ReturnThe importance of quality for European silk industry
(Alberto Clerici, Teseo Srl)
May 15, 2008
(Varese)
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to take the floor and I have the task to introduce the way the European
Silk Industry feels the problem of the quality of the fiber.
The President Olivier Fournier has just opened our meeting focusing on the identity, the
purposes, the aims of European Silk Forum.
First of all I want to point to your attention some statistical information that may be useful
to European as well as to Chinese attendants, and that give a clear idea of the concrete
interest we are speaking about.
The silk industry in Europe is located mainly in the Como district and in Lyon, but there are
some important companies in Germany, Romania, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
The weaving mill consumption in Europe amounts approximately to 3.600 tons of silk
materials, more than 90% coming from China. In addition to this there are about 2.200
tons of loomstate or boiled off fabrics which are dyed and printed.
Last year, according to Chinese official statistics, the supplies form China to Europe
represented 12% of the entire Chinese exports for raw silk, 43% for twisted silk yarns, 11%
for spun silk yarns, 22% for silk fabrics, 26% for silk shirts, 40 for silk scarves and 33% for
silk ties.
But the importance of Europe for silk is not only for the quantities, it is much more for
values and for the marketing of the fiber.
We estimate that the value of silk productions in Europe amount to 1 billion two hundred
million Euro.
What we can not estimate at all is the importance of European silk products for fashion.
It is out of our possibility, but there is no doubt that the role of the silk industry in Europe is
fundamental for the image of the fiber among the consumers all over the world.
For the European textile industry, silk is synonymous of quality.
The concept of quality itself is not static but continuously adapts to the new state-of-the-art
introduced with improved machinery and processes. Other textile raw materials, including
natural fibers like linen, cotton, wool – even of Chinese production – have constantly
adjusted to this trend. Raw silk is static: actually, after the switch to automatic reeling in
China, there is consensus in the world textile industry, including the Chinese one, that
overall quality deteriorated.
The users realize the fantastic effort made by the Chinese agriculture in extending
sericulture to new areas and increasing output, while keeping price at a reasonable level.
But a policy based on price alone is tricky: you may destroy all competition but eventually
find yourself without market demand.
The European textile industry believes in silk and wants sincerely to cooperate with the
Chinese farmers and reelers: the best contribution is to put its experience at their service
and suggest practical ways out of the present predicament.
We must acknowledge the fact that the textile industry and the raw silk producers know
very little about each other.
Not only in Europe but also in China weavers and knitters have no familiarity whatsoever
with the problems of reeling; and, at the other side, reelers, the Standards Committee and
CIQ care very little about the users’ difficulties and live in a separate world of their own,
tied to 90 years old testing methods and oblivious of present reality. This is an extremely
dangerous situation and it is about time to do something about it.
The good news is that not all end uses require perfect silk. I will amend what I just said: I
well know that “perfect” silk does not exist and what I actually mean is that not all end uses
require the best Chinese silk quality which is offered in practice today (and which could be
improved but can be accepted for almost any fabric); but many in fact can employ middle
or even lower quality of raw silk. The important point is that true and complete information
about the lot quality should be supplied by the testing report. If the user has such
information, he can pick lots of suitable quality according to each end use.
This may seem simple and reasonable but present Chinese practice is totally different.
Leaving aside Jiaxing Exchange with its two classes and shameful reputation, in the
market nowadays we find only raw silk classified 4A, 5A, 6A according to a seriplane test
which lost all connection with textile reality, after the switch to automatic reeling.
We shall not stop pressing MOFCOM through our Authorities for abolition of the
compulsory nature of the seriplane test. It should be up to the user to judge if it is useful or
not.
It is true that the Standards Committee proposed in 2006 to adopt Electronic testing: but
again without adopting skeins soaking and drying (thus ignoring cohesion defects which
became the most common problem) and with a CV% limit so loose that, according to our
associate who actually inspects raw silk with electronic equipment in China, all lots he
tested in the last 5 years would have reached 6A classification.
We appreciate that Hangzhou CIQ was the first Chinese Institute to study electronic
testing by winder and CV% unit.
We congratulate them on being the first one to adopt optical sensors and skeins soaking,
which allows detection of cohesion defects. We agree with them that the system (winder,
accessories, sensing units) should be exactly same in all testing institutes to allow
consistent results. Our industry and our Institutions are ready to work in cooperation with
you to establish reasonable principles of Classification.
Finally I must remind everybody that the new instrument which Hangzhou CIQ acquired is
precise and allows an extremely deep analysis of the sample but the sample itself (if we
adopt our suggested quantity of 300,000mt) is only roughly 0.1% of the lot.
I will now distribute Classifault Tests and Processing Reports of 3 lots of Chinese silk
recently wound on cheeses. While the sample tests are complete, showing CV%
capacitive; Slub, Thick, Thin capacitive and optical; IPM capacitive and optical; DM optical
- the Processing Reports indicate the defects removed by the optical clearer (which is the
same unit used in Classifault) and the defects Classification, under the clearing limit, which
remain in the lot delivered to the user. The in-depth test regards 0.1% of the lot, the
clearing defects Classification 100% of the lot.
The slubs which the user will find in the lot are 138,185 in the first case (which probably
represents the best silk obtainable nowadays); 757,808 in the second (a good average
5A); 1,213,656 in the third (standard 4A raw silk).
In the 4A class we could find much worse examples, but I think the point is made.
However neither grade nor reeling mill are a guarantee of consistent quality: I could show
you examples of other lots, from the same reeling mill which produced the excellent lot,
showing results similar to the second or third example, though CIQ classification was
always 6A. It is not fair for the user not to be informed of the actual quality he will
encounter on the loom; and it is not fair for the reeling mill which produced the first
excellent lot that his efforts are not rewarded, as present Standards rate his silk 6A, same
as other ordinary lots.
Silk quality is influenced by so many factors: choice of the races distributed to the farmers;
farmers’ proper care; weather; chemicals use in the adjoining crops; proper procedures of
cocoons collection and drying; boiling; reeling. CIQ cannot influence them all but, by
careful, accurate in-depth tests in the users’ conditions and responsible Classification, can
influence the decisions in the supply chain which will end up in sufficient quality for the
consumer and better price for the producer, in a much healthier and stable market.
Thank for your attention.
