From the Sector

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), which represents the full U.S. textile supply chain from fiber and yarn to fabrics and finished sewn products, welcomed the announcement of a reciprocal trade agreement between the United States and Guatemala.

National Council of Textile Organizations President and CEO Kim Glas:
“The reciprocal trade agreement with Guatemala marks an important step toward strengthening the U.S. textile supply chain. We commend the administration for taking decisive action to remove reciprocal tariffs and provide preferential treatment to qualifying textile and apparel products from Guatemala under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).

“NCTO and the broader U.S. textile industry are grateful to President Trump, U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, and the administration for concluding this agreement with Guatemala, following on the heels of the recently announced agreement with El Salvador.

“Guatemala is a key partner in the CAFTA-DR region, with $2 billion in two-way textile and apparel trade. Together, the region operates as an integrated co-production platform that is essential to the U.S. textile supply chain. In 2024, this production network generated $11.3 billion in two-way trade and supported more than 470,000 American jobs in the domestic textile industry alone.

“The U.S.–Western Hemisphere textile and apparel supply chain remains a critical strategic alternative to China and other Asian producers. We look forward to continued collaboration with the Trump administration to further solidify this vital regional partnership and appreciate this important announcement.”

The Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen University has launched a new demonstrator for an open and secure data space in the textile industry at the Digital Innovation Centre Europe (DICE). For the first time, the demonstrator shows directly and clearly how companies can share their data securely with each other without the need for a central platform. Data exchange is based on shared, freely usable technical foundations.

The participating companies thus share important information about materials, processes or supply chains directly. This increases transparency and helps, for example, with sustainability assessments, traceability or compliance with legal requirements. At the same time, companies retain control over their data at all times.

What is new and special is that, for the first time, the data room can be experienced in practice – not just as a concept on paper. Using real data and real processes, the demonstrator shows how secure data exchange works in the textile industry.

Companies can see directly how information flows between businesses without having to submit it to a central platform. This makes it clear that getting started with modern data rooms is easier, more secure and more cost-effective than many expect.

ITA developed and implemented the demonstrator from a technical perspective. It provides the textile production environments, supplies the technical expertise and ensures that the demonstrator works with real industrial applications.

The demonstrator is publicly accessible at DICE and can be used in workshops, guided tours or company visits. The technological components are already suitable for industrial use and serve as a starting point for companies to launch their own data room projects.

Kornit Digital Ltd., a global market leader in sustainable, on-demand digital fashion and textile production technologies, today announced the appointment of Andrew G. Backman as Chief Capital Markets Officer, effective January 13, 2026. In this role, Mr. Backman will support Kornit’s capital markets activities, investor relations, and corporate and business development initiatives. 

Mr. Backman, who will be based at the Company's U.S. Headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey, has extensive capital markets and investor relations experience, participating in more than $30 billion in capital markets transactions, and maintaining long-standing relationships with institutional investors, sell-side analysts, and global investment banking partners. He previously served as Kornit’s Global Head of Investor Relations from 2021 to 2023. 

Mr. Backman recently served as Global Head of Investor Relations at EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE: EME), with prior experiences including senior capital markets and investor relations roles across more than 14 industries. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Boston College and is a graduate of AT&T / Lucent Technologies’ Financial Leadership Program. 

Borealis announces a EUR 49 million strategic investment to scale up production of Borstar® Nextension polypropylene (PP) at its manufacturing site in Burghausen, Germany. This will expand commercial production of next-generation single-site polypropylene (ssPP) grades that deliver enhanced purity, processability, and performance - supporting customers in key sectors including packaging, healthcare, mobility, and fibers, to meet evolving market and regulatory demands.  
 
Enabling the shift to circular design with monomaterials  
The investment will support the transition to high-performance monomaterial PP solutions. By integrating a tailored combination of performance properties into a single PP material, Borstar Nextension technology facilitates material substitution in complex multilayer structures – supporting design for circularity, reducing weight, and improving overall performance. 
 
Meeting recyclability requirements 
In packaging, this innovation enables brand owners and converters to comply with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), including the target of achieving 100% recyclable packaging by 2030. A growing portfolio of Borstar Nextension PP grades is already demonstrating these benefits in flexible packaging applications, combining improved processability with superior sustainability and a step change in purity, clarity and sealing performance. 
 
Driving customer growth and sustainability 
“By scaling up Borstar Nextension PP production, we empower our customers to stay ahead in a rapidly changing regulatory and market landscape. It’s another example of our commitment to increase the availability of innovative, recyclable polymer materials suitable for a wide range of applications across multiple industries,” says Craig Arnold, Borealis EVP Polyolefins, Circular Economy Solutions and Base Chemicals. 

The Netherlands will host one of Europe’s leading international fashion, textile, and ready-to-wear trade fairs. The 4th Amsterdam Textile Show (ATS) will bring together manufacturers, suppliers, designers, and buyers from more than 14 countries across Europe and other regions of the world, offering a unique platform for international business opportunities and innovation.

Organized by Exponew Fuarcilik, the fair will be held at the World Fashion Centre in Amsterdam. The event will present visitors with a wide product range covering ready-to-wear, fabrics, yarns, sportswear, leather, footwear, accessories, and home textiles. With its new concept and expanded exhibition area, ATS aims to strengthen commercial relations in Europe, Asia, and other global markets, and to create new business opportunities within the textile supply chain.

Over the course of three days, participants will have the opportunity to meet potential business partners, discover new trends, and establish direct contact with decision-makers shaping the future of fashion and textile production.

“We are proud to bring the international fashion and textile community together under one roof in Amsterdam. This fair is not only a trade event; it is an important meeting platform for innovation, business partnerships, and sustainable growth. It hosts both well-established brands and emerging players from around the world.” — Burak Serer, Project Director of Amsterdam Textile Show

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.

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.”