future of Fashion international congress, scheduled for Oct. 30, the Mediterranean Fashion Week (Nov. 15-17 in Turia), the 70th anniversary celebration of the Paredes shoe factory in Elche scheduled for Nov. 14 have also been canceled. (mv)
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