#Associations

2024-03-14

ITMF Annual Conference & IAF World Fashion Convention 2024

From September 8th-10th the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF, www.itmf.org) and the International Apparel Federation (IAF, www.iafnet.com), for the first time in their histories, are jointly holding their annual convention. This year’s venue is the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

IAF and ITMF organize it with their mutual Uzbek member, the Uzbek Textile & Apparel Industry Association (Uztextileprom, https://uztextile.uz/). The theme of the convention is “Innovation, Cooperation & Regulation – Drivers of the Textile & Apparel Industry”.

At the Samarkand convention, IAF and ITMF will bring together the entire supply chain, including raw material suppliers, spinners, weavers, machine suppliers, garment and home textile manufacturers, brands, retailers, solution providers and educators. Industry experts and leaders will discuss the relevance of innovation, cooperation, and regulation for our industry and how they will influence and shape the future. The convention will also introduce the Uzbek textile and garment industry to the rest of the world, providing a good view of this industry, both during the conference program and during the planned factory visits.

Uzbekistan was known as one of the major cotton producers in the world. But in the last 10-15 yearsit has turned from a major cotton exporting to a cotton importing country. During this time, Uzbekistan has developed a textile and apparel that is in an exciting early stage of rapid development.

IAF and ITMF are organizing their annual conventions together out of a strong conviction that the apparel industry and textile industry need to jointly discuss collective solutions for our common industry challenges. Textile and garment manufacturers together hold keys to the solutions that the entire fashion industry relies upon. Reduction of the environmental footprint of textile and apparel products happens at the level of fiber producers, spinners, weavers, knitters, finishers, printers, and sewing operations. Information needed to fill a Digital Product Passport or to run a 3D digital design and development operation requires an effective flow of information between all segments of the textile and apparel value chain.

Samarkand is also a beautiful historic backdrop for the convention’s social events, including a gala dinner and a city tour. Save the dates in your calendar. From September 8-10 our value chain will meet in Samarkand!

SIMTA joins ITMF as Corporate Member

In the past two decades SIMTA has established itself as producer of specialized machinery for the textile industry. In short period of time, SIMTA became an important supplier of precise rollers for top OEMs. Afterwards SIMTA started manufacturing overhead cleaners, bobbin transport systems, and other textile ancillaries. In the meantime, SIMTA is a leader in this space in collaboration with the German automation technology partner Jacobi.

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.

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.

Speed and connectivity: Techtextil and Texprocess provided market-ready solutions for industries under pressure

With more than 36,000 visitors and 1,700 exhibitors from a total of 112 countries, Techtextil and Texprocess 2026 demonstrated how innovation comes into industrial use. The convergence of research, industry and application proved to be a breeding ground for new material solutions, manufacturing and processing technologies. Natural fibres, performance apparel, connected systems and AI-driven processing technologies emerged as key growth and future markets.

Italian Textile Machinery heads to Geneva for Index 2026

An important delegation of Italian companies will exhibit at the upcoming INDEX 2026, the world’s leading event for the nonwovens sector, taking place from May 19 to 22 in Geneva (Switzerland). Numerous Italian exhibitors will be present within the Italy Pavilion, organized by the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) and ACIMIT, an exhibition area of over 140 square meters dedicated to the latest innovations proposed by the Italian industry.