(Based on an article by Lydia Vulkova at the Maritsa newspaper)
The working seminar, organized by the European Commission and the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, have attracted textile industry representatives from all over the country to Plovdiv. The topic was ?European Legislation regarding Textile Industry?. The seminar has been induced by the requirements of the European Committee all Bulgarian companies to meet EC requirements until 2007. Factfile: Bulgarian textile industry has always been one of the leading industries in Bulgarian economy. For the last year, textile and textile products industry form 24% of the BG export, and it is almost the only item with a positive balance. That industry has proven successful on the US market as well, with an export for the last year amounting to 146 million US dollars, as reported by the Bulgarian Textile and Clothes Export Association. The BG textile manufacturers find themselves in a tricky position, considering Bulgaria?s forthcoming entering the European Union. On the one hand, a large part of the companies are subcontractors, which not only guarantees their survival but also allows them to accommodate to the high European market standards. On the other hand, subcontracting means downsizing of companies? own production and keeping a somewhat mediocre level of artistic development. Any breakthrough on the foreign market with an own collection would mean really huge investments. According to representatives of the German Chamber of Industries, a textile-and-clothes manufacturer should invest about 2 million euros in order to finance its stepping out on the European textile market with its own label and collection. At the moment it is quite popular for west companies to transfer their whole activity into East European countries. We could give as an example the Bulsafil company, which built a whole new textile factory in the village of Skoutare, in the Plovdiv region. Another substantial investor is the Mirolio company. A part of the Bulgarian legislation has already been synchronised with European legal requirements. The Label Regulation is already acting, and the Regulation of the Environmental Ministry regarding contamination of environment due to textile companies? activities is under development.