#Associations

2022-06-21

Alberto Paccanelli re-elected as President of EURATEX

Italian textile entrepreneur, Alberto Paccanelli, has been re-elected as President of EURATEX during its General Assembly on 17 June; he will thus extend his mandate with 2 more years, until June 2024. Paccanelli is CEO of the Martinelli Ginetto Group, active in the high-end home textiles. He is also a Board member of Sistema Moda Italia and Confindustria Bergamo.

On the occasion of his re-election, Paccanelli presented his vision on the future of the European textiles industry: “With the adoption of the EU Textile Strategy on 30 March, the European Commission has launched a very ambitious journey that will change the nature of our industry: more focus on sustainability and durability, more transparency within the supply chain, more communication with the consumer, but also a better level playing field for our European companies, and more investment in innovation, digitalisation and skills development. That is a very ambitious agenda, which needs to result in a more resilient European textile industry. The coming 2 years will be critical to translate that vision into specific legislation and concrete programmes. This requires a strong EURATEX, to actively contribute to that process. I am honoured to continue leading the organisation and fulfil this challenging task.”

EURATEX GA also elected 4 other members of the Presidency Team:

Bodo Bölzle (Amann, Germany),
Jean François Gribomont (Utexbel, Belgium),
Grégory Marchant (UTT, France) and
Ismail Kolunsag (Cross Tekstil, Turkey).

During the Assembly, EURATEX also welcomed new memberships from Ukrlegprom (Ukraine) and Astrico (Romania), and a partnership with Inditex (Spain).

Alberto Paccanelli, President of EURATEX

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.

BTMA backs global growth while investing in future UK leaders

As one of a number of new initiatives launched this year, the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) is launching the UK-India Textile Machinery Coalition. The UK-India Free Trade Agreement, signed in July 2025, has implications that extend across sourcing, competitiveness and long-term trade dynamics, believes BTMA CEO Jason Kent.

China projected to increase cotton production, yields, and imports in 2026/27

World cotton production in the 2026/27 season is projected at 25.9 million tonnes, exceeding global consumption of 25.2 million tonnes, according to the May 2026 issue of Cotton This Month. That means both production and consumption are expected to remain close to current season levels, while global cotton trade is projected to decline by 2.7% to approximately 9.6-9.7 million tonnes.

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.