#Associations

2022-12-21

EU Energy Council: EURATEX welcomes progress on the energy market reform, but the cap at 180 €/MWh is still too high

On Monday, the European energy ministers reached an agreement on a price cap for natural gas wholesale prices.

Despite welcoming the adoption of the instrument and the prospect to limit gas price speculations on the stock market, EURATEX considers the cap at 180 €/MWh to be still too high. Also, the complexity of the conditionalities triggering the cap may weaken its effectiveness and implementation: according to the legal proposal, the price level must be reached for three working days and European wholesale gas prices must remain, for the same length of time, at €35 above the global price of liquefied natural gas. Therefore, EURATEX urges the Council of the EU to improve this market correction mechanism.

Furthermore, EURATEX insists on the need to provide the industry with support measures to counteract competition from the US and other countries. Dirk Vantyghem, Director General of EURATEX, affirms: “The Industry is at the heart of the European way of life and the fundament of our social market economy. The European textile industry is 99.8% composed of SMEs, which struggle with tight margins while being at the upstream part of the supply chain: the EU must do more to save its industrial structure, its competitiveness and its capacity to provide essential products to European citizens”.

European textile and clothing federations mobilize against ultra-fast fashion

On the occasion of the Première Vision trade fair in Villepinte, the leading European textile and clothing federations issued a solemn call for urgent action against the rapid rise of ultra fast fashion. This model, driven by major non-European e-commerce platforms, already accounted for 4.5 billion imported parcels in the European Union in 2024—representing 5% of clothing sales (20% online)—and continues to grow at a staggering pace.

Joint statement by EURATEX and Danish Fashion and Textiles

EURATEX and its Danish member Dansk Mode & Textil are calling upon the Danish Presidency of the EU to bring back stability and transparency to the European agenda. These last few months we have seen major upheavals and turbulence in global markets, as well as uncertainty surrounding a number of regulatory initiatives. All this creates a climate of uncertainty for European industry and anxiety with the consumers. As a result, demand for textile and garments is low, and entrepreneurs are hesitant to make any further investment decisions.

StitchTogether project - Turkish social partners present the Istanbul Declaration

On 8-9 April 2025, social partners from the Turkish textile industry met in Istanbul to discuss different topics such as the green and digital transition, due diligence and brand responsibility, skills and training in the textile sector, as well as the next steps in their efforts to achieve broader and more effective social dialogue.

EURATEX and FTTH sign strategic partnership to strengthen Euro-Mediterranean textile cooperation

On Tuesday 15 April, EURATEX (the European Apparel and Textile Confederation) and FTTH (Fédération Tunisienne du Textile et de l’Habillement) formalised a new chapter in Euro-Mediterranean collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Monastir, Tunisia. The agreement reinforces the commitment of both parties to closer industrial cooperation, with a strong focus on sustainability, investment, and trade integration under the revised Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention.

Rieter reports stable order backlog and strategic progress – outlook for 2025 adjusted

In its Investor Update 2025, Rieter announced an order intake of CHF 203.9 million in the third quarter and CHF 559.3 million after nine months, reflecting a continued cautious investment climate in the textile machinery sector. Sales totaled CHF 121.5 million in the third quarter and CHF 457.7 million for the first nine months of the year, while the order backlog stood at around CHF 590 million as of September 30, 2025.

The Address of innovation and investment in textile technologies: ITM 2026

Sales for ITM 2026, one of the world’s most comprehensive and prestigious exhibitions in textile technologies, are continuing at full steam. The record number of exhibitors and visitors achieved at ITM 2024 once again proved the industry’s confidence and the commercial success of the exhibition; meanwhile, the strong interest shown in ITM 2026, to be held on 9-13 June 2026, has far exceeded expectations.

STOLL in focus:

At the beginning of this year, KARL MAYER announced that it would be shifting its focus back to its core areas of warp knitting, warp preparation and technical textiles. As part of this strategic realignment, the flat knitting machine business under the STOLL brand will be discontinued. The Reutlingen plant will close down on 31 October 2025. Production in China will end in December 2025. This was an extremely difficult decision for KARL MAYER.