From the Sector

Ontex Group NV, a leading international developer and producer of personal care solutions, announces that, further to the announcement on December 11, 2025 regarding CEO succession, the Board has decided to accelerate Laurent Nielly’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer to January 13, 2026. This acceleration reflects the Board’s confidence in Nielly’s readiness to assume Ontex’s leadership, enabling him to take ownership of the 2026 plan from the outset of the financial year. Gustavo Calvo Paz will remain with Ontex through the end of January to ensure a seamless transition.

Under Nielly’s leadership a review of all strategic options will be undertaken to identify additional opportunities to further drive profitable growth and unlock the inherent value in Ontex. The review will cover all levers available to enhance the company’s performance, including business portfolio, operational footprint and route to market, with a clear goal to improve cash generation and return on investment. A Strategy Committee of the Board of Directors will be established to accelerate the review, facilitate decision-making and ensure careful oversight over the execution of Ontex’s medium- and long-term plans.

To strengthen the Board following the resignation of Jesper Hojer, the Board has co-opted Lorenzo Grabau as a non-executive director and will submit his ratification at the next shareholders’ meeting. Grabau brings extensive capital markets and strategic transformation expertise that will be invaluable as Ontex continues to execute its strategic and value creation agenda. Grabau has considerable experience as director and chair of, and senior advisor to, various listed and non-listed companies. He served as President and CEO of Kinnevik AB, a Swedish listed investment company. Prior to that, he was a Partner at Goldman Sachs.

Kornit Konnections is officially accepting speaker proposals and partner interest for what is set to be one of the most influential digital apparel industry gathering. 
 
Konnections 2026 is an immersive, invitation-driven community event bringing together brands, retailers, manufacturers, printers, technology leaders, analysts, and investors to shape the next chapter of the apparel economy. Building on the momentum of Evolve – the largest virtual apparel conference to date – Konnections 2026 will set new benchmarks for in-person engagement, insight, and industry alignment.
 
A Vibrant Community – Shaping What’s Next
According to industry reports, the apparel industry is at a critical inflection point. Legacy, forecast-led models are no longer able to keep pace with the volatility, culture shifts, regulatory pressures, and inventory risk. Konnections 2026 is where the industry comes together to align on what replaces them. Not a trade show. Not a vendor pitch – Konnections is a working community rapidly defining the future of apparel. Konnections 2026 serves as the immersion and launch platform for the new Apparel Economy – a forward-looking body of thought leadership, operational insight, and strategic frameworks designed to support long-term industry growth.

Call Speakers
Konnections is currently seeking respected industry voices and practitioners with deep expertise across the apparel ecosystem, including:

• Apparel and Retail Leadership
• Supply Chain and Manufacturing Strategy
• Regulatory, Public Policy and Sustainability
• Inventory, Demand Planning, and Margin Protection
• AI, Robotics, Automation and Advanced Manufacturing
• Print-on-Demand and Promotional Products
• Business Strategy, Consulting, and Industry Research

Speakers should bring real-world insight, emerging perspectives, and a willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue with peers who are actively shaping the industry. 
 
Call for Partners
Konnections 2026 will feature an exceptional Solutions Showcase, developed in collaboration with more than 30 best-in-class partners delivering new products, innovations, and immersive experiences never seen in the apparel industry. While the Showcase is more than 50% full and participation is highly selective, Konnections is currently seeking submissions. Only partners capable of delivering state-of-the-art solutions, forward-thinking applications, and meaningful customer experiences will be chosen.

In a major step towards strengthening Tamil Nadu’s leadership in the global technical textiles value chain, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Textiles and Guidance Tamil Nadu, Government of Tamil Nadu on 25th November 2025 in Coimbatore to launch Techtextil India Summit scheduled from 26 – 27 November 2026 at CODISSIA, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. 

The MoU formalises the launch of the Tamil Nadu edition of Techtextil India Summit, which will be held in Coimbatore every alternate year beginning 2026. The shared objective is to create a knowledge hub for exchanging expert and technical knowledge in the segment, given its vast growth potential. 

Under this long-term partnership, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India will anchor the next phase of growth for India’s technical textiles sector by conceptualising, curating and delivering five editions of Techtextil India Summit in Tamil Nadu over the coming decades. As the country’s foremost B2B exhibition on technical textiles, nonwovens and composites – and part of the globally acclaimed Techtextil brand – the collaboration brings one of the world’s most influential platforms closer to India’s largest textile and apparel hub. 

The MoU was signed on 25th November 2025 with the Department of Textiles and Guidance Tamil Nadu, Government of Tamil Nadu in the august presence of Thiru. M K Stalin, Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and The TN Rising Investment Summit.

Expressing her thoughts at the ceremony, Smt R Lalitha, IAS, Director of Textiles, Department of Textiles, Government of Tamil Nadu stated: “Tamil Nadu has a well-established textile base, and this collaboration with Messe Frankfurt India will further enable the State to assume a leading position in the technical textiles sector and broaden industry linkages. With appropriate support and knowledge exchange, entrepreneurs and manufacturers can engage with advanced technical textile innovations, adopt global best practices, and reinforce Tamil Nadu’s standing as a hub for high-value, cutting-edge functional textile solutions

Reflecting on the occasion, Mr Winston Pereira, Executive Director, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd remarked: “We are truly honoured that the Department of Textiles, Government of Tamil Nadu, has granted us the opportunity to contribute to the State’s technical textiles growth journey. It is equally encouraging to witness the State’s proactive efforts in building a strong foundation for technical textiles through supportive schemes and infrastructure development. We are confident that, with the right knowledge and global linkages, this dynamic State can evolve from its established strengths in spinning and knitwear into high-value technical textiles, thereby creating a robust pipeline for future investments. Introducing our globally recognised brand, Techtextil, in Coimbatore will position Tamil Nadu as a focal point for global industry dialogue. We are immensely proud of this milestone and look forward to working closely with the Department of Textiles, Government of Tamil Nadu, and Guidance Tamil Nadu to further drive industry participation.”

With the state’s policy-level support, the initiative is expected to strengthen industry-academia linkages, attract international stakeholders, unlock new opportunities for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and advance Tamil Nadu’s leadership in the high-growth technical textiles segment. The first two editions of the show will be hosted in a high-level confex format in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, setting the foundation for a full-scale trade fair from the third edition. 

The Coimbatore edition of Techtextil India Summit will not only provide a global platform for innovation and collaboration but also receive strong policy-level support from the Government of Tamil Nadu. The initiative aims to engage key textile stakeholders across the State including MSMEs, research institutions, universities and sectoral agencies such as SIDCO, TIDCO, TANSIDCO, SITRA, PSG Tech, and Anna University.

Techtextil India and Techtextil India Summit are a part of Messe Frankfurt’s Texpertise Network which covers the entire textile value chain, right from research, development, yarns, fabrics, clothing, fashion, contract manufacturing, home and household textiles to technical textiles, processing and cleaning technologies, while simultaneously connecting over 500,000 industry participants worldwide through trade fairs, networks and news formats. 

Numerous Italian textile machinery companies will be attending the upcoming Colombiatex, the premier trade fair for the Colombian textile supply chain, held in Medellin from January 27 to 29, 2026. This year’s edition further confirms the strong bond between local textile manufacturers and Italian technology providers.

Despite a contraction in demand from the Colombian textile sector during 2024, the South American country remains one of the region’s key markets for textile machinery manufacturers. The most recent data indicates a sharp trend reversal: in the first half of 2025, Italian sales in Colombia reached 6 million euros, marking a +48% growth compared to the same period of the previous year. Should this growth rate remain steady, the value of Italian exports could approach the record levels seen in 2022 (18 million euros).

“The Colombian textile and clothing industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, supported by a technological upgrading in which Italian machinery has often played a leading role,” comments Marco Salvadè, President of ACIMIT. “For many of our companies, Colombiatex remains an essential event on the international trade fair calendar to strengthen the partnership with Colombian textile firms.”

Following many past editions, ICE – Italian Trade Agency, in collaboration with ACIMIT (the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers), will once again organize a national Italian Pavilion in the Pabellon Amarillo for 2026. A total of 22 Italian companies will be present within the pavilion: Ugolini Srl, Lonati Spa, Plm Impianti Srl, 3G Dosing Automation Srl, Santoni Spa, Laip Srl, Salvadè Srl, Cubotex Srl, BTSR International Spa, Reggiani Macchine Spa, Monti-Mac Srl, Ratti Luino Srl, Tonello Srl, Itema Spa, Noseda Srl, Kairos Engineering Srl, MCS Officina Meccanica Spa, LGL Electronics Spa, Waternext Spa, Lafer Spa, Fadis Spa, FICIT Srl. The strength of Italian participation is reaffirmed by all the ACIMIT member companies that will exhibit in individual stands or through their local agents, including: Brazzoli Srl, Color Service Srl, Martex Srl, Monti Antonio Spa, Morgan Tecnica Spa.

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc., a leader in spider silk technology, announced that it has taken possession of its third silkworm rearing center, completing the core physical infrastructure upgrades, underpinning the Company's massive recombinant spider silk production scale-up planned for 2026.
 
This newest facility represents the final major component of the Company's multi-year production expansion strategy. With three fully operational rearing centers, Kraig Labs will be able to run three simultaneous production cycles, providing both production diversity and the capacity required to meet and exceed one metric ton of finished spider silk per month.
 
This production scale-upis the culmination of years of development and refinement. Each element of the Company's expansion, including facility design, staffing, geographic location, operational workflows, and training programs, has been optimized based on lessons learned from prior production campaigns.
 
The newly acquired facility is the largest single-site rearing center the Company has ever operated. This new facility is designed to support significantly higher throughput while maintaining the operational discipline and biological consistency required for large-scale spider silk manufacturing. This facility is expected to unlock the next level of production capacity as the Company rapidly accelerates spider silk output.
 
Importantly, this new rearing center has been strategically positioned to leverage the Company's recently acquired mulberry fields, which will supply the expanded feedstock necessary to support this substantial increase in silkworm and spider silk production. These mulberry resources form a critical foundation of the Company's vertically integrated production model and are expected to play a key role in enabling continuous, high-volume operations across all of its facilities.
 
The Company is now bringing this new rearing center online and expects to begin operations later this quarter.
 
"This milestone represents a critical step forward in our evolution as a world-leading supplier of spider silk," said Kim Thompson, Kraig Labs Founder and CEO. "With this final rearing center secured and supported by expanded mulberry cultivation, we now have the infrastructure and feedstock capacity in place to support continuous, scalable production at levels that position Kraig Labs to fulfill our vision of commercially scalable and cost-effective spider silk production."
 
The Company expects to provide additional updates as the facility is commissioned and fully integrated into its 2026 production campaign.

Beginning January 2026, the production at Asahi Kasei’s Nobeoka facility – Bemberg™’s only production site – will gradually resume, marking a new chapter following the partial shutdown caused by the April 2022 incident. 

This progress is the result of significant investments and continuous work to reinforce safety measures, restore full operational capacity, and establish long term stability. As production progressively increases, Asahi Kasei renews its initiatives to support the market with reliability, efficiency, and confidence. 

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our customers, partners, and employees for their patience and continued trust throughout this period,” stated Kaoru Hashimoto (Bemberg™ Senior General Manager). “Restoring production is a crucial milestone, and together with our stakeholders we remain committed to contributing to the development of a responsible and future-oriented business.”

Albeit sustainable fashion cannot escape the general economic malaise, INNATEX at Messecenter Hofheim Rhein-Main demonstrates that the industry continues to work on viable strategies. The fully booked 57th edition of the international trade show for sustainable textiles focuses its supporting program on current discussions within the industry: public relevance and sales of green fashion.

The INNATEX order platform brings the industry’s challenges and possible solutions to center stage in its supporting programme, offering new formats, the premiere of Evolution Stage as well as topics that participants within sustainable fashion must address. Exhibitors include established brands such as Recolution, Dawn Denim, Vaude, Mela, Rotholz, Two Thirds, Reiff und Moea, as well as first-time exhibitors.

“Our trade floor is again booked up, many brands claim crowded appointment schedules – but uncertainty remains.” notes Alexander Hitzel, project manager for INNATEX. “No one knows how the market will develop. But there is one thing we can influence, namely ensuring that INNATEX offers maximum benefit, combining trade recommendations, innovation impulses, tools and space for honest discussion and dialogue“.

INNATEX Evolution Stage: Participating Brands
‘Evolution Stage – Shaping Tomorrow’s Fashion’ brings together brands that combine design, quality and future relevance, presenting them in a concept store setting. Conceived and curated by designer Jonathan Radetz, this format represents economic feasibility, applied synergies and a sales-boosting product range design at the point of sale. Chosen for this premiere are the labels Maatroom, Vidar Sport, Jungle Folk, ZAMT, Halt.Clothing, DeLin and Makesomebodyhappy.

Information and retail recommendations for an industry in turmoil
The further supporting programme picks up on issues and questions which market participants must address to remain fit for the future. These range from AI-supported strategies in the retail fashion trade to long-term developments in design and product conception to the importance of product longevity and brand building to support purchase decisions.

Since its premiere at ITMA Asia + CITME 2025, the eFK EvoSmart texturing machine has achieved impressive market success. The innovative technology is winning over yarn manufacturers worldwide who are committed to energy-efficient and economical production processes. A total of 84 machines has already been sold – including in China, Turkey, and Indonesia.
 
eFK EvoSmart: New standards in efficiency and productivity
"Energy efficiency and top quality are key factors for successful yarn production," explains Dr. Wolfgang Ernst, Head of Sales at Barmag. "With the eFK EvoSmart, we are setting new standards in this area: intelligent technologies and significantly reduced maintenance requirements enable our customers to achieve future-proof production that takes quality and cost-effectiveness to a new level," he continues.

The market response to the eFK EvoSmart clearly shows great interest of yarn producers in energy-optimized and maintenance-friendly solutions. The combination of the innovative EvoHeater heating technology and the single-inverter-controlled Smart Godets is impressive: it enables a significant reduction in energy consumption – with potential savings of 25% per kilogram of yarn.

With its EvoHeater design, which simplifies the previously time-consuming task of heater cleaning and, despite the heater being closed, makes handling much easier for operating personnel and doubles maintenance intervals, the eFK EvoSmart sets new standards. The result: up to 50% less maintenance, higher plant availability, and increased productivity in weaving, knitting, or finishing.

"With the eFK EvoSmart, we offer our customers a solution that sustainably reduces their operating costs while meeting future efficiency requirements with consistently high yarn quality," summarizes Wolfgang Ernst.

Members of the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) can look back on 2025 as a year marked by notable technological advances and continued progress in global trade, despite an uncertain and volatile market.

“Our members have been very active over the past 12 months and this has resulted in new technologies for the production of technical fibres and fabrics, the introduction of AI and machine learning into process control systems and significant advances in materials testing,” says BTMA CEO Jason Kent. “There’s real excitement about what can be achieved in 2026 as we look ahead to upcoming exhibitions such as JEC Composites in Paris in March and Techtextil in Frankfurt in April.”

Composites momentum
Cygnet Texkimp, for example, has been nominated for a 2026 JEC Innovation Award for its collaboration with McLaren Automotive on the ART rapid tape-deposition system. Capable of depositing dry fibre tapes at up to 2.5 metres per second with exceptional precision, ART reduces scrap, shortens cycle times and delivers structural improvements already being realised across McLaren’s composite-intensive vehicle platforms.

Cygnet is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of prepreg production machinery, alongside a broad portfolio of handling and converting systems for the composites industry. 

In addition, the company is licensed to design and build the DEECOM® composite recycling system developed by fellow BTMA member Longworth Sustainable Recycling Technologies. DEECOM® is a zero-emission, low-carbon pressolysis solution that uses pressure and steam to reclaim fibres and resin polymers from production waste and end-of-life composites.

Other BTMA members supporting the composites sector include Emerson & Renwick, which applies deep expertise in print, forming, vacuum and coating technologies to carbon fibre processing, while Airbond is a pioneer in pneumatic yarn splicing for high-value carbon and aramid fibres. Slack & Parr meanwhile supplies high-accuracy gear metering pumps across the manmade fibre market, where they process a wide range of polymers and fibres with uniformity and consistency.

Gel spinning
Further resource savings in high-end fibre processing have been realised by Fibre Extrusion Technology through the introduction of a new process for manufacturing ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). The company’s patented solvent extraction system exploits supercritical carbon dioxide. 

“Current UHMWPE systems are huge in scale and extremely complex,” says FET R&D Manager Jonny Hunter. “That makes the supply chain inflexible and limits new product development. These disadvantages have been addressed in our new FET-500 series lab and small-scale gel spinning system.”

Quality assurance
Alongside materials innovation, BTMA members are also reshaping quality assurance via digitalisation and data-driven manufacturing. Shelton Vision has significantly advanced automated fabric inspection with the latest generation of its WebSpector system. Using patent-pending image processing techniques, WebSpector now enables reliable real-time defect detection on complex patterned fabrics, including those subject to distortion, shear or stretch during processing.

Building on its leadership in plain fabric inspection, the Shelton system now adapts to intricate designs such as camouflage and delivers clean, stable images that allow full fault detection at high running speeds. While automotive interiors and one-piece woven airbags remain key applications, WebSpector systems are increasingly being supplied to producers of performance wear, fashion, denim, outdoor upholstery, mattress ticking, window dressings and even carbon fibre composites.

Continuous colour
A comparable shift from intermittent checks to continuous monitoring is taking place in colour management through the work of C-Tex. Traditionally reliant on periodic swatches, mills can now apply laboratory-level colour measurement directly in production. 

“What we are doing is taking a lab capability and putting it into production,” says Managing Director Rob Ricketts. Working with Shelton, C-Tex has combined inline defect detection with continuous colour variation analysis, enabling both parameters to be assessed simultaneously.

Importantly, this data is now shared across supply chains. When fabrics reach garment, automotive or furniture manufacturers, downstream users know exactly what they are receiving and whether it meets their requirements. 

“This visibility is a big breakthrough,” says Ricketts. “It’s well established in automotive, but now it’s coming to textiles too.”

Intuitive testing
Advanced testing remains another cornerstone of BTMA innovation. James Heal has long supplied advanced textile testing systems and its latest Performance Testing collection focuses on speed, simplicity and intuitive operation for parameters such as airflow and water resiliency. Water repellency testing has similarly been improved with the TruRain system which dramatically reduces wastewater and energy consumption.

During 2025, the company also introduced the new Martindale Motion.
The new nine-station instrument with individual lifting heads now offers the flexibility to run each station independently for carrying out different textile tests simultaneously. Once set up, the Martindale Motion can be left running with the sample holders automatically lifting at the required evaluation points, freeing up the operator’s time to do other work without the need to return until the abrasion or pilling test is fully completed, including overnight.

Colour accuracy is addressed by the VeriVide DigiEye system which provides non-contact colour measurement and digital imaging, enabling objective data capture and rapid sharing across organisations. Recent developments include 100% LED illumination, integrated dust filtration, software-controlled lighting geometry and automated image capture, improving both precision and efficiency.

Tactility challenge
The tactile sensation experienced when touching and manipulating fabric is meanwhile a critical aspect of textile evaluation, but to date has been very subjective. One of the biggest challenges faced by designers and manufacturers is in describing and sharing information about fabric aesthetics before manufacturing, or without the costly and time-consuming process of transporting physical samples.

These limitations are being overcome with the new Sentire fabric handle tester from Roaches International.

“No two people will describe how a fabric feels in the same way and the lack of a common language to describe fabric tactility poses communication challenges across the complex global fashion and textile supply chain,” says Roaches International MD Sean O’Neill. “The Sentire has been developed to allow our customers to objectively measure qualities such as softness, smoothness, drape and stiffness and market response during 2025 has been extremely positive.”

Convergence
Bringing these developments together, Jason Kent sees a clear strategic direction emerging. 

“Across the BTMA we’re seeing a convergence of advanced machinery, intelligent software and rigorous testing,” he says. “Our members are responding to today’s challenges around efficiency, sustainability and quality, while laying the foundations for a more transparent, data-driven and resilient textile manufacturing sector. Despite market uncertainty, there is genuine confidence about what lies ahead for British textile machinery and its global customers.”

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) takes on new responsibilities under the EU's One Substance, One Assessment (OSOA) Package. 

Working closely with other EU agencies and authorities, ECHA will lead efforts to build a common data platform on chemicals, streamline assessments, and strengthen collaboration to better protect human health and the environment.

The Agency is committed to driving this initiative forward and will deliver its new responsibilities with transparency and efficiency.

Dr Sharon McGuinness, ECHA’s Executive Director said:
"The OSOA package represents a significant step towards a more efficient chemical safety system in Europe. By joining forces with our partner agencies and authorities, we will create a system that anticipates risks, and brings together existing knowledge, and supports innovation.  

Our shared goal is clear: a safer, more sustainable Europe through collaboration and science-based action.’’  

Under this legislation, ECHA is entrusted with significant new tasks, reinforcing its role in delivering coherent, predictable, and transparent chemical assessments. These changes will enhance efficiency and improve consistency across EU chemical legislation.

Building a common data platform on chemicals 
The OSOA package also introduces the Regulation on common data platform and monitoring and outlook framework for chemicals. 

ECHA will manage this platform in close collaboration with other EU bodies – including the European Environment Agency (EEA), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) under the governance scheme and implementation plan adopted by the European Commission. 

The platform will integrate information from multiple sources and provide services such as: 

• Information Platform for Chemical Monitoring;
• Repository of reference values;
• Study notifications database; and
• Databases on standard formats and controlled vocabularies, regulatory processes, legal obligations, chemicals in articles or products, alternatives to substances of concern, and environmental sustainability-related data.

This will create a one-stop-shop for chemicals data, improving transparency and accessibility for regulators, industry, and the public.

New tasks for ECHA
Beyond the data platform, ECHA will:

• Develop a monitoring and outlook framework;
• Support early warning and risk identification;
• Generate new data when needed; and
• Promote the use of scientific research to strengthen chemical safety.

ECHA will also take on scientific and regulatory responsibilities previously managed by other bodies, including:

• Preparing restriction proposals under the RoHS Directive (hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment), and processing exemption requests;
• Setting and reviewing limit values for persistent organic pollutants in waste under the POPs Regulation; and
• Updating guidelines on how to perform the benefit-risk assessment of the presence of certain hazardous substances in medical devices under the Medical Devices Regulation.