丢失俄罗斯生意后意大利服装业主的忧虑

20 June 2022

D. Exterior是由Nadia Zanola用有的服装公司。

Zanola在北部城市 Brescia有50个工人。

她担忧公司的未来。她为俄罗斯生产了大量服装，但由于经济限制，俄罗斯商店不能给她付款。

这个限制即所谓的制裁，起源于年初俄罗斯入侵乌克兰。他们要因为战争惩罚俄罗斯，使其难送钱到其它国家或难以收货。

然而，制裁也使Zanola这样依赖于俄罗斯市场的人生意困难。她为俄罗斯商场生产了两百多万套不能被付款的贵服装。

Zanola说"If they cannot pay for it, I will be on my knees,"她叫这种情是"痛苦"。

制裁正在损害意大利的服装和皮革生意，

像衣服和鞋子。意大利是世界上最大的生产这些高端产品的地方。每年产值1010亿美元。

俄罗斯客户占总额的3%，任何丢失都损害供应那个市场的80000家小企业主。

Fabio Pietrella是意大利时装贸易集团的总管。他说丢失俄罗斯客户，就丢失每年80%小生意业主的钱。

Marche, Veneto, Umbria and Emilia-Romagna这些地区都依赖俄罗斯的订单。

Pietrella说"这些地区链接着供应链"。他发现小企业关闭已影响到"整个国家的经济强国。"

像Gucci, Versace and Armani这些世界上最著名的服装公司本周在米兰举办时装秀。

像Diesel, Benetton and Armani这些公司还在与俄罗斯做生意。他们的名字出现在耶鲁大学Jeffrey Sonnenberg教授的清单中，称这些公司为"greedy."他注意到这些公司在二战时还在卖衣服给德国的Nazi Germany公司。

Sonnenberg说服装不能像药品和农业一样被制裁。

Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy and Fendi这些公司在停业时还在付3500名俄罗斯员工的工资。

Pietrella说我们不能管俄罗斯的行动，但是"我们可以思考我们的公司，伦理是一件事，市场是另一件事，公司的工人被付是市场，而不是伦理"

D. Exterior is a clothing company in Italy owned by Nadia Zanola.

Zanola has 50 workers in the northern city of Brescia.

She is worried about the future of her company. She made a lot of clothing for people in Russia but, because of international economic restrictions, the stores that asked for the clothes cannot pay her.

The restrictions, known as sanctions, started earlier this year because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They are meant to punish Russia for the war by making it hard to send money to other countries or to receive goods.

The sanctions, however, are also making business difficult for people like Zanola who depend on sales in Russia. She has over $2 million worth of clothing she made for Russian stores for which she has not been paid.

"If they cannot pay for it, I will be on my knees," Zanola said. She called the situation "painful."

The sanctions are hurting a number of businesses in Italy that make costly goods made from cloth and leather, such as clothing and shoes. Italy is the largest producer of these kinds of high-cost products in the world. The industry adds $101 billion to Italy's economy each year.

While Russian customers only add about three percent of that total, any loss hurts the 80,000 small businesses supplying that market.

Fabio Pietrella is the president of a fashion industry trade group in Italy.

He said losing Russian customers takes away over 80 percent of the money the small businesses make each year.

Areas in Italy such as Marche, Veneto, Umbria and Emilia-Romagna depend on orders from Russia.

"These are districts that connect the supply chain," Pietrella said. He noted that if small producers close, it will hurt the "entire system that (makes) this country an economic powerhouse."

Some of the world's most famous fashion companies like Gucci, Versace and Armani are Italian. They are showing off their clothing for men this week in Milan.

A number of Italian companies such as Diesel, Benetton and Armani are still doing business in Russia. Their names appear on a list put together by Yale University business professor Jeffrey Sonnenberg. He called those companies "greedy." He noted that companies that continued selling goods to Nazi Germany after the start of World War II are not "celebrated."

Sonnenberg said clothing companies are not able to find ways to get past the sanctions the way the drug or agriculture industries do.

Other clothing companies in France and Spain broke ties with Russia when the war started. LVMH is a French business that includes fashion brands Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy and Fendi. LVMH is still paying its 3,500 Russian employees even though it is no longer doing business there.

Pietrella said there is no way to defend Russia's actions. But he added: "We have to think of our companies. Ethics are one thing, the market is another. Workers in a company are paid by the market, not by ethics."