From the Sector

The EU TCLF Social Partners, CEC, Cotance, Euratex and industriAll Europe call for future EU policy makers to increase their ambition to safeguard the European TCLF sectors and keep good industrial jobs in Europe. The TCLF Social Partners are all signatories to the Antwerp Declaration for a European Industrial Deal and express their full support for a European Industrial Deal to complement the Green Deal and keep quality jobs in Europe.

The European TCLF sectors provide over 1.5 million jobs in the EU (Textiles and Clothing: 1,300,000, Tanning and leather: 34,531 and Footwear: 222,000) and have a combined turnover of over €200 bn (T&C: €170 bn, T&L: €7.3 bn and Footwear: €23.2 bn). However, the industries continue to face a range of challenges, including fierce global competition, high energy prices, an ageing workforce, and a huge increase in new legislation. These challenges are especially tough due to over 99% of companies in the TCLF sectors being SMEs. As such, the European Social Partners call for increased focus and commitment in the next EU mandate to ensure that the TCLF sectors can become green and digital while remaining competitive on the global market and that no region, company or worker is left behind.

In relation to the Antwerp Dialogue, CEC, Cotance, Euratex and industriAll Europe have also signed up to a specific joint statement focused on the social dimension of an EU Industrial Deal which is vital to ensure its success and social acceptance. The following demands from the TCLF Social Partners are essential to guaranteeing quality TCLF jobs in Europe:

1. Ensure a Just Transition for our industries and workforce
2. Develop a re-skilling and up-skilling agenda
3. Promote social dialogue and social partners' involvement
4. Ensure a sensible, stable and coherent regulatory environment for our industries
5. Access to energy and raw materials
6. Free and fair trade to ensure a level playing field
7. Sustainability and increased demand for products made in Europe 

At DRUPA in Düsseldorf, BW Converting – formerly BW Converting Solutions – has launched an updated branding identity on the heels of incorporating print and industrial technology company Baldwin into its roster – a portfolio that already includes heavyweights Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC) and Winkler+Dünnebier (W+D), as well as Hudson-Sharp, STAX Technologies and Northern Engraving and Machine Company.

With a potent mission, BW Converting pledges to do more than just describe the quality of its converting technologies, but also signify a commitment to betterment that reaches outside the factories and extends into the lives of consumers and society.

The rebranding effort positions BW Converting and its brands in a visually strong and structured architecture so customers and markets can quickly grasp the breadth of the capabilities the company can offer, over just individual brands’ strengths.  

“Our mission is to inform our markets about topics which help them bridge the gap between what they know and what they need to know. This starts with the clarity of our mission,” said Simon Blake, VP of Marketing, BW Converting. “Because we change and transform many raw materials from one purpose to a better one, we are supporting all our customers’ and markets’ goals to ‘Change for the better.’”  ¬¬

“The rebrand is a culmination of a focused plan to support customers’ growth through the integration of our knowledge, scale and global footprint over six strong product brands,” said Stan Blakney, Group President, BW Converting. “Customers are looking for a recognizable company that can support them either in one or many technologies. This rebranding will enable them to do that and have a better understanding of why we come and work for BW Converting.”

The EREMA Group, based in Ansfelden near Linz, Austria, closes the financial year 2023/24 with total revenues of EUR 380 million. A joint venture with the Lindner Group sees the group of companies expand its portfolio to include washing technology. EREMA Group GmbH now has eight subsidiaries: EREMA, PURE LOOP, PLASMAC, KEYCYCLE, Lindner Washtech, UMAC, plasticpreneur and 3S.

"With our machines and components, we have now reached a recycling volume of more than 25 million tonnes per year worldwide, which makes a significant contribution to the development of a circular economy for plastics," says Manfred Hackl, CEO of the EREMA Group. The group of companies manufactured 290 extruders for recycling plastic in the past financial year, supplemented by over 100 add-on components such as filter systems and ReFresher anti-odour technology. These recycling solutions generated total sales of EUR 380 million. Around 8,500 machines and components from the group are in operation in more than 100 countries. The EREMA Group employs 950 people worldwide.

Strategic investments in all areas of the plastics recycling industry
In recent years, the EREMA Group has invested in developing specific machines, applications and infrastructure. "The opening of the new R&D Centre in Ansfelden last summer and the new machines in the Customer Technology Center at EREMA North America at the beginning of this year, have seen us complete the largest phase of investment in our history to date. We have invested more than EUR 110 million in the expansion and modernization of our international locations over the past five years," emphasizes Horst Wolfsgruber, CFO of the EREMA Group. Another important milestone is the founding in August 2023 of the holding company BLUEONE Solutions together with the Austrian family-owned company Lindner. Incorporating Lindner Washtech means that the EREMA Group's extensive portfolio now also includes washing technology.

Developments in post consumer and PET recycling
The new DuaFil® Compact technology, which EREMA developed specifically for challenging applications with high levels of contamination and moisture, is proving successful. Since the launch at K 2022, around 20 INTAREMA® TVEplus® DuaFil® Compact systems have been sold. In the post consumer segment, ReFresher technology for the production of odour-optimised recycled pellets is also gaining ground and is now in use worldwide with a total capacity of one million tonnes per year for film and regrind applications. Another interesting new component is the DischargePro control system for the EREMA laser filter, which has been nominated for this year's Plastics Recycling Awards Europe. The discharge control system responds automatically to fluctuations in flow rate during the recycling process and reduces melt loss by up to 50 percent. With its new Fast-Track scheme, EREMA is responding to the demand for machines available at short notice at an attractive price-performance ratio.

For bottle applications, VACUREMA® systems have been proving their performance for 25 years. Over 400 EREMA PET systems for food grade are in operation worldwide, notching up a total capacity of more than 4.5 million tonnes per year. PET recycling is also becoming increasingly important in the textile industry. FibrePro:IV technology was developed especially for fibre-to-fibre recycling, which is used together with machine combinations from EREMA or PURE LOOP, who specialise in shredder-extruder technology, depending on the geometry and contamination of the PET fibre waste. For these applications, the EREMA Group has set up a fibre technical centre at its headquarters in Ansfelden.

Big potential for plastics recycling
The amount of plastic produced worldwide is currently around 400 million tonnes per year - and the figure is still rising. Around 9 percent of it is recycled globally. This represents big potential for the EREMA Group, as Manfred Hackl emphasizes.

The Schneider Group officially launches Authentico® by Schneider Group, a brand that stands for a transparent, verified, traceable, ethical and high-quality wool supply chain. It aims to be recognised as a global brand that enables the fashion industry, together with end-consumers, to choose new levels of premium quality comprising fully traceable and responsible wool, in compliance with a carefully structured approach that verifies, traces and brands the sourcing and manufacturing processes throughout the whole supply chain. Authentico® is based on the Schneider Group global certified network.

To achieve these goals, the Schneider Group has created the Authentico® Verification System, a simple and reliable way to provide criteria and guidelines for all Authentico® supply chain partners including:

• Authentico® Integrity Scheme, best practices for growers’ implementation at farm level. Animal welfare is at the heart of the Authentico® Integrity scheme, together with being mulesing-free, in accordance with The Five Domains. But the scheme goes further and encompasses also land and pasture management and social responsibility. The wool is sourced from carefully selected and highly committed growers, who apply best practices and choose to subscribe to the dedicated Authentico® platform. The selected fibres are processed into tops in the Schneider Group’s own mills located on several continents, which are directly operated and fully certified.
• Authentico® Brand Guidelines, for all other supply chain players (from spinners, weavers and knitters to garment makers, brands and retailers), that include precise criteria set by the Schneider Group to ensure alignment with Authentico® brand values.

In addition, the Schneider Group incorporates the traceability platform TextileGenesis™ within its Authentico® Verification System, to digitally track all incoming and outgoing wool.

The group has developed a marketing & communication plan to support its Authentico® brand. Upcoming events where Authentico® will be featured are: Pitti Filati in June, Milano Unica in July, the Natural Fibre Connect (NFC) in Biella in mid-September and the Textile Exchange Conference at the end of October in Pasadena.

PVH Corp. announced that Martijn Hagman, CEO of Tommy Hilfiger Global and PVH Europe, will be leaving the Company. He will serve in an advisory capacity to facilitate a smooth transition.

Lea Rytz Goldman, Tommy Hilfiger Global President, leads the global brand, reporting directly to PVH CEO Stefan Larsson. David Savman, PVH’s Chief Supply Chain Officer, will serve as Interim CEO for PVH Europe. The Company has launched a search for a new European leader.

adidas unveils its FW24 London Tennis Collection – a range of apparel crafted with comfort in mind – including seamless material construction, to help players focus whilst performing in major moments on grass court.

Although a pure-white color spectrum is found across the entire collection, raised structures implemented on the base of select pieces, create the appearance of darker shadows that flow throughout - celebrating the different shades of light seen on a grass court during the summer months.

Supporting the demands of grass court tennis, the collection has been crafted for added mobility, unlocked by adidas’ FreeLift Construction – which incorporates adaptive stretch areas under the arm of each garment, to offer players a greater range of motion.

To help players in the heat of the moment, the collection also includes adidas’ AEROREADY technology, which uses sweat-wicking or absorbent materials to keep players feeling dry. This combines with AIRCHILL for the AIRCHILL FreeLift T-Shirt Pro – an adidas technology that supports players feeling cool through thermally zoned, raised pattern motifs and mesh layers, helping to optimise airflow during high-intensity workouts and matches.

The collection premiers at the summer London tournaments and will be worn by athletes including Caroline Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina, Xinyu Wang, Dana Mathewson, Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari, Angelique Kerber, Camila Osorio, Daria Kasatkina, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Davidovich-Fokina, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Martin de la Puente, Francisco Cerundolo, Jakub Menšík, Alex Michelsen and Luca Nardi.

The Fashion for Good Museum publishes its legacy document. The report was prompted by the museum’s closure on June 5th, 2024. It represents the museum’s mission, summarising invaluable insights gathered over six years and key results such as reaching 115.000 visitors and creating a dedicated community of more than 250.000 followers online. Committed to transparency and collaboration, Fashion for Good shares its reflections, tools, and transferable learnings, as well as the future of its collections and next steps, continuing to inspire positive change within the fashion ecosystem. All information can be accessed on the Fashion for Good website for continued use and benefit of educators, the cultural sector, and the wider public.

Looking back on its journey, the Fashion for Good Museum celebrates achievements such as hosting 115.000 visitors, including 8.000 students from 200 schools, curating 13 exhibitions, offering over 75 events, launching 4 educational programmes, reaching both current and future generations, and inspiring many to drive change in the fashion industry. With an earned media value of over 46 million Euros through press coverage since 2017, Fashion for Good's influence has been significant, evident in its 250.000 social media followers and 15.000 newsletter subscribers.

The report fulfils the promise Fashion for Good made in 2017 – to share their journey, learnings, and most impactful activities with the world. Within these pages, readers will discover reflections on their messaging, insights about creative partnerships with entities such as Lowlands Festival, Dutch Design Week, and Museumnacht to case studies of pioneering exhibitions. Their programming was created around themes and topics, such as the untold stories around cotton, circularity, and the future of biomaterials to educate and inspire visitors, ultimately empowering them to take action themselves.

Reflecting on the output of the museum during its short existence, as well as its footprint and wide reach, while acknowledging the challenges encountered during its establishment and development, Fashion for Good distilled six key lessons from Fashion for Good's sustainable museum practices:

• Recognition of Broader Shift: There is a wider movement towards sustainability in the museum sector, exemplified by Fashion for Good and the new ICOM definition.
• Storytelling for Societal Change: Cultural institutions are crucial in driving societal change in fashion consumption through storytelling.
• Innovation through Limitations: Embracing organisational limitations can stimulate innovation in museum collection management and education.
• Audience Engagement: Understanding and expanding the core audience is essential for effective engagement in sustainability initiatives.
• Measuring Impact: It's challenging to measure impact for organisations with social missions, requiring clear success criteria.
• Establishing a Sustainability Framework: Defining sustainability within context is fundamental for organisational sustainability efforts.

Durak Tekstil, a Turkish developer of industrial sewing and embroidery threads, is currently making plans for a new and expanded factory at its base in Bursa, as well as opening a regional office in North America next year.

A continuous focus on R&D and the launch of some highly-differentiated products is driving the success of this third-generation family-owned company, which was initially founded in 1971 to provide Turkey with fishing net twine – at that time 100% imported. Durak then expanded into the production of rayon and polyester embroidery threads before successfully diversifying into a wide range of niche and specialised markets, while growing an international customer base. This growth has been accompanied by continuous investment in the latest advanced production technologies.

Among their products is Duma®, a centreless pre-wound under-bobbin made from strong continuous polyester filaments, which is available in various sizes and thanks to careful selection of raw materials and the use of lubrication methods retains its exact tension from beginning to end.

Working on a similar principle is the Duraless® hollow core thread, and both have a melting points of 260ºC and soften at between 220-240ºC. A high heat tolerance is achieved compared to conventional sewing threads when the shrinkage rate at 150ºC is calculated to be less than 1%. The threads show high resistance to most mineral acids, are unaffected by bleaching and micro-organisms and do not deteriorate in washing and dry cleaning.

Other innovations focus on functionality, including the new SilverPro conductive thread for smart textiles and wearable technologies, luminous Milky Way, Redolent scented thread, the Fire-Safe range of meta-aramids and para-aramids and the Cut Safe range manufactured from various combinations of UHMWPE, glass fibre and elastane.

• The fully electric vehicle sport EV to incorporate sustainable, flax-based composites to decarbonise manufacturing
• CUPRA Born VZ to have full natural fibre front seats with Bcomp’s high-performance ampliTex™
• Bcomp’s natural fibre materials enable a reduction of 49% of CO₂ emissions in seats’ production compared to previous version

CUPRA announces the use of Bcomp’s innovative natural fibre composite solutions for the new CUP Bucket seats in the CUPRA Born VZ electric vehicles, the latest addition to the Spanish brand’s vehicle line-up.

CUPRA focuses on innovation and sustainability to redefine the automotive industry. This approach is exemplified by the CUPRA Born VZ, which combines powerful performance with eco-friendly design, aiming to inspire a new generation of drivers with its progressive and responsible engineering.

For the car’s interior design, CUPRA’s collaboration with Bcomp and Sabelt, has resulted in the creation of the first full natural fibre CUP Bucket seats in the CUPRA vehicle line-up. By replacing the seatbacks currently made from carbon and glass fibres, the new all-natural fibre seatbacks offer significant reductions in emissions. The use of Bcomp’s proprietary ampliTex™ technical material reduces CO2 emissions by 49% compared to the hybrid version, while also offering end-of-life options. The incorporation of natural fibres offers other benefits including enhanced vibration damping and increased safety, providing a blend of sustainability and high performance.

Tintoria Finissaggio 2000 is one of the most important Italian companies in the textile finishing sector. Founded in 1973 in Masserano in the textile district of Biella, the company offers the complete range of dyeing of all types of fibres, finishing, digital printing, lamination and membrane lining. These processes are used to give fabrics certain properties, such as colour, pattern, softness, shine or waterproofness.

At Tintoria Finissaggio 2000, customers benefit from the fact that all processes are handled under one roof, from design support to the finishing of fabrics, combining decades of experience with the new possibilities of lamination and digital printing. The dyeing plant in Masserano is a state-of-the-art facility that fulfils the strictest environmental standards. In general, Tintoria Finissaggio 2000 continuously invests in state-of-the-art technologies and production facilities in order to achieve high-quality results while ensuring sustainable production processes.

Tintoria Finissagio 2000 also focused on innovation when equipping a new stenter frame. The company opted for the latest development from German machine manufacturer Mahlo GmbH + Co. KG: the Orthopac RXVMC-20 automatic straightening system. The new straightening concept is specially designed for processing textiles with high distortion dynamics, i.e. textiles with highly variable distortion. Two individually controlled and driven straightening modules with a total of three bow and four skew rollers ensure that bow and skew distortions are corrected in small steps. The control concept is also new. A scanner group at the infeed of the straightener detects distortions even before they reach the correction rollers. This means that the rollers are brought directly into position and the fabric is corrected from the very first centimetre. A scanner group at the outfeed also recognises any residual distortion, which is then corrected on the second straightening module.