From the Sector

H&M has named ELIE SAAB as its next designer collaborator. The collection will bring the Beirut-founded couture house’s codes into a mass-market collaboration covering womenswear, menswear, accessories and footwear.

The range is set to include embellished gowns, shimmering separates and tailored pieces, with details such as lace, gradient sequins and monograms. The project extends H&M’s long-running collaboration model, in which luxury and designer brands are translated into limited retail collections with broad consumer reach.

The collection launches in selected stores and online on 22 October 2026. For the fashion and retail market, the partnership is a further example of how high-fashion brand equity, scarcity and cross-price-segment collaboration are used to create traffic and global media visibility.

Researchers from Empa, Eawag and Agroscope have produced the first systematic estimate of how much microplastic is deposited from the atmosphere across Switzerland. For areas below 2,000 metres, the study estimates annual deposition of about 219 tonnes, including roughly 78 tonnes on agricultural land and around ten tonnes directly into water bodies.

The official release identifies loose fibres from functional clothing among the sources that can enter the environment, alongside PET bottles and other plastic products. Sampling was conducted for a full year at five locations, with particles between 20 and 215 micrometres analysed using imaging infrared microspectroscopy. PET, polyethylene and polypropylene were the most frequently detected polymers.

For textiles, the findings matter because they add atmospheric transport to the better-known discussion around fibre release through washing. The work provides a new evidence base for assessing material emissions and mitigation priorities, while the researchers stress that long-term environmental and health effects remain under investigation.

BASF will use SIMAC 2026 in Milan to present polyurethane and thermoplastic-polyurethane concepts spanning the footwear life cycle. The portfolio includes Elastopan SpringPURe for thermoformed midsoles together with Elastollan and Infinergy solutions.

Working with Gusbi, BASF has developed an automated heat-press process for lightweight midsoles designed to combine low density, design freedom and durable comfort with almost waste-free processing. With DESMA, the company is also showing a closed-loop concept that combines PU and TPU and links mechanical and chemical recycling. Three concept shoes illustrate separation and recycling routes.

The company is also introducing Infinergy Revolution, an energy-efficient heat-press processing route for expanded TPU. The approach is intended to enable lighter components, new surface designs and improved recyclability. The broader signal is that footwear development is increasingly bringing performance, disassembly, material recovery and processing energy into the same engineering discussion.

Editorial relevance: Very high – a measurable functional-textile application combining natural fibre and surface engineering.
Cornell University researchers have demonstrated that polydopamine-dyed wool can serve as a low-cost, renewable material for solar-driven water purification. The approach uses interfacial solar vapor generation, concentrating solar heat at the water surface while a textile structure transports water and converts it into vapor.

The strongest configuration used ultrablack wool positioned vertically and illuminated from both sides. It produced 2.43 kilograms of water per square metre of fabric per hour, while polydopamine-only wool achieved 2.21 kilograms. Both rates were nearly twice those reported for conventional horizontal two-dimensional evaporation systems. The material also operated continuously for ten hours without salt accumulation.

The work is relevant to technical textiles because performance depends on fibre choice, dye chemistry, surface structure and textile geometry acting together. Salt levels in the collected water were below the World Health Organization drinking-water threshold. Future work will test rainwater and wastewater and improve water-collection designs.

Textile Exchange has published new guidance setting out the next requirements for brands and retailers in its Action Cohort. From 2027, participating companies will be required to report material sourcing volumes through the Materials Benchmark and set measurable targets for the share of materials sourced through standards, certification or other programs that verify preferred production practices.

The targets should cover relevant key materials accounting for at least 80% of a company’s material portfolio. Textile Exchange identifies common intervention areas including pesticide and fertilizer reduction, deforestation and conversion, animal welfare, recycled feedstocks with a focus on textile inputs, and human-rights due diligence.

Aggregate cohort results will be made public, while more detailed results will be shared with participating brands. The framework therefore tightens the connection between voluntary membership, quantitative materials data and verifiable sourcing objectives, increasing the need for brands and suppliers to document material strategies with comparable evidence.

Uster Technologies has introduced a structured matrix for assessing mechanically recycled fibers. The approach is intended to help spinners deal with the wider variability of recycled feedstocks and relate measured fiber properties more directly to processing decisions and intended end uses.

Mechanically recycled cotton typically shows greater variation than virgin material because fiber length is reduced and input streams differ in origin and processing history. A consistent assessment framework can therefore support bale management, blending decisions and the adjustment of spinning parameters. Uster positions the Recycled Fiber Matrix as a practical bridge between increasing recycled-content targets and reliable quality control.

This matters for circularity at industrial scale. More recycling capacity alone does not guarantee usable yarn feedstock; recycled fibers also need to enter established production systems with predictable performance. Testing and data interpretation are becoming part of the infrastructure required to move textile-to-textile recycling from availability to repeatable production.

Dahsheng Company has introduced MORPH, a materials platform that combines foams, textiles, films and functional layers into application-specific engineered systems. Brands can select surface materials, foam cores, colours, density, thickness, perforation and additional functional layers. The platform can be supplied as moulded components, sheet materials or fully integrated material systems, with footwear and sports applications a clear focus.

At the core are DSC’s DREAMCELL open-cell and DURAPONTEX closed-cell foam technologies. The company says more than 100 fabric and colour options are available for the top layer. Depending on the construction, the system can combine comfort, low weight, durability, breathability and impact protection. The emphasis therefore shifts from a single foam or textile to a coordinated multilayer material architecture.

For textile developers, the interface between softgoods and foam engineering is the most relevant aspect. Face fabrics, synthetic surfaces, films, foam and backing layers can be engineered together for the end use. That can streamline material development for brands, but it also raises questions around adhesion, long-term durability, recyclability and the end-of-life handling of heterogeneous multilayer constructions.

DSC does not publish standardised performance values, comparative test data or recycling routes for MORPH in the announcement. Performance and environmental claims should therefore be treated as manufacturer statements at this stage. The editorial significance lies in the platform approach and the deeper integration of textile and polymer functional layers within one materials-development process.

The European Apparel and Textile Confederation (EURATEX) is calling for an EU handling fee of around €10 on low-value e-commerce consignments entering the European market. The association argues that the fee should contribute to the costs of customs controls, market surveillance and product-safety enforcement associated with the rapidly growing volume of direct-to-consumer imports.

Low-value e-commerce imports into the European Union have increased sharply in recent years. According to the European Commission, around 5.9 billion low-value e-commerce items entered the EU in 2025, up 26% from 2024. The growth of direct shipments from non-EU online retailers and marketplaces has increased the workload for customs and market-surveillance authorities and intensified the debate about compliance with European product, safety and customs requirements.

Since 1 July 2026, the EU has applied a temporary customs duty of €3 to low-value consignments of up to €150. The measure replaced the previous customs-duty exemption for such imports and is intended as a transitional arrangement until the new EU Customs Data Hub becomes operational. It is separate from the EU-wide handling fee for small e-commerce consignments provided for under the broader reform of the EU customs framework.

Following the latest agreement on the customs reform, the handling fee is to be introduced by 1 November 2026. Its level will be determined by the European Commission before the member states begin applying it.

Against this background, EURATEX used Première Vision in Paris to argue that the handling fee should be set at a level that more closely reflects the actual enforcement costs associated with the large number of individual consignments entering the Single Market.

The association proposes a benchmark of around €10 per parcel. According to EURATEX, the amount should ultimately be based on a detailed assessment of the costs incurred by customs authorities, market-surveillance bodies and other public authorities involved in checking imported goods.

Processing large numbers of small consignments requires customs declarations to be assessed, risks to be analysed and compliance requirements to be checked. Market-surveillance authorities are also responsible for identifying unsafe or non-compliant products and enforcing EU product-safety rules.

EURATEX therefore argues that the handling fee should primarily be viewed as an enforcement instrument rather than simply as a trade or taxation measure. Revenues generated by the fee should, in the association's view, be linked to additional resources for customs controls, market surveillance, product-safety enforcement and risk-analysis systems.

The proposed €10 level is a EURATEX position and has not been adopted by the European Union. The European Commission is responsible for determining the actual amount of the forthcoming EU handling fee.

The customs reform also changes the responsibilities of companies involved in distance selling to EU consumers. Online platforms and sellers covered by the new rules are to be treated as importers for customs purposes and will therefore assume greater responsibility for customs formalities and duty payments rather than leaving these obligations with individual consumers.

EURATEX considers stronger platform responsibility an important element in addressing non-compliant imports but also points to the risk of alternative logistics structures being used to circumvent controls. More intensive checks on individual direct-to-consumer parcels should not, according to the association, result in goods simply being channelled through bulk imports, EU warehouses or fulfilment centres instead.

Effective enforcement would therefore need to cover different logistics models and provide customs and market-surveillance authorities with sufficiently detailed information on both business-to-consumer and business-to-business flows.

The European textile and clothing industry comprises nearly 200,000 companies in the EU-27 and employs around 1.2 million people. The sector generates annual turnover of approximately €166 billion. Most companies are small and medium-sized enterprises.

For EURATEX, the debate about low-value imports is consequently also a question of competitive conditions. The association is calling for companies selling products to European consumers, irrespective of their country of establishment or distribution model, to be identifiable and subject to comparable customs, product-safety and market-surveillance requirements.

The eleventh edition of Hong Kong fashion event CENTRESTAGE closed with a new attendance record. According to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the four-day fair attracted more than 12,000 trade buyers from 93 countries and regions. Buyer numbers from Vietnam, Russia, the United States and Malaysia showed notable growth, providing a current indicator of Hong Kong’s reach as a fashion and sourcing platform.

The attendance figures also need to be read in the context of the event format. CENTRESTAGE formed part of Hong Kong Fashion Fest and combined design presentations, brand showcases, runway programmes and commercial meetings. Other lifestyle events ran concurrently. CENTRESTAGE and Salon de Time were also opened to the public free of charge, together recording more than 20,000 public attendances.

For manufacturers, brands and sourcing teams, the buyer composition is more informative than the public visitor count. Buyers from 93 markets point to a broad international sourcing base. Growth from Vietnam and Malaysia also reflects Southeast Asia’s increasing importance as a consumer, production and sourcing region. Higher buyer numbers from the US are noteworthy against the backdrop of changing trade and sourcing configurations.

The figures are organiser data and should therefore be treated as event metrics rather than independent market statistics. Even so, they are useful for industry monitoring. They suggest that physical B2B platforms continue to matter alongside digital sourcing tools when brands, designers, suppliers and international buyers need to establish new relationships and reassess regional production networks.

The new Horizon Europe project MELANGE aims to reorganise how colour is designed and applied in interior textiles. Rather than treating coloration mainly as a finishing-stage operation, the project moves colour decisions upstream and explores fibre-stage technologies including spin, dope and solution dyeing, as well as the use of pre-coloured recycled fibres. The rationale is that conventional coloration consumes substantial water, energy and chemicals, while the pursuit of near-perfect uniformity can drive additional trials and material losses.

MELANGE brings together nine partners from seven European countries under the leadership of Aalto University, with Textile ETP responsible for dissemination and stakeholder engagement. The project proposes treating variation as a design feature rather than automatically as a defect. It draws inspiration from Prato’s practice of blending pre-coloured recycled fibres by shade to avoid re-dyeing. According to the project communication, the approach aims to reduce water and chemical use by up to 50% compared with conventional finishing-stage processes. Business models, B2B marketing, standards and policy are also part of the work.