#Associations

2023-02-02

IAF at OECD Forum

IAF and its partners in its global projects Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative (STTI) and SCI (Standards Convergence Initiative) are active participants in the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector that will happen online February 13 – 15 and in hybrid form in Paris on February 16 and 17.

On Monday February 13, from 09:00 am to 10:00 am CET, IAF and ITMF will jointly give an online update on their work in the Standard Convergence Initiative (SCI). The SCI was set up by our organizations to keep pushing for a faster reduction for the audit and standard fatigue faced by garment manufacturers.

On Tuesday February 14, from 10:00 am to 11:10 am CET, IAF, through its STTI project, participates in an online session titled “Responsible Purchasing Practices: how can companies integrate them in their businesses? Learnings from the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices (CFRPP), the STTI White Paper and a community-based approach” This session explains how in practice better purchasing practices are currently being implemented. The session is organized by the MSI Working Group on Responsible Purchasing Practices and the Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative (STTI).

Also on Tuesday February 14 from 16:00 pm to 17:00 pm CET, IAF (through STTI) and the Better Buying Institute (BBI) will jointly host an online session titled: “Commercial compliance – accelerating change, measuring progress.” In this session BBI and STTI will share findings of their data collection. Based on the data they will share what purchasing practice improvements suppliers want brands to prioritize. They will explain how data can show real purchasing practice progress in the form of true partnerships. And they will put the collection of data on commercial compliance/purchasing practices in a legislative context, making the link with mandatory due diligence.

Then on February 17, IAF is involved in two in person sessions at the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector in Paris. First, IAF Secretary General Matthijs Crietee will speak in a panel taking place at 09:30 am to 11:00 am that is titled: “Implementing impactful due diligence: a practical perspective from Vietnam”. Later that day, from 2:30 to 4:00 pm CET, STTI spokesperson and BGMEA vice-president Miran Ali will speak in a panel called: “Due diligence costs and responsibilities: Collaborative approaches to buyer supplier relationships”

All online sessions can be accessed by going to https://www.oecd-events.org/garment/sessions?searchtext=&page=2. You will find the agenda there featuring all online side sessions and by clicking on a particular session you will reach the ‘register’ buttons. Upon registration you will receive the link to join online. To attend the OECD Forum in Paris, you may register through https://www.oecd-events.org/garment either to attend in person or to follow it live online.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

Business situation weakens slightly, but the industry stays cautiously optimistic

The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) has published the results of its 39th Global Textile Industry Survey (GTIS), conducted from 14 to 22 July 2026 among companies along the entire global textile value chain. Worldwide, 10% of participants rated their business situation as good, 53% as satisfactory and 37% as bad — a balance of -26pp, down from -17pp in May but still well above the 2023 lows. All regions are now in negative territory, from South Asia at -3pp to North & Central America at -58pp.

Italian textile machinery orders show quarterly recovery in Q2 2026

In the period between April and June 2026, order intake for Italian textile machinery manufacturers showed mixed but encouraging signals for the second half of the year. The order index at constant prices stood at 46.6 points (taking 2021=100 as the base year), showing a slight decrease of 3% compared to the same quarter of 2025. This trend was largely due to the contraction recorded in the domestic market, which fell by 25% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

Febratex 2026 to be the largest edition of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas with 10 exhibition halls

Febratex 2026 will be the largest edition in the history of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas. Dedicated to the textile and apparel manufacturing industries, the event will take place from August 18–21, 2026, in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, with a strong focus on technology, sustainability, and business generation.

Cotton Brazil Dialogues field trip brings international stakeholders closer to Brazil’s cotton production chain

How do you build trust across the global textile value chain? By opening the farm gates. This is the principle behind the Cotton Brazil Dialogues. At the end of July, the programme welcomed its first group of international participants for a five-day immersion into Brazilian cotton production, combining field visits with technical workshops to showcase the quality, sustainability, innovation and traceability behind one of the world’s leading cotton origins.

ITMA ASIA + CITME 2026 Shanghai showcases intelligent and sustainable manufacturing

From 20 to 24 November 2026, the textile machinery industry will gather in Shanghai for ITMA ASIA + CITME 2026, Asia’s leading business platform for textile machinery, to be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). The exhibition will occupy seven halls, with a total gross exhibition area of about 180,000 square metres. The exhibition has expanded by 10% over the last edition which reflects the continued industry interest in the region.