#Associations

2021-02-11

EURATEX for a comprehensive EU Textile Strategy

EURATEX responded with clear ideas to the roadmap for a European Textile Strategy. The EC initiative should push the textile and clothing industry to be more competitiveness, innovative and sustainable.

The European Commission aims at adopting the European Strategy for Textile by the 3rd Quarter of 2021. It published first a Roadmap and will soon launch a public consultation.

EURATEX has been working for the past five years on developing a coherent strategy to push the industry to a more competitive and sustainable future.

These are the focal points that EURATEX advises the EU to take onboard:

Good balance between sustainability & the cost for industry.

Address the competitiveness and resilience of the European textiles industry, without which no sustainability strategy can be implemented.

Work on areas such as research, innovation & digitalisation, standards, public procurement, market surveillance, global value chain, skills, consumer trends and so on.

Policy coherence: textiles strategy to be aligned with EU Green Deal and other relevant EU policies, including the EU Industrial strategy, the new EU Trade strategy, the EU Pact for Skills, the Sustainable Chemicals strategy, etc.

Consider the entire value chain of the industry: complex, involving multiple production steps, resulting in a variety of products.

Establish, as much as possible, commitments, agreed targets and a time frame. Before, make careful and realistic impact assessments, and foresee strategic investments.

Set up an appropriate governance which gathers legitimate representatives of the industry, policy makers and other key stakeholders.

To know more, you can read EURATEX reply.

https://euratex.eu/wp-content/uploads/Final-Feedback-EURATEX.pdf

EURATEX urges Member States to prioritise competitiveness in the next EU budget

Ahead of crucial discussions among EU Member States on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034, EURATEX, the European Apparel and Textile Confederation, calls on European leaders to safeguard ambitious funding for industrial competitiveness and ensure that these resources translate into concrete investment support in European companies.

EURATEX calls for urgent action on industrial competitiveness

EURATEX, the European Apparel and Textile Confederation, welcomes today’s State of the Union Address by European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and in particular her recognition of Europe’s need to rebalance unfair trade, cut red tape, and strengthen its industrial and strategic autonomy.

European textile industry calls for €10 handling fee on ultra-fast-fashion imports

The introduction of the €3 customs duty on low-value imports marks an important milestone in Europe’s efforts to address the challenges created by the rapid growth of ultra-fast-fashion imports. Together with the abolition of the €150 customs duty exemption, it demonstrates that policymakers are willing to act when market distortions become impossible to ignore. However, the European textile and clothing industry considers this a first step rather than the final destination.

Data and skills, not algorithms, hold back AI adoption in textiles, finds ITMF and ITA white paper

The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) and the Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University (ITA) have published a new white paper entitled AI in the Textile Value Chain: A Strategic Guide to Artificial Intelligence for the Global Textile Industry. The study concludes that the main barriers to artificial intelligence adoption in the textile and apparel industry are not technological limitations, but poor data integration, skills shortages and gaps in governance. According to the authors, further progress will depend on coordinated efforts to develop capabilities across the industry.

Brazil: The Italian textile and textile-machinery sector takes centre stage at two workshops

From 19 to 24 October 2026, Brazil will host a mission showcasing Italian excellence in the textile and textile machinery sectors, with two workshops scheduled for 20 October in the state of Santa Catarina and 22 October in São Paulo. The initiative will bring together Italian companies specialising in textile machinery, yarns, fabrics and clothing accessories, with the aim of strengthening commercial and industrial ties between the two countries and opening up new opportunities for collaboration.

ITMF survey shows slight improvement in global textile industry despite continued pressure

The 40th ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey (GTIS), conducted from 21 to 29 September 2026, shows a slight improvement in the global business situation, to -23pp, well above the November 2023 low of -46pp. Conditions nevertheless remain weak, in what has become a new normal of high uncertainty. Only South Asia (+13pp) and Africa (+9pp) are positive, while Europe (-36pp), South America (-44pp) and North & Central America (-56pp) report the weakest conditions.