The 84th IWTO Congress:Building a professional and sustainable industry

by+Li+Yili

One of the highlights of the wool industrys calendar， the International Wool Textile Organization takes its annual Congress to Zhangjiagang， China from May 18th to 20th， 2015.

Co-organized by IWTO member China Wool Textile Association （CWTA）， this will be the fourth Congress to take place in China， the worlds largest wool processing and wool consuming country.

Each year in spring IWTO holds the IWTO Congress. The IWTO Congress is the annual meeting for the entire wool industry， from farm to fashion from the initial processors to spinners， weavers and garment manufacturers， plus all the retailers and other organizations involved right along the chain. The IWTO Congress provides a strong platform for business networking and serves as a useful forum for discussion and exchange between members on issues of interest to the industry and makes it possible to adopt convergent positions to overcome specific problems.

The IWTO Congress is a unique opportunity for all in the wool textile pipeline to meet， exchange ideas and help formulate IWTO policy for the coming year.

With the goal of working together to build a professional and sustainable industry， IWTO Congress participants include growers， traders， primary processors， spinners， weavers and garment manufacturers， together with retailers and other organizations involved in the wool pipeline. IWTO Congresses are attended by high level management representatives.

IWTOs 83rd Congress （the previous session） took place in Cape Town， South Africa from April 28th to 30th， 2014， during which over 225 delegates participated in the development of the industry strategy and networking to enhance their business.

Zhangjiagang is a recently developed port city and one of the top ten urban areas in China. The Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone was founded in 1992， and today the city is an important wool processing， manufacturing and trading hub. More than half of Chinas wool textile capacity， from early stage processing to end wool products， is based in Zhangjiagang. Mill visits and a tour of the Free Trade Zone will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday， May 20th.

Taking the lead from Zhangjiagangs transformation from fishing village to a model city of the future， the theme of the 84th IWTO Congress is WOOL FORWARD， where the future of wool fiber will be explored among the attendees.

“Attending the IWTO Congress is a great opportunity to meet friends and colleagues involved in the wool industry on an international scale. It is where various papers are presented and debated to create a better wool industry. It creates opportunities for all sectors to come together and discuss their common interest in wool. This I believe is quite unique，” said Robert Ryan， the chairman of FAWO， Australia.

Wool Retail Forum

As fashion and textile retailers strive to respond to ever-increasing consumer demands for information about the origins of their products， the International Wool Textile Organisation （IWTO） is organising an event to promote greater transparency along the wool supply chain.

In partnership with The Woolmark Company and China Wool Textile Association， IWTO has created a Wool Retail Forum， which will take place on May 19th and 20th during the 84th IWTO Congress in Zhangjiagang， China and whose theme will be “Provenance and Performance”， two key elements that set wool apart from other fibers.The Woolmark Company has invited recognized industry icons to the forum in Zhangjiagang to explore and examine wools performance in outdoor and sportswear， Chinese consumer market trends and the importance of provenance in quality assurance. The Wool Retail Forum serves as platform for retail brands and the wool industry as well as a special opportunity for retailers to engage directly with upstream suppliers.

Retailers and brands are invited to join Congress delegates on May 19th for sessions on sustainability， wool promotion， and developing demand for wool， followed by the Wool Retail Forum programs on May 20th.

By bringing together representatives from each stage of the wool pipeline， IWTO aims to foster better understanding of wools route from farm to retail， and to open opportunities for closer collaborations.

Topics to be discussed during the sessions includes： wools performance in outdoor and sportswear， Chinas love of luxury-imported and domestic， Chinese consumer market trends， quality assurance through provenance as well as sustainability and wool.

“The Wool Retail Forum is an opportunity for retailers， who are looking for ways to strengthen transparency and authenticity， to exchange ideas directly with downstream suppliers，” says Elisabeth van Delden， IWTO Secretary General. “It has been the nature of our industry that， generally speaking， the different actors within the supply chain dont get the opportunity to talk to each other. The Wool Retail Forum recognizes that as an industry we must work more closely together in order to meet consumer expectations about origins， accountability， and value.”