#Associations

2025-02-06

6th AddTex project partner meeting in Prague

On January 21 and 22, 2025, the 6th AddTex project partner meeting took place in Prague at the invitation of the Czech cluster for technical textiles CLUTEX. After an update on the activities of the eleven European partners, the IVGT presented a draft business model that will ensure sustainable activities beyond the end of the project.

The 6th AddTex project partner meeting took place in Prague in January 2025 at the invitation of CLUTEX.© 2025 ADDTEX

Workshops develop ideas for HUBs

The focus was on the question of how HUBs in the textile industry can contribute to driving digitalization and sustainability through innovations in education and training. The project partners worked together to develop tasks, objectives and potential for the AddTex HUBs, contributing their perspectives as clusters, universities (HEI) and educational institutions (VET). The feedback collected is now being evaluated and integrated into further project work.

AddTex Masterclass Webinars: Dates are set

In Prague, the dates for the AddTex Masterclass webinar series on the project topics Green - Smart - Digital were also set. The 60-minute webinars will take place from February to May 2025 and are free of charge. As IVGT members, Penn Textile Solutions and the TFI - Institute for Floor and Spatial Systems at RWTH Aachen eV are participating with specialist presentations.

Dates:

February 5, 2025 – Building bridges between industry and education

March 5, 2025 – Intelligent solutions in textiles

April 2, 2025 – Digital Transformation in Textiles

May 7, 2025 – Green solutions in textiles

Registration: www.addtex.eu ? HUBS / Masterclasses section

Language: English

IVGT Textile Connect #3: Digitalization & AI in focus

Digital transformation is a decisive competitive factor in the textile industry. In keeping with this, the IVGT is opening its seminar year 2025 with IVGT Textile Connect #3 on February 11 and 12, 2025 in Aachen.

The event offers in-depth insights into automated data exchange, digital product passports and process optimization with AI

A special highlight is the visit to the DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials eV, which presents the latest research approaches to fibers and AI-supported analytics. There is also the opportunity to visit the McKinsey Innovation Center for Narrow Textiles in cooperation with the ITA Aachen Academy. Take the chance to get to know practical applications and network with experts! Register at: https://ivgt.info/itc3/ Further information at www.ivgt.de

International practical experience for textile students

As part of the European Erasmus+ project AddTex, the partner institutions organised several hackathons simultaneously from 15 to 17 May 2024 at the universities in Borås (Sweden), UPC (Spain), PIN (Italy) and TUS (Ireland). The aim was to develop practical solutions to real challenges facing the textile industry. The German family-owned company Schmitz Textiles, a specialist in complete textile solutions for indoor and outdoor use, challenged students at the University of PIN in Prato to increase the recycled content of yarns for awning production to 100 per cent.

Fifth transnational ADDTEX meeting in Prato

From 1 to 5 July 2024, the fifth member meeting of ADDTEX took place in Prato at PIN s.c.r.l. Educational and Scientific Services for the University of Florence. Parallel to the meeting of the project partners and in the same building in Piazza Giovanni Ciardi, 25, PIN organised a textile innovation boot camp with students from Sweden, Spain, Romania, Ireland, Italy and Portugal.

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.

Première Vision Paris expands innovation focus across fashion and beauty

From September 1–3, 2026, Première Vision Paris will bring together more than 900 exhibitors from across the global fashion value chain. This year's edition places a strong emphasis on Innovation-Tech, highlighting technologies and materials that are reshaping product development, manufacturing and sustainability.

SHIMA SEIKI to exhibit at Première Vision Paris

Leading digital textile solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan will exhibit at Première Vision Paris in Paris, France next month. The company will exhibit in the "Smart Creation" area, dedicated to showcasing cutting-edge technologies that integrate sustainability and innovation. The knitting expert will be demonstrating solutions that optimize product development workflows and enhance sustainability through proposals in Digital Product Creation (DPC).