Submitted by International Silk Union | Tue, 15/04/2025 - 06:07
2024 is the opening year of the third council of International Silk Union (ISU). With the active support of ISU members, adhering to the purpose "Communication & Cooperation, Development with Concerted Efforts", ISU continues to play the role of the international silk industry as a platform for connectivity and win-win situation, and actively implement the work of the third council objectives by organizing ISU chairman meeting and thematic seminars, continually strengthening the international silk industry exchanges, and carrying out thematic research to enhance the global influence of ISU, improve the effectiveness of the industry and member services, and strengthen the construction of the information platform, which contributes to the healthy, stable and sustainable development of the international silk industry. This year, ISU mainly carried out the following six key tasks.
1 Organizing the 2024 International Silk Union Chairman Meeting
On November 29, the 2024 International Silk Union Chairman Meeting was held as scheduled and concluded successfully in Como, Italy. ISU Chairman Zhang Guoqiang, ISU Vice-chairwomen/chairman Laura Sofia Clerici, Xavier Lepingle, Renata Amano, and the ISU Chairman Meeting specially invited Dr. S B Dandin, new ISU Council Member, Vice President of Indian Silk Association, as well as more than 40 representatives of silk enterprises, research institutions, textile machinery manufacturing enterprises from China, Italy, France, Brazil, Switzerland, and India participated in the meeting online and offline.
The meeting reports the work of ISU in 2024, discusses the operational mechanisms of the ISU Industry Development Strategy Committee and Technical Research Committee and the list of recommended members, releases the LCA report on silk product, and carries out the seminars on the organic and traceable sustainable development of the silk industry, the development of sericulture and silk industry and the status of consumption in the market in various countries, and the cocoons and raw silk material production trends, confirms the host country the "2025 International Silk Union Members Assembly".
During the same period of the meeting, the delegates visitd the Italian textile and silk industry. On November 27, the Chinese and Italian LCA research team of ISU held an discussion at INNOVHUB, and carried out in-depth communication on the development trend of the latest Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) in Europe, and the future direction of cooperation in the research of LCA research for silk products. On November 28, the ISU delegation visited CLERICI TESSUTO & C. SpA, a century-old fabric weaving enterprise in Italy, visited the jacquard and dobby weaving workshop and fabric archives, visited ACHILLE PINTO SPA, a high-end silk printing and dyeing enterprise, visited the digital printing and finishing workshop, and had in-depth exchanges with the persons in charge of each enterprise to understand the development history, the production scale and the market and trade situation, and actively introduced China's high-quality silk materials for industrial cooperation.
2 Strengthening the international silk industry exchange visits
(1) ISU Chairman led a delegation to visit the sericulture and silk industry in Southeast Asia twice
From May 7 to 13, 2024, Zhang Guoqiang, Chairman of ISU, and his delegation visited three Southeast Asian countries, and held the discussions with Queen Sirikit Department of Sericulture of Thailand, Department of Agriculture of Laos, Government of Xiangkhouang Province of Laos, Silk Industry Promotion and Development Committee under Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia, and Cambodian Investment Board, in order to learn about the conditions for the development of the sericulture industry and the supportive policies for the ISU members to accumulate information and resources for investing and developing the sericulture business in Southeast Asian countries. The visit focused on Thailand's high-end home furnishing brand PASAYA factory, Thailand's largest reeling enterprise Chul Thai Silk Co., Ltd., the large-scale sericulture production base in Xieng Khouang region, Laos, etc. Through the in-depth exchanges, ISU absorbed PASAYA to join ISU, understanded the industry chain of Chul Thai from mulberry, silkworms, reeling, twisting, yarn dyeing, and the climate, environment and human resources for sericulture production in Xiengkhouang Province.
From November 9 to 15, 2024, Chairman Zhang once again visited Southeast Asia, and visitd the automatic reeling production bases of Hualong Lam Dong Silk and Dinh Tam Silk, the sericulture farmers in Dalat area of Vietnam, gaining an in-depth understanding of the sericulture development conditions and the current situation of the industry in the main silk-producing areas of Vietnam. Chairman Zhang held an exchange meeting with the CEO of Jim Thompson, a member of ISU and an internationally famous silk brand, and visited the weaving, printing and dyeing industry chain of its factory, as well as the silk spinning process of Spun Silk World Co., Ltd., also ISU member, to learn about the latest development of Thailand's silk industry from various angles, and to seek for opportunities for cooperation. Chairman Zhang also visited the development of sericulture industry and natural economic conditions in Pakse district in the south of Laos and Muang Sai district in the north of Laos, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the overall situation of Laos, which is suitable for the development of sericulture business.
(2) CEO of Holdings Textile Hermès visited the Chinese Silk Industry
From May 19 to 21, 2024, Xavier Lepingle, Vice Chairman of ISU, Vice President of UNITEX, CEO of Holdings Textile Hermès, and his team visited the of ISU secretariat, and visited the large-scale sericulture bases in Yunnan and Zhejiang, reeling, weaving, dyeing and printing bases of Cathaya Group, ISU chairman unit, and the production process of all-instar artificial feed factory-base sericulture of Mulsun Modern Cocoon Industry Co., Ltd., ISU council member, and the digital precision positioning and double-sided digital printing equipment manufacturing and application of Hangzhou Honghua Digital Technology Co., Ltd., gaining an in-depth understanding of China's high-end and high-quality sericulture silk production technology development level, and promoting exchanges and cooperation between the two countries at the enterprise level.
During the visit, Mr. Zhang Guoqiang and Mr. Lepingle discussed the future development trend of the world sericulture industry, the trend of global silk producing countries and production volume, the development situation of mulberry breeding and artificial feed breeding cocoons, the stability of raw silk quality and raw material price, the promotion of the establishment of the relevant standards, the traceability and sustainability of organic silk products, and the development of the whole industry chain informatization and intelligence, and looked forward to further promoting the sustainable development of the sericulture and silk industry.
(3) International Sericultural Commission (ISC) visited ISU and Explored the Chinese Silk Industry
From May 26 to June 3, 2024, Periyasamy Sivakumar, Secretary-general of ISC, and 17 representatives of sericulture enterprises and institutions of its member countries visited ISU secretariat, and visited Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, China National Silk Museum, which are ISU vice chairman units, and other enterprises and institutions of ISU members, learning about China's role in silk talent training, silk traditional history and culture, the development and utilization of mulberry varieties, organic sericulture production and cultural and tourism integration, reeling equipment production and application, artificial feed factory-base sericulture, Song brocade culture and weaving techniques and other aspects of industrial development status.
ISU and ISC are two international organizations of vital importance to the global silk industry, and the two sides have a common goal in the direction of global development of sericulture and silk industry. As early as 2021, the two sides signed a MoU. This visit is an important result to practice the content of the MoU, strengthening the interaction between countries in the field of sericulture and silk visits, and providing a good platform for ISU to expand the international resources and absorb new members. Through this opportunity, five new members from India, Romania, Uganda joined ISU.
(4) Vice-Chairwoman of ISU and COO of BRATAC visited the Chinese Silk industry
From June 12 to 21, 2024, Renata Amano, Vice Chairwoman of ISU, President of Brazilian Silk Association, CEO of BRATAC, and her team visited ISU secretariat, and visited different silk production areas in China including Zhejiang, Anhui, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guangxi, gaining an all-round understanding of the development of China's mulberry silkworm varieties breeding and research and development, high-quality sericulture, reeling, weaving industry chain construction and production, artificial feed factory-base sericulture, large-scale production of silk quilts, intelligent sericulture equipment and system development and application, sericulture biotechnology innovation and development, industry supply chain platform construction and other industrial development dynamics.
During the visit, Mr. Zhang Guoqiang and Mrs. Amano had a full discussion on the complementary advantages of Chinese and Brazilian silk enterprises in the industrial chain, technological innovation and international cooperation.
(5) Maintaining exchanges with ISU members to enhance the effectiveness of services by playing the role of a platform
In the second half of the year, Thai member of ISU Chul Thai Silk, Indian members of ISU Ameen Silk visited the secretariat, while the secretariat also regularly took the opportunity to visit the member enterprises and organizations, exchanged the ISU work progress, understood the development of the current situation of the member enterprises and their aspirations, and actively played a platform effect to promote resource sharing and enhance the effectiveness of the service. The ISU secretariat has actively supported Egypt, Nigeria, Angola, and other African member countries in establishing connections with Chinese silkworm production facilities, fostering the development of sericulture in these regions. Furthermore, it has facilitated the alignment of business resources between Chinese and Indian silk enterprises, enhancing trade relations and promoting international cooperation in the silk industry.
3 Organizing thematic studies on the sericulture and silk industry
In 2024, ISU secretariat continued its efforts by organizing experts to conduct a comprehensive life cycle assessment study on cocoon and silk products. Leveraging the data research, analysis, and accounting conducted by the expert group since 2021—which encompassed sericulture, reeling, twisting, weaving, and printing and dyeing processes in silk enterprises across China, Italy, and France—the secretariat and the expert group, through persistent consultations and dedicated efforts, have made significant strides in advancing this initiative. At the ISU chairman meeting this year, the Report on the Life Cycle Assessment of Silk Products was officially released by ISU. Xu Jianmei, ISU TRC member, Associate Professor of Soochow University, and Chiara Cappelletti, Senior Researcher of INNOVHUB, introduced and interpreted the detail content as the co-first authors of the report.
The results of the study show that compared with other natural fibers and chemical fibers, the gap between the environmental impacts of silk is relatively small, much lower than the environmental impact indicators in public reports and relevant databases before; from the perspective of the impact of protoplasmic on the environment, silk is significantly superior to chemical fibers; and silk is still an ideal raw material for fabric manufacturers, fashion designers, and end-consumers when the carbon sequestration and economic value of silk are taken into account.
This year, the secretariat organized five online technical discussions and project promotion coordination meetings to ensure effective communication on key aspects such as the comprehensiveness of the content, the representativeness of data samples, the accuracy of accounting results, the coordination of task divisions across phases, and the authoritative release of technical reports. These efforts were aimed at guaranteeing the smooth advancement of the research work and the successful achievement of its objectives. At the same time, the secretariat facilitated a video conference between experts and the relevant representatives of the Eco-invent database to explore in detail the potential for uploading the research data and findings, as well as to address the specific requirements and procedures involved.
4 Enhancing international influence and building the global organization
(1) Expanding new members of ISU
In 2024, the secretariat further expanded its international reach by welcoming new members, including 18 enterprises and Silk Association of India from 14 countries including China, Cuba, the Netherlands, Egypt, India, Kenya, Angola, Vietnam, Thailand, Romania, Zambia, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and the Silk Association of India joining ISU. This growth has brought ISU's membership to 133 members from 38 countries and regions, further enhancing the international influence.
(2) ISU is officially recognized the Universal Membership Organization by the Yearbook of International Organizations of UIA
This year, Union of International Associations (UIA) is in the process of compiling the 62nd edition of its Yearbook of International Organizations. Based on the organization types and classification principles outlined in the UIA's yearbook, ISU is officially recognized as the Type B: Universal Membership Organization by UIA. ISU is currently the fastest-growing and most dynamic international silk industry organization that is included in the UIA's yearbook.
ISU's recognition as the Type B: Universal Membership Organization by UIA marks a significant milestone in enhancing ISU's international influence. ISU will continue to fully utilize the UIA's resource platform, leverage the structural advantages of its council, and actively expand its global, international, and professional horizons. It aims to attract more influential and representative silk enterprises and organizations from various countries, thereby continuously expanding the scale of its development. At the same time, adhering to the purpose of "Communication & Cooperation, Development with Concerted Efforts", ISU will actively engage in international exchanges and cooperation, host international conferences, organize international visits, establish expert think tanks, and conduct technical researches. These efforts will contribute to building a closer communication platform for the global silk industry, fostering the sustainable development of the global silk industry.
5 Strengthening exchanges with the textile sector, and enhancing the service effectiveness for the industry and ISU members
(1) ISU Chairman was invited to deliver a video address the "The 5th Philippine Silk Summit"
On February 29, 2024, "The 5th Philippine Silk Summit" organized by ISU member The Philippine Textile Research Institute, was successfully held. Invited by the organizer, ISU Chairman Zhang delivered a video speech for the summit, introducing the development history of ISU, briefly analyzing the current distribution of world silk production and trade, and expressing his support for the development of the Philippine sericulture and silk industry by providing a platform.
(2) The Secretary-general of ISU was invited to participate in the "Sustainable Natural Fibers Global Conference" and made a keynote report for the silk session
From April 11 to 12, 2024, "Sustainable Natural Fiber Global Conference" was successfully held in Beijing, China. The conference brought together internationally renowned brands and enterprises, representatives from multiple international organizations, industry associations, and nearly 400 experts and scholars, all gathered to discuss the future of natural fibers. The executive member of ISU, chief scientist of the national sericulture industry technology system, Professor Dai Fangyin, on behalf of the silk industry made a keynote report on the current development situation of sericultureand silk industry and technology.
Four sub-forums were set up in the same period of the conference including cashmere, down, silk and youth sustainability. Silk sub-forum was chaired by Prof. Dai Fangyin, and Li Qizheng, Secretary-general of ISU, was invited to introduce in detail the origin and development of silk, the uniqueness and self-confidence of silk, and highlight the international exchanges and interactions carried out by ISU under the title of "Modern Inheritance and Development of Silk Culture". At the same time, representatives from different colleges and enterprise also made the theme of sharing, together for the maintenance of the international image of silk and the industry's interest in voice.
(3) Supporting the "International Training Program Processing Technology and Innovation Design of Modern Silk Products"
Supported by the secretariat, ISU vice-chairman unit Zhejiang Sci-Tech University hosted the international training program, mainly for sericulture and silk-related units from the developing countries, to promote scientific and technological cooperation in the field of silk product design and processing and exchange of talents. The secretariat actively supported the recruitment of trainees through various outreach efforts. The training course started on October 17, 2024 and lasted for 15 days, with a total of 15 trainees from 7 countries, including Thailand, India, Nigeria, Nepal, Philippines, Pakistan and Ghana.
The theoretical course covers silkworm breeding, silk reeling and weaving, product design and finishing. In the practical part, the secretariat organized the students to visit the sericulture base of Cathaya Group, China National Silk Museum, and the Jingwei Creative Industry Park of Hangzhou Textile Machinery Co., Ltd.
(4) The secretariat participated in three IWTO "Make the Label Count" member meetings
ISU is the founding member of the "Make the Label Count" initiative launched by International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO), and is regularly invited to participate in members' video conferences to exchange activities and progress related to the protection of natural fibers, and to continue to maintain a sustainable image of natural fibers. This year, three member meetings were held to review updates on the progress of EU legislation and external consultations related to the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), gain insights into the fundamentals of the EU textile strategy legislation, and discuss promotional activities aimed at protecting natural fibers and advancing the interests of the industry.
6 Enhancing the construction and operation of ISU's official information platform
(1) The newly updated version of ISU's WeChat public account and official website has been launched and is now fully operational
To further standardize the unified operation of ISU's official platforms, the secretariat has renamed the former "World Silk Website" WeChat public account to "International Silk Union". All historical content has been preserved, allowing users to revisit and access past information seamlessly. At the same time, the new official website of ISU (www.intsilk.com) has been launched. The updated version features a bilingual interface and is organized into clear sections, including "About ISU", "Structure", "Constitution", "Join Us", "News", "Notice", "Proceedings", "Data", and "Member News". The layout is focused, concise, and user-friendly, ensuring an easy and accessible reading experience.
(2) ISU proceeding SILK published three issues of industry information and special reports
SILK, founded in 2023, is a quarterly publication in English with the ISSN 3005-2688. SILK is sponsored by ISU, edited and published by Hangzhou Silk Magazine Co., Ltd. Its aim is to provide a professional perspective on the development of the silk textile and clothing industry, share new ideas, technologies and achievements, and showcase the latest developments in the international silk field to readers. This year, three issues have been published and distributed through the ISU website and WeChat public platform, as well as emailed to all members for their convenience.
In the future, the secretariat will utilize the newly updated official website, WeChat public account, and proceedings as its primary information platforms. These platforms will serve to announce ISU's activities and important updates, facilitate the exchange of insights on the development of the silk industry, promote the rich history and culture of silk, and share the latest trends in fashion design.
Source: Secretariat of ISU