#Associations

2019-06-17

EURATEX General Assembly

Over 120 participants attended the annual EURATEX General Assembly in Brussels on 13 June. The event was a unique opportunity to hear testimonials from different countries and contexts, with speakers offering insights in dealing with the problem of attracting talent and encouraging skills development.

At the EURATEX General Assembly, international experts present the challenges and possible solutions to tackle the issue of attracting young and skilled workforce in the textile and clothing sector.

Although the industry is witnessing a period of positive evolution – since 2012 turnover has grown by 10% to € 178 billion, extra-EU exports are up by 23% and have reached 50 billion Euros for the first time, and labour productivity has grown an impressive 22% - it still faces significant challenges, the biggest one being the difficulty of recruiting and retaining skilled workforce.

In the opening session of the event, newly-elected EURATEX President Alberto Paccanelli stressed that “companies hiring today not only look for young people with the same skill sets as the retiring workforce, but also new talent with creative, highly technical and digital skills for high added value jobs in design, product development, technical textile production, digitalization, sustainability and circular economy.”

The Director for Skills of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Manuela Geleng, gave an overview of the policies and programmes being developed by the EU to support upskilling and training of workforce. She reminded the audience that EU countries on average spend 4.6% of GDP on initial education, but only 0.1% on continuous life-long learning, which is very ill adapted to today’s fast changing work environments and skill needs.

International speakers from the industry, national and regional initiatives and vocational education and training institutions presented their success stories, offering a look at the situation in different countries.

Common issues emerged, as well as clear solutions: a need for a new approach and changes in company culture are necessary to attract the new generation. Close collaboration between industry and training institutions is the key to the development of skilled professionals and the growth of the sector.

EURATEX appealed to policy makers at EU, national and regional level to accompany and support the sectoral stakeholders in their efforts to provide world-class textile and clothing education and training across Europe.

Europe is losing its textile industry

EURATEX has released its latest Economic Update on the performance of the European textile and apparel industry in 2025. For the third consecutive year, the sector recorded negative results across all key indicators — production, turnover and employment — confirming a continued erosion of competitiveness across Europe.

FITA, ABIT and EURATEX underline strategic importance of Mercosur – EU Partnership Agreement for the textile and apparel industry

The Argentine Textile Industry Federation (FITA), the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (ABIT), and the European Apparel and Textile Confederation (EURATEX) continue to monitor the process of internalizing the Mercosur-European Union Partnership Agreement. This agreement is essential for the competitiveness of our industries, on both sides of the Atlantic.

VDMA members at Techtextil: Smart technologies for technical textiles

At Techtextil 2026 in Frankfurt, the members of VDMA Textile Machinery underline their key role as global technology leaders for technical textiles and textile processing. With a strong presence of more than 50 members they will highlight how engineering excellence, innovation strength and sustainability expertise from Germany and Europe are shaping the future of the textile industry. Seven companies will be present at the VDMA group stand in the centre of hall 12.0.

Between geopolitical pressure and industrial resilience

In this interview, Dr. Janpeter Horn (VDMA) discusses the current challenges facing textile machinery manufacturers, shaped by geopolitical tensions, regulatory developments and subdued investment. He also outlines why innovation strength, integrated solutions and strategic positioning remain key to global competitiveness.

ECCO introduces first shoe featuring innovative protein-based fibre

ECCO, in partnership with Spinnova, announces the launch of the limited edition ECCO BIOM® 720, a first-of-its-kind shoe utilising an often overlooked leather by-product, transformed into a protein-based fibre. The fibres are produced using patented technology that advances material innovation while reducing waste and supporting full resource use across the leather and textile industry.

The LYCRA Company strengthens sustainability leadership, appoints Alistair Williamson as VP of Product Sustainability

The LYCRA Company has appointed longtime executive Alistair Williamson as vice president of product sustainability, reaffirming its commitment to developing sustainable solutions for apparel and personal care products. In this role, he will guide the company’s next chapter of sustainability strategy and oversee all initiatives aimed at reducing environmental impact across products, operations, and innovation platforms.