From the Sector

From 19 to 24 October 2026, Brazil will host a mission showcasing Italian excellence in the textile and textile machinery sectors, with two workshops scheduled for 20 October in the state of Santa Catarina and 22 October in São Paulo. The initiative will bring together Italian companies specialising in textile machinery, yarns, fabrics and clothing accessories, with the aim of strengthening commercial and industrial ties between the two countries and opening up new opportunities for collaboration.

Organised by the Italian Trade Agency in collaboration with ACIMIT and Confindustria Moda, the mission will comprise two stages in key areas of Brazil’s textile industry. The programme includes seminars featuring presentations by Italian companies, B2B meetings with local industry representatives and visits to local production facilities. The first stage will take place in the state of Santa Catarina, in the areas of Blumenau, Joinville and Brusque, while the second will take place in the state of São Paulo, with activities also planned in Americana and at Denim City São Paulo, a major centre of innovation and a key hub for the textile and denim industries.

The initiative aims to showcase the expertise and innovative capabilities of the entire Italian supply chain, which is internationally recognised for the high quality of its products and technologies. In particular, the Italian textile machinery industry stands out for its ability to develop advanced, customised solutions that meet the needs of a sector increasingly focused on production efficiency, sustainability and technological innovation.

Brazil is one of the most strategic markets in Latin America for Italian textile machinery manufacturers. In 2025, Italian exports of textile machinery to Brazil reached €48 million, while in the first half of 2026 they amounted to €20 million, placing Brazil tenth among the leading destination markets for Italian textile machinery. The most sought-after technologies are those related to finishing, which accounts for 57% of Italian textile machinery exports to Brazil, followed by accessories and other machinery, each representing 11%, and knitting machinery, at 10%.

“Brazil is a market of great interest to our industry, with which we have well-established commercial relations and significant prospects for collaboration,” said Marco Salvadè, President of ACIMIT. “This mission represents a concrete opportunity to strengthen dialogue between Italian companies and Brazilian operators, fostering new synergies across the entire textile supply chain. Our companies’ ability to offer innovative, flexible and sustainable technologies can make a significant contribution to modernising the local textile industry and enhancing its competitiveness. The decision to organise two workshops in different manufacturing regions of the country also demonstrates our commitment to fostering direct dialogue with Brazil’s various industrial clusters, thereby making the most of the opportunities offered by this important market.” The initiative, organised by the Italian Trade Agency and ACIMIT with the valuable support of Confindustria Moda, will bring together 22 Italian companies in total, 18 of which operate in the textile machinery sector and are listed below: Biancalani, BTSR, Color Service, Corino Macchine, DURST, Reggiani Macchine, Erhardt + Leimer, Ferraro, I.M.A., Itema, Lawer, M.C.S. Officina Meccanica, Mesdan, Monti – Mac, MSJK (MS Printing & JK Group), Pinter Caipo Italia, Salvade’, Savio Macchine Tessili.

The Nature Conservancy has launched the Microfiber Action Alliance, bringing together Nike, Patagonia, Under Armour, lululemon, Cotopaxi, REI Co-op and other companies to accelerate practical measures against microfiber pollution.

The initiative is designed to complement existing scientific work by The Microfibre Consortium. Participating companies will apply and refine interventions within their own supply chains, generate evidence on what works and share implementation lessons with the wider industry. TNC emphasises prevention because both synthetic and treated natural fibers can contribute to microfiber pollution and released particles are difficult to remove from the environment.

Potential interventions include changes in material selection and textile construction, manufacturing-process improvements and filtration. The Alliance therefore shifts attention from measuring fiber fragmentation alone to integrating low-shedding design and manufacturing decisions into operational practice.

Circ and Huafon are partnering on a multi-phase textile-to-textile recycling site within Huafon’s industrial footprint in China. 
The plant will use Circ’s process for polycotton waste and recover both major material streams: recycled PTA and MEG for polyester production and recycled cellulosic pulp for new textiles.

Phase one is designed to process approximately 200 metric tonnes of textile waste per day, with additional capacity planned. Huafon will invest in the project and contribute engineering, procurement, logistics and commercial capabilities, while Circ brings its recycling technology and a network of brands, manufacturing partners and downstream customers.

Textination has previously covered Circ partnerships in China, including recycled polyester filament production with Shenghong. This project represents a distinct new development.
It concerns construction of recycling capacity itself rather than downstream yarn conversion. Circ is simultaneously developing its first industrial-scale facility in France.

Ravel has closed an oversubscribed $8.2 million seed round led by One Small Planet, with participation from AP Ventures, Overlay Capital, Lichen Ventures and existing investors. The funding is intended to move the Seattle-based recycling company from pilot operation towards commercial readiness.

Its Purification Recycling process is aimed at one of apparel recycling's persistent problems: stretch blends. Elastane is widely used in activewear, denim, underwear and other garments, yet even relatively small percentages can interfere with established recycling routes.

Rather than treating the whole textile as a single feedstock, Ravel is developing a separation and purification route for polyester/elastane blends. The company says recovered material can be converted into recycled plastic pellets for renewed use as a raw material.

The next phase will test more than chemistry. Commercial viability depends on throughput, feedstock variability, separation efficiency, energy and chemical inputs, and the quality of the recovered fractions. Ravel plans to validate the process at production scale with textile partners.

The financing adds capacity at a point where recyclers are increasingly trying to tackle blends that mechanical systems cannot readily return to fibre.

EURATEX, the European Apparel and Textile Confederation, welcomes today’s State of the Union Address by European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and in particular her recognition of Europe’s need to rebalance unfair trade, cut red tape, and strengthen its industrial and strategic autonomy. 

EURATEX now calls on the Commission and Member States to translate these commitments into concrete action for the textile and apparel value chain.

At the same time, we regret that industrial competitiveness received comparatively limited attention in an otherwise wide-ranging address. EURATEX urges the Commission to match today’s political commitments with an equal sense of urgency on industrial competitiveness, and to place manufacturing sectors, such as textiles, more firmly at the centre of its agenda in the months ahead.

"Europe cannot build a strong defence, lead the green and digital transitions, or protect its social model on a weakening industrial base. Competitiveness is not just one chapter of the European project – it is the foundation all the others are built on; when we get that right, everything else becomes possible.”, states Dirk Vantyghem, Director General EURATEX.

On trade, EURATEX shares the President’s assessment that the EU’s growing trade deficit with China – now standing at €1 billion a day – has reached a tipping point. The textile and apparel sector has been on the front line of this “second China shock” for years, and we advocate the Commission to move swiftly from dialogue to concrete trade-defence measures, including stronger customs enforcement and imports monitoring for textile products.

EURATEX also welcomes the pledge to cut administrative burden and forge a “pact against gold-plating” with Member States. Textile companies, the vast majority SMEs, are disproportionately affected by overlapping and often diverging national implementation of EU rules, and genuine simplification would meaningfully improve their competitiveness.

Looking ahead to the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), EURATEX stresses the need of dedicated support for the textile industry, reflecting its role as a strategic manufacturing sector for Europe's green, digital, and defence transitions, and ensuring the sector is not left without targeted instruments as EU funding priorities are reshaped.

EURATEX commends the President’s announcement of a new “European Instrument for Strategic Enablers” to strengthen European defence capabilities. Technical and defence-related textiles – from protective equipment and ballistic materials to smart textiles for soldier systems – are an integral part of Europe’s defence industrial base, and we stand ready to ensure the sector is fully recognised in this effort.

On international partnerships, we note with interest the President’s proposal to deepen the EU-Canada relationship through an “Alliance for the Future”. EURATEX has recently signed Memoranda of Understanding with its Canadian counterparts, the Canadian Textiles Industry Association (CTIA) and the Canadian Apparel Federation (CAF), and is well-placed to build on this cooperation as EU-Canada industrial ties are strengthened.

Finally, EURATEX supports the announcement of a new Mediterranean Youth Skills and Jobs initiative. We are already active in this domain through our role in the Pact for Skills, and have ongoing engagement across the Mediterranean region. Therefore, we are ready to contribute with our expertise to ensure the initiative delivers meaningful opportunities for young people in the textile and apparel value chain.