#Associations

2025-04-08

In March 2025 global textile industry struggled but kept resilient optimism

The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), has released the results of its Global Textile Industry Survey (GTIS) for March 2025. This survey, conducted regularly across all key regions and segments of the textile value chain, revealed a complex picture of a deteriorated business situation, cautious optimism, regional divergence, and ongoing structural challenges.

Results of the 31st ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey

After a slow but steady recovery since November 2023, the global business situation in the textile industry has slightly deteriorated in March 2025. While East Asia and North & Central America reported modest improvements, they remain at rather low levels. Garment producers continued to show the most stable performance across the value chain. Despite the current challenges, expectations for the 4th quarter of 2025 remained positive. Optimism was highest in Africa and the Americas, while East Asia stood out with a more pessimistic outlook. Producers of garments, fibers, and finished fabrics were the most hopeful, in contrast to technical and home textiles, where expectations remained subdued.

Source: 8th-31st ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey (31st: 17-26.03.2025) – last data point = March 2025 © 2025 ITMF

The prior recovery in order intake had also lost momentum, with declines in East Asia and Europe, while South-East Asia remained relatively stable. Garment producers continued to outperform other segments in maintaining order levels. Order backlogs slightly declined to a global average of 2.2 months, with Europe leading due to the strong presence of textile manufacturers. Capacity utilization held firm at 73%, driven by relatively higher rates in Asia. Meanwhile, textile inventories were showing signs of increases, led by yarn producers, while garment makers continued to keep stock levels low amid ongoing market caution.

The survey also revealed that concerns around demand and geopolitics were still growing. Weak demand remained the most pressing issue, cited by 62% of respondents, followed by geopolitical tensions (41%). Although worries over energy and raw material costs had slightly eased, concerns around interest rates and new sustainability regulations were on the rise.

For more information, please see www.itmf.org

Results of the 38th ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey

The global textile industry appears to be turning a corner, but this is more likely a fragile and possibly temporary improvement than the start of a durable recovery. According to the 38th ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey, conducted worldwide during the second half of May 2026, business sentiment, order intake, order backlogs and capacity utilization all improved versus March — yet every indicator remains weak by historical standards, and rising costs cast doubt on how long the upturn can last.

SIMTA joins ITMF as Corporate Member

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Towards pragmatic and harmonised labelling in the EU

EDANA, alongside 14 European associations, urges the European Commission and Member States to adopt a pragmatic approach for the future harmonised packaging labels, in line with the EU’s agenda for the EU Single Market, simplification and competitiveness. The system should rely on text-free pictograms, available in achromatic or monochromatic versions matching the packaging palette, with the possibility of using digital labelling as a core element. Our associations represent manufacturers of consumer goods across Europe.

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Footwear innovation enabled by warp knitting technology– insights from New Balance

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