EURATEX

EURATEX is the voice of the European textile and apparel industry working together with EU institutions and other European and international stakeholders.

01/06/2026

🎈 June 1st – International Children’s Day

Did you know that, in Europe, parents buy more than 1 billion items of kids clothing each year? This means around 30-40 new articles for each child, every 12 months.

But behind each garment is a hidden layer of safety.

Before children’s clothing can be sold in the EU, it must go through:

✔️ Chemical testing (REACH): checking dozens of restricted substances like dyes and heavy metals
✔️ Mechanical testing: ensuring buttons, prints, and accessories won’t detach (choking risk)
✔️ Flammability & durability checks: especially for nightwear and everyday wear

👉 In practice, this often means 10–30+ tests per product, sometimes even more, considering thousands of individual substance checks across collections.

💭 So here’s the catch:

Not every product available to consumers, especially from outside the EU, necessarily meets these same standards.

Therefore, on Children’s Day, please pay a bit more attention to where your child’s clothes come from.

Safety isn’t just a feature, it’s a process.

29/05/2026

Textiles are everywhere - and sometimes, they save lives.

In our next "Textiles are everywhere" episode, we focus on something we use every day but rarely think about: car safety textiles.

Seat belts are not “just straps.” They are high‑strength woven textiles, engineered to withstand extreme forces while keeping the body safely restrained. Airbags, too, are advanced textile systems: folded fabric cushions designed to deploy in a fraction of a second to protect passengers from impact.

Together, they form a coordinated safety system: the seat belt positions the body, and the airbag cushions the force.

A powerful reminder that textiles aren’t only “soft". They can be engineered for strength, precision, and reliable performance, protecting lives in the moments that matter most.

What other everyday safety innovations do you think rely on textiles?

28/05/2026

Every year, more than 250,000 public buyers decide how is spent.

From and to , protective equipment, interiors and technical textiles, these decisions shape which products, companies and standards are rewarded across the .

Public procurement is not only about price. It is a powerful tool to support quality, , , resilience and European industrial capabilities.

That is why EURATEX, together with 49 organisations across industry, civil society and public buyers, is calling on the European Commission - Stéphane Séjourné, Teresa Ribera, Wopke Hoekstra, Valdis Dombrovskis - to put forward a Public Procurement Act that delivers lasting benefits for the economy, society and the environment.

For the European textile and clothing industry, this means procurement rules that recognise sustainable and high-quality products, promote fair competition, and support companies investing in innovation, circularity and responsible production.

Read the full letter on our website.

28/05/2026

EURATEX President Mario Jorge Machado joined the closing panel of the Textile ETP Annual Conference in Amsterdam, sharing his perspective on the importance of the digital transition for textile companies.

“Digitalisation is a key enabler to increase the efficiency of our companies, facilitate sustainability and ultimately remain competitive. At the same time, we need high-quality legislation and a level playing field to allow our companies to successfully make this green and digital transition. That is what we try to focus on at EURATEX.”

Held from 26 to 28 May, the conference brought together stakeholders from across the European textile innovation ecosystem to discuss how digital technologies, data-driven business models, automation and AI are transforming the textile and apparel value chain.

Thank you to Textile ETP for organising this important exchange on the future of our industry.

27/05/2026

EURATEX Spring Report: textile and apparel imports - double the value of exports

A difficult and turmoiled 2025 left its mark on the European textile industry, which continues confirming the trend from previous years: declining exports, increasing imports. Although our continent remains the second largest world exporter of textile & clothing products (after China), total trade value decreased by 3.2%, while imports registered a 1.4% growth last year.

“These value figures conceal bigger changes when looking at volumes: there seems to be a shift towards lower value textile and fashion products, especially coming from online platforms. This raises considerable concerns about the compliance of such products with the upcoming EU environmental and social standards”, comments Dirk Vantyhgem, EURATEX Director General.

However, some good news come from the technical textiles sector, where the export trend remained stable in 2025. Further proof that European competitiveness is more based on innovation - driven textile applications, used in automotive, construction, and many other sectors.

See below a general overview of trade figures in 2025.

For more details and the complete Spring Report publication, please contact our statistics expert – Roberta Adinolfi ([email protected]).

26/05/2026

Keynote speaker(s) alert!

For the first time, the Brussels Textile Forum brings this year not one, but two high-level speakers, who don’t just talk about policy, they help shape it.

🎤 Heinz Jansen
Head of the Task Force on the EU’s Future Competitiveness
Secretariat General, European Commission

💡 He’s working at the very centre of the Commission on Europe’s competitiveness strategy, from innovation and industrial policy to reducing dependencies and boosting growth.
👉 If you want to understand how the EU plans to keep its industries competitive in a rapidly changing global economy, this is a perspective you won’t get anywhere else.

🎤 Karel Lannoo
CEO, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)

💡 Leading one of Europe’s most influential think tanks, Karel Lannoo brings decades of expertise in EU economic governance, financial regulation and market dynamics.
👉 If you want to understand what EU policy really means for business in practice, this is the analysis you need.

How will Europe respond to global economic challenges? Is the textile sector adapting fast enough to remain a key industrial pillar?

These keynotes will connect the dots, giving you the big picture behind everything discussed during the day.

👉 If you want insight, not just information, be in the room.
👉 Registrations are simple and quick
👉 Save your place: https://brusselstextilesforum.eu

📅 11 June 2026 | 📍 Brussels, De Warande

Don’t just follow EU policy - understand where it’s going.

22/05/2026

How can the European TCLF ecosystem address skills shortages and prepare for the green and digital transition?

Join our online event on the EU Pact for Skills for TCLF and discover how becoming a signatory can help your organisation benefit from a growing European community focused on upskilling, reskilling and lifelong learning.

📅 Wednesday, 27 May
🕙 10:00 am CET

The Pact for Skills offers:
• networking and partnership opportunities across Europe
• access to knowledge, good practices and peer learning
• guidance on EU funding opportunities and skills initiatives

Companies, education and training providers, social partners, public authorities and sector organisations are all invited to join the Pact and help shape the future skills agenda for the TCLF industry.

Register here:
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21/05/2026

What you produce, you own - even at the end of its life.

Although it might be a too brief definition of the Extended Producer Responsibility, the idea behind one of the biggest shifts coming to the textile industry will be the focus point in many conversations you’ll find at the Brussels Textiles Forum.

💬 From textile waste and EPR to energy, decarbonisation and competitiveness, we’re bringing the key topics , and the people behind them, straight to the stage.

✨ Don’t miss: “Textile waste and EPR schemes: towards a harmonised European approach”
Moderated by Luis Planas Herrera (Cabinet of Commissioner Roswall, European Commission)

As new EU rules reshape how textile waste is managed, this session will unpack what it all means in practice: from producer responsibility to building a more harmonised system across Europe.

Want to understand what this means for your business (and stay one step ahead)?

👉 Registrations are open
👉 It only takes one minute to register
👉 Secure your spot: https://brusselstextilesforum.eu

📅 11 June 2026 | 📍 Brussels, De Warande

Come for the speakers, stay for the conversations.

20/05/2026

Textile EPR can be a powerful tool for circularity, but only if it is harmonised, enforceable, proportionate, and workable for companies.

This is the message that EURATEX had the opportunity to reiterate today during the final events of the TEX-DAN and Green-Tex projects in Budapest.

In a conversation with experts from EUROTEX, Retex, and Textrade, EURATEX senior policy officer, Zena Klaps, shared our perspective on whether the textile sector is ready for EPR systems and which are the biggest practical bottlenecks in making such systems work today.

We would like to extend our thanks to the Blue Planet Foundation for the invitation and to the fellow panellists for their insightful contributions.

18/05/2026

⏳ The countdown is on: less than a month until the Brussels Textiles Forum!

In just under 4 weeks, Brussels will become the meeting point for the European textile industry - and the conversations on stage are not to be missed 👇

Meet new speakers and key topics shaping the future of the sector:

🔹Customs reform: restoring a level playing field
🎤 With Fernando Perreau de Pinninck (DG TAXUD, European Commission)
➡️ A deep dive into how EU customs reform can tackle unfair competition, improve enforcement, and adapt to fast changing global trade patterns affecting textiles.

🔹Energy, decarbonisation and industrial competitiveness: the textile perspective
🎤 With Eric Lecomte (DG ENERGY, European Commission)
➡️ A key session exploring how energy costs, decarbonisation targets and EU policies are reshaping the competitiveness of textile companies — and what comes next.

💡 These are not just discussions, they’re insider perspectives from the policymakers driving change at EU level, giving you clarity on what’s ahead and how to prepare.

✨ Want to be in the room with decision makers? This is your event.

👉 Spots are filling up fast
👉 Register in 2 easy, online, steps
👉 Secure your seat now: https://brusselstextilesforum.eu

📅 11 June 2026 | 📍 Brussels

Don’t just hear about change - be part of the conversation.

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