In northern Italy, an industrial district once known for baby and child products is now down to just two remaining manufacturers. This decline follows years of falling birth rates and rising competition from abroad.
According to Reuters, Bergamo province had about a dozen factories in the 1970s and 1980s. These businesses made high chairs, cribs, toys, and prams. But as Italy’s birth rate dropped by over a third in the last 20 years, most family-run companies shut down.
One of the few survivors is Foppapedretti, a company founded during Italy’s post-war economic boom. Ezio Foppa Pedretti started the business in 1945, making wooden toys from leftover materials in his uncle’s umbrella handle factory.
“We began as a toy maker, then moved to nursery products. But we soon saw a major demographic decline coming,” said Chairman Luciano Bonetti. To adapt, the company expanded into furniture, household, and gardening products in the 1980s.
In the 1990s, Foppapedretti sold about 100,000 high chairs and 80,000 baby beds each year. Today, selling 30,000 baby beds is considered a successful year, Bonetti told Reuters.
Italy’s Birth Crisis Deepens
Italy, the European Union’s third-largest country by population, recorded just 370,000 births in 2024 — a historic low. The fertility rate has fallen to 1.18, well below the EU average of 1.38 in 2023 and far from the 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made boosting birth rates a key priority. Trade unionist Adriana Geppert said the decline has cut Italy’s market for children’s products by 35-40 percent. She also pointed to competition from low-cost Chinese manufacturers as a major challenge.
A Warning for the Future
Two years ago, a group of baby product makers produced a short fictional documentary. The film imagined a dystopian 2050 where only one baby would be born in Italy. It aimed to raise awareness of the country’s urgent demographic crisis.
Alessandro Rosina, a demography professor at the Catholic University of Milan, appeared in the film. “The documentary is a warning. The choices we make today will affect our future,” he said.
Reuters explained that the scenario of zero births by 2050 is based on a linear projection of birth trends from 2014 to 2023. If this trend continues, Italy could face such a grim reality.
Italy’s Aging Population Shifts Market Focus
Italy is not only seeing fewer births but also aging rapidly. The country has the highest median age in the EU at 48.7 years. As a result, advertisements have shifted from baby diapers to adult incontinence products.
Consumer goods company Fater, a joint venture between Angelini and Procter & Gamble, reported steady growth in adult “absorbent products.” These items have become a key area of expansion in Italy.
Back in his store, Bonetti is considering new markets. He plans to explore products for senior citizens, like reclining armchairs, even though it is a crowded market. “There might still be room for us,” he said. “These would be the same customers who trusted our products for years.”
A Global Concern
Italy’s birth rate crisis is part of a wider trend in Western countries. Falling birth rates and aging populations are raising alarms about future challenges, including pension shortfalls, healthcare strains, and economic slowdowns.
Laura Perrins, writing in the Catholic Herald, pointed out the deeper problem. “The real issue is that fewer children today means no families tomorrow,” she wrote. “Today’s children are tomorrow’s parents. Without them, there is no future.”
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