The institution’s president, Llorenç Galmés, has led a conference before European representatives in which the last three producers of Majorca’s language fabrics have also participated.

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The Consell de Mallorca calls for the protection of language fabrics

This Wednesday, the Consell de Mallorca defended the protection of the tongues’ fabrics in the European Parliament by creating a new Protected Geographical Indication. The president of the insular institution, Llorenç Galmés, has led a conference in which the problems of the sector have been exposed and some solutions have been proposed, such as the protection of the trade that can be carried out thanks to the new regulation that was established last October.

The three Mallorcan production companies travelled, this Wednesday, to Brussels with the authorities of the Consell de Mallorca to hold a conference and meet with European representatives. Teixits Riera, Teixits Vicens and Teixis Bujosa have highlighted the cultural, economic and social importance of guaranteeing this protection and obtaining the support of the European institutions.

The president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, highlighted the fundamental role played by European institutions in the advancement of the regions: “Through its cohesion policy, the European Union promotes the Europe of the regions, which are the basis of the identity and diversity that enriches the continent”. In this way, Galmés urged the European representatives in attendance to process a new PGI to protect the Mallorcan language fabrics, “to protect what distinguishes us and makes us unique”.

For her part, the vice-president of the Consell de Mallorca and councillor of Culture and Heritage has assured that now there is a unique opportunity for the island and its textile tradition: “not only for the current producers but also to encourage the preservation of the trade for future generations. This action would also encourage the preservation of the craft for future generations, giving a vital boost to the island’s craft industry,” explained Roca.

The last three producers of Cloth of tongues call for commitment

The three last three artisan producers of cloth of tongues have also travelled to Brussel-las, this Wednesday, with the authorities of the Consell de Mallorca and have explained to the European representatives their threats and weaknesses. Tomeu Fuster, from Teixits Vicens; Maria Isabel Bujosa, from Teixits Bujosa, and Gabriel Riera, from Teixits Riera, have highlighted that unfair competition and the lack of generational replacement is making it difficult for their centenary and traditional companies to continue working in the future.

The artisans explained their day-to-day lives and gave different examples of the problems they have to face every day. For example, Maria Isabel Bujosa, from Teixits Bujosa, said that “a large number of products are sold that imitate language fabrics, but they are imitations: unfair competition means that we constantly have to fight to make our product different”. Tomeu Fuster, from Teixits Vicens, explained that “it takes three months to make 200 meters of authentic tongues cloth. On the other hand, 200 meters of imitations can be produced in just a few hours”.

For his part, Gabriel Riera, from Teixits Riera, during his speech, invited the audience to reflect on different questions: “How long will we have strength, how can we face the generational replacement, how can we manage the survival of this traditional craft? He also emphasized that if we look at the bottom line, “the trend is negative and this will mean the annihilation of part of the culture of Mallorca”.

Finally, the Mallorcan delegation invited the conference attendees to a cocktail with an island seal: sobrasada from Can Company, Artasanes cookies and Mahon cheese.