#Sustainability

2022-11-24

Entreculturas gets 10 million Euros from Inditex

/ Since 2001 Inditex has invested over €60 million in educational and community development programmes run by Entreculturas, directly benefiting 1.3 million people. © 2022 Inditex

The Executive Vice-President of Entreculturas, Daniel Villanueva, and the CEO of Inditex, Óscar García Maceiras, signed a new agreement today under which the NGO will receive €10 million of funding for social initiatives focused on development in 11 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia and several integration programmes in Spain.

The projects funded by the agreement, to be launched between 2023 and 2025, will aim to bridge gaps in education and digital skills. In addition, the funding will provide subsistence and protection for the victims of forced migration as part of a programme called Generating opportunities: Education and inclusion for a sustainable world.

With this new agreement, Inditex is reinforcing its long- standing commitment to Entreculturas, which dates back to 2001, when the two organisations signed their first collaboration agreement.

Over the last two decades, Inditex has donated over €60 million to Entreculturas programmes which, on aggregate, have improved the living conditions of more than 1.3 million vulnerable people in 28 countries across Latin America, Africa and Asia. Since 2020, Entreculturas and Inditex have been working together to alleviate the lives of those most in need in Spain.

During the signing ceremony, which took place this Friday in Madrid, Entreculturas’ Executive Vice-President, Daniel Villanueva, said “Our collaboration with Inditex is remarkable not only for its longevity and economic magnitude but also, and more importantly, for its reach and the impact it has had on the lives of extremely vulnerable people”.

Inditex has also renewed its funding of the Chair for Refugees and Forced Migrants at Pontificia Comillas University

Today, the CEO of Inditex, Óscar García Maceiras, and the Dean of Pontificia Comillas University, Enrique Sanz Giménez-Rico, have renewed a three-year agreement funding the Chair for Refugees and Forced Migrants, which has been researching the situation of people who are forced to flee from their homes since 2006.

The Chair endows and awards PhD fellowships to researchers for investigating the processes by which refugees arrive and integrate into society in Spain and Europe. It also offers students enrolled in the official Cooperation and Migration programmes at Pontificia Comillas University the chance to undertake work placements between six months and one year at national and international organisations that work directly with refugees, such as Entreculturas.

“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.

Textile Exchange reports growth in certifications and industry engagement

Textile Exchange has published its 2025 Annual Report, highlighting continued growth in certified sites, industry participation and the development of its standards and membership structure. According to the report, more than 100,000 sites worldwide are now certified to Textile Exchange standards, more than three times the number recorded in 2020. Preliminary figures also indicate 12% year-on-year growth across the organization's current standards, including the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) and the Responsible Animal Fiber standards.

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.