The Ministry for Health and Fashion Companies agree on larger sizes in an effort to combat anorexia
The Minister for Health, Elena Salgado, has announced an agreement reached with Spain’s main fashion chains (el Corte Inglés, Mango, Cortefiel and Inditex…etc) for more homogeneity over clothes sizes. In addition, labels will contain information such as waist, hip and bust measurements. There will also be more effort to promote a healthy image of beauty with shop mannequins being made to a size 38 (UK size 10). As part of the agreement size 46 (UK size 16) is also to be included in the collections sold by the main fashion chains.
Salgado said that this initiative was aimed at providing consumers with more information and trying to achieve homogeneity in sizing between different fashion companies and manufacturers.
The National Institute for Consumers will be carrying out a study on 8,500 women, resident in Spain, between the ages of 12 and 70 who will be measured in order to find out what the average female body size is according to age.
Participants will be given a fashion garment by way of payment.
The study will take place over the course of this year and will be financed by the National Institute for Consumers costing around a million euros. Special computerised cabins will be used to create 3 dimensional images of the women in the study, a technique that has already been successfully used in France.
Designers and fashion chains will have 18 months from the end of the study in order to implement the agreed changes to sizing and labelling. There will be a longer period of 5 years for companies to change their mannequins to a minimum of size 38.
