#Associations

2025-04-19

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.

In the context of the EU-funded StitchTogether project, which aims at promoting social partnerships in the European Textiles and Clothing Industry in seven countries in the EU and Türkiye, this seminar was also the occasion to draft the Istanbul Declaration: a joint statement to emphasise the social partners’ strong commitment to work together.

The meeting in Türkiye brought together representatives of the Turkish textile industry, including the Turkish employer association (TTSiS), national trade unions (Teksif, Öz Iplik Is, DiSK Tekstil), brands representatives, the Ministry of Labour and stakeholders from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Social Labour Convergence Programme, to discuss the future of the industry.

Together, social partners call upon the Government and the European Union to support the upcoming transformation of the textile and clothing industries, technology and skills upgrades, regional development and just transition. The Istanbul Declaration also includes a series of priorities, confirming social partners’ commitment in working together for a more competitive and fair Turkish textile industry.

Judith Kirton-Darling, IndustriAll Europe's general secretary stated that “There are more than 1 million workers in the textile industry in Türkiye, who are facing many challenges which they have to adapt to. We stand in solidarity with our Turkish partners and recall the fundamental importance of freedom of association and freedom of collective bargaining in both law and practice, essential for the sector’s economic resilience.”

Dirk Vantyghem, EURATEX Director General, stressed that “Turkish companies face important challenges to adapt to a fast changing environment. This requires flexibility and joint efforts from workers and employers alike, to remain competitive. A constructive and open social dialogue is critical in this regard.”

FITA, ABIT and EURATEX underline strategic importance of Mercosur – EU Partnership Agreement for the textile and apparel industry

The Argentine Textile Industry Federation (FITA), the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (ABIT), and the European Apparel and Textile Confederation (EURATEX) continue to monitor the process of internalizing the Mercosur-European Union Partnership Agreement. This agreement is essential for the competitiveness of our industries, on both sides of the Atlantic.

EDANA warns of consequences of misclassification of PET spunbond imports

EDANA would like to remind its members and industry stakeholders of the legal requirement to comply with the EU rules on customs classification when importing nonwovens from third countries outside the EU. In this regard, it was recently discovered that there appears to be a high level of customs misclassification occurring in our industry. This could have dangerous and costly consequences for importers.

Engineering depth and diversity for composites

Airbond is the latest member of the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) to receive recognition for contributions to the composites industry. The engineering firm based in Pontypool, South Wales, has just received the Make UK Energy and Sustainability Award for its Lattice 3D Printing project.

Smart sensors, smart savings - Reducing energy and cost in textile finishing

As energy prices, sustainability requirements and quality expectations continue to rise, manufacturers of technical textiles face increasing pressure to optimize efficiency while ensuring process reliability. At the same time, skilled labor shortages require production systems that are intuitive, automated and easy to manage. PLEVA addresses these challenges with robust, maintenance-friendly sensor technologies combined with intelligent process control.

From preparation to 3D weaving: Stäubli’s solutions at Techtextil 2026

Stäubli, a global leader in high performance weaving technologies, is pleased to announce its participation at Techtextil 2026 in Frankfurt, Germany, the leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens. As technical textiles continue their rapid expansion across demanding markets such as defense, mobility, aerospace, construction, energy… Stäubli will showcase innovative solutions designed to empower mills to produce the next generation of advanced fabrics. Stäubli will exhibit its trend-setting technologies at the Swiss Pavilion Booth B01.6 in Hall 12.0.

DIENES at Techtextil 2026: Flexible pilot lines for bio-based fiber development

The growing relevance of bio-based materials in technical textiles is accompanied by increasing demands for reproducibility, high-quality data, and scalable process routes. Especially when working with cellulose and its derivatives, chitosan, lignin-based approaches, or bio-based PAN as a carbon-fiber precursor, R&D teams face variable feedstock quality, tighter process windows, and the need for reliable comparability across trials. This calls for flexible, data-driven experimental setups that can be reconfigured efficiently when recipes, solvents, and raw-material batches change.

Gunold showcases embroidery product range and services at Texprocess

At Texprocess 2026, GUNOLD will present numerous hands-on examples related to embroidery in Hall 8, Booth E20. The focus is on creative embroidery designs as well as the extensive product range of threads, nonwovens, and accessories for embroidery and embellishment. “Trade visitors can once again look forward to many new and creative embroidery designs. Of course, we will also showcase the matching products required to bring these ideas to life,” announces Marketing Manager Stephan Gunold.