From the Sector

New skills for the circular economy and digitalisation
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. 

Skills4Circularity is an Erasmus+ project involving 21 partners from twelve countries. The aim is to prepare the European textile industry for the challenges of the circular economy, recycling, traceability and digitalisation through new training programmes. The IVGT is participating as the German industry partner. The project runs from November 2025 to October 2029 and is developing, among other things, training modules, MOOCs, masterclasses and a European Textile Skills Observatory. 

The aim of the project is to identify skills gaps and, building on these, to develop tailor-made training programmes for the circular textile economy. The project is based on a Europe-wide company survey involving 183 participants from twelve countries, 22 expert interviews, and an AI-supported analysis of 313 job advertisements across eleven countries. The results clearly show that the industry’s greatest challenges lie less in a lack of technology and more in a lack of skills. Knowledge of regulatory requirements, the circular economy, life cycle assessments (LCA), data management and process integration is particularly in demand. Traceability, material sorting and sustainable production processes also rank among the industry’s most important areas of expertise.

Sustainability requires systemic thinking
The analysis also highlights that whilst sustainability, the circular economy and technological innovation are recognised as strategic goals regardless of company size, their implementation often takes place incrementally and in isolation. In many cases, measures are not yet viewed as part of a holistic transformation strategy.

There are clear differences between company sizes in this regard. Large companies have extensive technological and organisational resources but face significant regulatory and transformational pressure. Medium-sized companies often drive the functional and sustainable development of textiles but are frequently constrained by economic conditions and customer requirements. Small enterprises score highly on flexibility but have only limited technological capacity. Micro-enterprises often operate as innovative niche providers but are particularly dependent on partnerships and stable market conditions.

A key finding of the research was that the greatest obstacles to implementing circular economy concepts do not stem from a lack of awareness of the issues. Rather, skills gaps, insufficient integration of processes across the entire product life cycle, a lack of data standards, and often inadequate coordination along the value chain are the decisive factors. There is a particularly acute need for specialist knowledge to translate the increasing EU regulations and sustainability requirements into operational practice.

The study also shows that recycling, eco-design and sustainable production are not yet sufficiently integrated within many companies. Furthermore, recycling processes are often outsourced and only considered at the end of the product life cycle. Although eco-design is increasingly being incorporated into product development, it is rarely firmly integrated into standardised development processes. Sustainable production measures often focus on resource efficiency and process optimisation without being systematically linked to circular strategies. As a result, potential for life-cycle-oriented optimisation of materials, products and processes often remains untapped.

Three training modules for the textile transformation
Based on the analysis results, Skills4Circularity is now developing three practice-oriented training modules on the topics of recycling technologies, eco-design for the circular economy and sustainable production.

The ‘Recycling Technologies’ module provides knowledge on legal requirements, material sorting and the processing of textile waste. The aim is to support companies in better structuring recycling processes and improving collaboration along the recycling value chain.

The “Eco-design for the Circular Economy” module focuses on regulatory requirements, life-cycle assessment and traceability systems. Participants will be equipped to systematically integrate circular design principles into product development and to establish the conditions for a functioning circular economy as early as the initial development phases.

The third module is dedicated to sustainable production. The focus is on resource-efficient and low-waste production processes, as well as the organisational embedding of sustainability goals within the company. In particular, the aim is to link production processes more closely with circular strategies and recycling approaches.

With these training programmes, Skills4Circularity aims to support the European textile industry in integrating the circular economy, digitalisation and sustainability more closely into operational practice. Continuing professional development thus becomes a key success factor for the transformation of the sector. 

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has hosted the first meeting of its Collaborative Platform on Alternatives to Animal Testing (CP-AAT).
The event brought together Member States, the European Commission, EU agencies, industry and public-private partnerships to define priorities and strengthen cooperation on the use of alternatives to animal testing.

The members of the platform discussed the wide range of ongoing alternative methods initiatives across Europe, as well as shared challenges in advancing and applying them. They emphasised the importance of structured and continuous information exchange to support progress and avoid duplication of efforts.

Four priority areas were identified for the platform’s initial two-year work programme:

• QSARs: promote regulatory use of in silico methods, starting with acute oral toxicity, by showing practical use and setting clear performance criteria for hazard assessment;
• In vitro toxicokinetics: develop harmonised approaches for using in vitro toxicokinetic data and align scientific and regulatory expectations;
• Omics: Support use of omics technologies (e.g. transcriptomics, metabolomics) in hazard identification and grouping through guidance and case studies; and
• New approach methodologies (NAMs) for nano- and advanced materials: create regulatory approaches to assess nanomaterials’ specific properties and enable their inclusion in non-animal testing strategies.

These priorities reflect areas where further collaboration and alignment are needed to support regulatory uptake. Their scope will now be developed in more detail, with work expected to begin shortly. 

Background
The Collaborative Platform on Alternatives to Animal Testing is an informal and non-binding forum meeting twice a year focusing on scientific exchange, capacity building and development of a common understanding on the regulatory use of alternative methods. The platform is ECHA’s first contribution to the European Commission’s roadmap towards phasing out animal testing, which was published on 1 June 2026. 

The RWTH spin-off TERNAfil has developed MAXCarbon, a new high-performance hybrid fibre that combines the mechanical performance of carbon with the temperature and corrosion resistance of ceramic materials.

For this development, TERNAfil was awarded first prize at the PitchMiUp Night in Minden on 21 May 2026.

With its scalable technology, TERNAfil is working on new material solutions for applications in aerospace, energy technology and high-performance composites.

Fabian Jung, an ITA PhD student and TERNAfil founder, is enthusiastic: “Our success demonstrates once again how current research is making its way out of the laboratory and into real-world industrial applications. We at TERNAfil are delighted with the award and the many exciting discussions and new contacts we made there.”

Background:
Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences hosted its second PitchMiUp Night. The event focused on start-up founders, who presented their ideas and stories of how they started their businesses. The three best performers were awarded prizes.

EDANA, alongside 14 European associations, urges the European Commission and Member States to adopt a pragmatic approach for the future harmonised packaging labels, in line with the EU’s agenda for the EU Single Market, simplification and competitiveness. The system should rely on text-free pictograms, available in achromatic or monochromatic versions matching the packaging palette, with the possibility of using digital labelling as a core element. 

The associations represent manufacturers of consumer goods across Europe. Their products are used by millions of Europeans to care for themselves, their families, and their homes. At the heart of this relationship lies trust, built over time through product safety, quality and performance, and maintained through clear and reliable communication with consumers. 

In fast-moving retail environments, product labelling plays a critical role as the primary interface between manufacturers and consumers. Clear and recognisable labels are essential visual cues that enable consumers to quickly identify products, understand their characteristics, and make informed choices. Preserving this clarity is fundamental, particularly as mandatory information on packs becomes increasingly complex, with the risk of consumer confusion and information overload.