#Textiles & Apparel / Garment

2025-07-10

IVGT: AddTex final meeting in Terrassa

From 25 to 26 June 2025, the final meeting of the ERASMUS+ project AddTex took place in Terrassa, Spain, which aimed to train workers, pupils and students in the textile industry. Over a period of three years, eleven partners from Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Spain, the Czech Republic and the IVGT association for Germany were involved in the project.

Final event – group photo with participants. On 26 June 2025, the final event took place in Terrassa under the motto ‘Textile Talent & Innovation’ with highlights from the AddTex and xBuild-EU projects. © 2025 IVGT

Europe's textile industry is becoming more digital and sustainable

With hackathons, virtual internships and 45 freely accessible MOOCs, AddTex set new standards in training and further education in the textile industry. The online platform www.addtex.eu provides professionals with the latest insights into green, digital and smart textiles – in a practical and free format.

AddTex.eu online platform

All the project goals were achieved. The partners developed innovative formats such as summer schools, back-to-school programmes, coaching services and masterclasses. The 45 massive open online courses (MOOCs) on the AddTex.eu platform offer explanatory videos and learning materials as downloadable PDFs, each tailored to the three main target groups: technicians, engineers and managers.

A highlight of the closing event on 26 June 2025, which was jointly organised by AddTex and the EU project xBUILD-EU under the motto ‘Textile Talent & Innovation: Driving Tomorrow's Industry’, was the interactive session ‘New Generations in the Labour Market’, including the speed dating event ‘Talent meets Industry’. The event brought together companies, students and experts for an intensive exchange and networking day in Terrassa.

The AddTex.eu platform will be continuously developed over the next five years by the IVGT Technical Textiles Department together with the project partners in order to provide up-to-date content and act as a point of contact for industry and universities. In addition to instructions for creating your own MOOCs, hackathons and webinars, new soft skills and formats such as back-to-school programmes and solution-oriented consulting have been developed and implemented by project hubs.

Final meeting in Terrassa – group photo with partners: All goals of the AddTex project have been achieved! © 2025 IVGT

A collaboration with the Chair of Textile Technology at Chemnitz University of Technology and the Texoversum Experts & Training Hub in Reutlingen is currently planned to supplement the project results. In addition to the three EU priority areas of ‘Green – Digital – Smart’, the focus is also on textile recycling and digitisation and AI topics in order to provide IVGT members with targeted information, training materials and network contacts.

The IVGT was most recently responsible for work package 5, ‘Qualification of the textile industry through ADDTEX hubs for green-digital-smart,’ as well as for the creation of an application manual and a business plan to ensure that the project content is updated for at least five years after the end of the project. The relevant documents are available for download as PDF files at //ivgt.info/addtex/(https://ivgt.info/addtex/), where you will also find links to videos on YouTube and to the project page on LinkedIn.

https://ivgt.info/addtex/

Images: IVGT/AddTex

Discussions on stage were part of the Addtex project. © 2025 IVGT

The textile industry in transition

Recycling, traceability, eco-design and digitalisation are among the key future challenges facing the European textile industry. The Erasmus+ project Skills4Circularity, involving 21 partners from twelve countries, is investigating the skills required to address these challenges. As the German industry partner, the Industry Association for Finishing – Yarns – Fabrics – Technical Textiles (IVGT) is bringing the industry’s perspective to the project.

IVGT joint stand brings innovation and networking to Techtextil 2026

At Techtextil 2026 and the parallel Texprocess 2026, key transformation topics such as artificial intelligence, digitalisation, sustainability, recycling and the circular economy will be reflected across the show. Against this backdrop, the IVGT, together with 16 member companies, will present its joint stand in Hall 12.1 (Stand D62) as a platform for exchange and networking.

Promoting sustainability, digitalisation and resilience

The EU project ADDTEX has reached an important milestone with the two publications White Book and E-Book. Both publications contain comprehensive guidelines, findings and policy recommendations to support the sustainable, digital and resilient transition of the textile industry. The focus is on technical textiles, whose innovations are considered key to the competitiveness and resilience of the European industry.

IVGT on tour in Albstadt

For the second edition of the Albstadt ID industry event on 10 October 2024, more than 300 school students from all over Germany and around 200 other interested parties from the industry came to Albstadt to find out about new training and employment opportunities in the textile and clothing industry through numerous presentations. The IVGT was also there! In room 205-141, Iris Schlomski reported on the current status of the ADDTEX Erasmus+ project and explained in particular the content of the ADDTEX Academy and the Hackathon and Bootcamp programmes that have now been successfully implemented.

Mario Jorge Machado re-elected President of EURATEX

The EURATEX General Assembly has re-elected Mario Jorge Machado as President of EURATEX, renewing its confidence in his leadership at a crucial moment for the European textile and clothing industry. The sector is facing rising costs, global competitive pressure and an increasingly challenging transition towards sustainability and digitalisation.

Next week’s focus: Intertextile Shenzhen & Yarn Expo Shenzhen fuse textile tradition with sustainable, digital trends

Fashion will not be left behind in one of the world’s undisputed tech and manufacturing capitals. Which is why next week, at Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics and Yarn Expo Shenzhen 2026, the organisers have made special efforts to integrate textile topics such as materials innovation, holistic sustainability, digitalisation and AI. Yet, from 9 – 11 June at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, the platform also includes timeless tradition and heritage-inspired evolution in equal measure. Across both shows, over 600 exhibitors from 11 countries and regions are set to showcase everything from Peruvian alpaca wool fabrics to tea-derived fibres, while their fringe programmes will explore diverse solutions along the entire value chain.

EDANA announces five new board members following 2026 Annual General Meeting

The EDANA Board of Governors is elected or re-elected at the Annual General Meeting by the member companies. The Governors are senior executives (business leaders) from member companies, based in different countries and representing different sectors of the nonwovens industry. The Board has central responsibility for guiding EDANA's overall strategy and approving its policies and priorities. It meets three times a year.

Cotton made in Africa partners receive top marks in independent verifications

Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA) and CmiA Organic are two internationally recognised standards that aim to promote sustainable development in the African cotton sector south of the Sahara. To ensure the standards’ credibility among brands, retailers, and consumers, independent verifiers evaluate compliance on the ground. The verification results for 2025, now published in the Aggregated Verification & Implementation Report, were very strong: The verifiers awarded consistently very good remarks regarding management, people, prosperity, and the environment.

Bangladesh: Italian textile machinery mission stops in Dhaka and Chittagong

Technological upgrading and the transition toward higher value-added production are driving the new Italian industrial mission to Bangladesh. This year, the mission will split between the country’s two main manufacturing hubs, where Italian manufacturers will meet the leaders of the local textile supply chain in two strategic stages: July 7th in Dhaka and July 9th in Chittagong.