Merino Wool Outperforms Polyester Across All Markets

Across all four markets surveyed, Merino wool was preferred over polyester. Woolmark points to this consistent preference as an indicator of a wider shift in fashion toward materials that are rooted in nature and backed by evidence. Supporting this trend, the term “Merino wool” has seen its appearance in Google searches more than double over the past five years, underlining the growing consumer interest in natural fibres fashion.

Consumers Willing to Pay More — But Want Proof

The study also shed light on consumer attitudes toward quality and transparency. Some 67% of respondents said they would pay more for clothing made primarily from natural fibres. However, willingness to pay comes with a condition: consumers are not ready to simply take claims at face value.

Across the five markets covered in the Ipsos research, 71% of consumers said that independent certification or verification of fibre content and quality is important to them. This appetite for verified information positions independent certification as a key factor in purchase decisions, not merely a technical add-on.

Woolmark’s Managing Director Bryan Fry addressed this shift directly: “Fibre is no longer simply a technical or sourcing decision. It is becoming part of how consumers understand quality, performance and value. Consumers want to know what a garment is made from, what that means in everyday use and whether the claims can be trusted. That puts fibre, and the evidence behind it, back at the centre of the conversation.”

The Return to Real Campaign

The findings form the foundation of Woolmark’s newly launched global campaign, Return to Real. Rolling out across key global markets through out-of-home advertising, digital media, and creator partnerships, the campaign introduces messaging lines that include “Not all intelligence is artificial” and “The original wearable tech.” The campaign invites consumers to look more closely at what they wear and to consider materials grounded in nature, backed by evidence, and proven to perform.

Bryan Fry elaborated on the campaign’s intent: “Technology moves quickly, but innovation does not always mean starting from scratch. Sometimes it means looking again at what nature has already worked out. Return to Real invites people to look more closely at the fibre in their clothes and the intelligence that has been there all along.”

A Wider Shift in Natural Fibres Fashion

Taken together, the data from the Woolmark and Ipsos study paints a clear picture: consumer preferences are moving toward natural fibres, led by Merino wool, and away from synthetic alternatives. The demand for independent certification further signals that trust and transparency are becoming essential elements of how fashion brands communicate with their audiences. As the Return to Real campaign reaches consumers across global markets, it anchors Woolmark’s position at the intersection of consumer insight and fibre advocacy.

The immediate consequence was a sharp rise in the cost of virgin polyester, which is tied directly to petrochemical processes. Recycled polyester, however — linked to post-consumer waste streams rather than petrochemical cracking — initially held steady. For VF Corp, this was not luck. It was the result of years of deliberate planning toward a more sustainable supply chain.

VF Corp’s Bet on Recycled Materials

Today, more than 70 percent of the polyester used across all VF brands — including JanSport, Timberland, and Vans — comes from recycled sources. At The North Face, the company’s largest brand, over 95 percent of the polyester and 80 percent of the nylon found in its puffer jackets, fleece layers, bags, and footwear are derived from recycled, responsibly sourced, or renewable materials.

“We made that choice for carbon reduction and sustainability reasons and to build price and supply resilience into our supply chain,” Cady said. “This has enabled us to continue sourcing recycled polyester at very profitable prices without having to deal with the volatility of virgin polyester.”

A parallel story played out in ocean freight. VF’s decision to pay a modest premium for eco-fuel helped shield it from fuel surcharges when oil climbed above $100 per barrel. Companies that had not made the same commitment ended up paying more than those that had locked in eco-fuel pricing from the start. “It was a choice we made, and it was a choice that paid off in the end,” Cady said.

Scenario Planning as a Resilience Tool

As trade upheaval, geopolitical conflict, and climate risks increasingly intersect, VF Corp argues that navigating the current crisis is only part of the challenge. Building a sustainable supply chain resilient enough to withstand the next one is equally, if not more, important.

VF routinely uses scenario exercises to explore what future disruptions could look like. What happens if another pandemic strikes? Or a more damaging trade war emerges? What if rising temperatures force ski resorts to close and demand for The North Face’s winter gear collapses? “So we build scenario planning like that, and we figure out what choices would we make at what time, and what are the indications or indicators we should be looking at to see if that scenario will come true,” Cady explained.

He acknowledged that some scenarios are extreme by design, but maintained that they serve a functional purpose — building internal organizational muscles for decision-making under uncertainty.

Reo Eco: Scaling Textile-to-Textile Recycling

For Reo Eco, a vertically integrated recycling and textile manufacturing company, building supply chain resilience means securing both raw materials and long-term brand demand. Anticipating an industry shift from bottle-to-textile toward textile-to-textile recycling, the Chinese firm has already secured 100,000 tons of castoff garments for its enzymatic recycling operations, scaled up from a pilot plant established just a year and a half ago.

Rather than competing at the lower end of the market on price, Reo Eco is focused on elevating the value of recycled polyester into higher-end products such as stretch yarn, cotton-touch yarn, and dope-dyed yarn. Stefan Edkvist, Business Development Director at Reo Eco, noted that moving upmarket also demands transparency about material origins — an increasingly critical requirement as regulatory scrutiny of greenwashing intensifies.

“The market demand for textile-to-textile is huge now, not only because of cost or emissions but also because of regulation with digital product passports around the corner,” Edkvist said. “So where is that feedstock coming from? How can we secure the supply chain?”

The company aims to share its production capacity with brand customers and “grow together,” he said. Keeping processing in-house has allowed Reo Eco to control quality and avoid the extra freight costs and margins associated with outsourcing. Even so, Edkvist acknowledged that the company’s 10,000-ton textile-to-textile recycling capacity remains a “drop in the ocean” compared to the more than 80 million tons of polyester produced globally every year.

Cotton Supply Chains Face Climate and Logistics Pressures

For Jordan Lea, Vice President of Sustainable Fibers at the American arm of Olam Agri — a major cotton merchant and agribusiness — delivering a commodity “produced by Mother Nature on a just-in-time basis” is already a complex undertaking, made more so by drought and other climate-related risks.

Long logistical lead times add further pressure. Cotton purchased from the United States today can take four to six weeks just to reach a vessel, leaving ample time for energy prices and geopolitical conditions to shift beneath a supplier’s feet. To reduce those delays, Olam Agri divested a warehouse in Dallas and added facilities in Memphis and Savannah.

Lea described his philosophy with customers plainly: “You’re not my customer — you’re my partner. So how can we be a better partner? Again, that’s by making our product — the one that keeps your supply chain functional — more available to you as cost-effectively as possible.”

Another strategic priority for the company is increasing cotton’s “fungibility” — offering customers greater flexibility to substitute cotton sourced from one origin with cotton from another. Of the roughly 45 million bales exported worldwide annually, approximately 35 million come from just three countries: the United States, Brazil, and Australia.

“It sounds like a diversification of risk,” Lea said, “but when you consider that Australia is looking at production being down by 50 percent next year and the U.S. is in a drought facing a super El Niño during the harvest season…there are enormous risks just from the production side.”

Compounding those production risks are shipping disruptions — drought-related transit restrictions at the Panama Canal, Houthi attacks along the Red Sea route to the Suez Canal, and ongoing conflict at the Strait of Hormuz. One response, Lea said, is positioning cotton inventory closer to customers in relatively neutral locations such as Singapore or Malaysia, allowing Olam Agri to respond more quickly to shifting demand. “I can’t disrupt anybody’s supply chain based on an inability to deliver,” he said. “That’s not an appropriate response.”

Insurance Industry Grapples with Emerging Supply Chain Risks

Even when companies invest meaningfully in trade disruption protection, converting that investment into lower insurance premiums remains a challenge. Ridwan Bhuiyan, Vice President of Digital Products for Global Resilience at Chubb, illustrated the complexity with a hypothetical scenario: if a supply chain depends on a single dye house, or several located within the same flood zone, what happens when an extreme flood shuts them all down simultaneously?

Identifying such concentrations allows insurers to work with companies on preventive measures before a disruption leads to major losses. Bhuiyan also noted that insurers must increasingly account for risks that fall outside traditional underwriting categories, including climate change, heat stress, shipping lane blockades, blackouts, and labor strikes.

The challenge lies in demonstrating that specific mitigation investments justify reduced premiums. “We often hear our clients saying, ‘OK, if we build a $2 million flood wall at this factory in Thailand, is it going to affect our premium?'” he said. “It’s really tough to answer that because you haven’t necessarily demonstrated through that investment that it has truly protected you from that emerging risk. There’s no precedent — unlike saying that adding a sprinkler system in your facility will prevent a catastrophic fire from destroying the building.”

To develop that evidentiary base, Chubb combines historical site assessments with claims data to connect previously identified vulnerabilities to actual losses. “To be honest, it becomes more art than science,” Bhuiyan acknowledged. “You can collect all the numbers, investments, interventions and disruption planning, but as our adaptations to these inherent and emerging risks become more prevalent and we see incremental benefits from them, they will eventually trickle down to the policies we write as insurers.”

VF Corp’s Strategic — Not Reactive — Sourcing Decisions

Managing geographic risk also shapes how VF Corp structures its vendor relationships. The company gives suppliers with manufacturing capabilities in multiple countries higher ratings in its vendor-performance matrix, positioning them for more orders compared with single-country suppliers. However, Cady was explicit that this does not translate into reactive, short-term supply chain shifts.

“We make changes that are strategic in nature, that are ‘no-regret’ decisions,” he said.

When President Donald Trump announced the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025, Cady described the development as a “big shock” the company had not budgeted for. Before the Supreme Court struck down those tariffs in February, citing executive overreach, VF responded with a three-part approach: reducing manufacturing costs where possible, raising prices selectively where demand allowed, and absorbing a portion of the tariff burden at the expense of near-term profit. The company also incorporated more U.S.-manufactured material inputs to help offset import duties.

“But from a supply chain perspective, we don’t react with a knee-jerk reaction,” Cady said. “We’re taking a strategic view of what’s going to stick for the long term. Where do we have certainty? Where are we just trying to move through an uncertain period until we have clarity of what the future holds? Because what we’re choosing to design and develop today isn’t going to hit the market for over a year. And so, just switching here and there doesn’t really create value in that long-term supply chain.”

Responsible Exit and Worker Protection

VF Corp also applies its values framework to the way it manages supplier relationships, evaluating prospective partners not only on their production capabilities but also on compliance, human rights standards, environmental protections, and sustainability reporting.

Cady described the company’s approach as “controlling what we can control.” This extends to how VF handles the departure from a supplier. “If we do have to leave a supplier and reduce production with a supplier, our planning teams understand the impact that will have on that supplier: What percent of the capacity of that supplier or their workforce is responsible for producing our products?” he said. “And if we don’t give that supplier another order, are they going to have to exit? Are they going to close?”

Whatever form supply chain resilience takes, Cady was unequivocal that it cannot be achieved at the expense of the workers within it. “We have a very public and very important responsible exit procedure if we’re exiting orders from a supplier that we follow to the T, to ensure that we don’t have a negative impact on the workers in our supply chain,” he said.

Developed by WWF-Pakistan in collaboration with SBP’s SME, Housing & Sustainable Finance Department, the SME Green Transition Toolkit translates the Pakistan Green Taxonomy (PGT) into a practical framework for evaluating textile businesses and identifying suitable financing opportunities.

The resource enables financial institutions to assess weighted average carbon intensity (WACI) and specific energy consumption (SEC), while identifying potential investments in solar power, waste heat recovery and cleaner fuels. An accompanying Excel-based tool is designed to help banks develop financing plans tailored to businesses’ transition requirements.

Speaking at the launch, SBP Deputy Governor Saleem Ullah highlighted the importance of textile SMEs to Pakistan’s export economy and wider manufacturing supply chains. He noted that improvements in energy efficiency, water conservation and cleaner production could help businesses reduce operating costs, strengthen financial resilience and maintain access to international markets.

“For banks, whose largest sectoral exposure is textile, this green transition is key to safeguarding portfolio quality”, Saleem Ullah said and added that the SME Green Transition Toolkit offers a practical starting point for linking these environmental improvements with business competitiveness and viable financing opportunities”.

WWF-Pakistan Director General Hammad Naqi Khan described the initiative as a collaborative effort demonstrating the potential of partnerships between financial regulators and environmental organisations.

“Our next step is to move from framework to financing: with SBP, banks and development partners, we will explore a Green Textile Transition Finance Facility, using concessional credit and risk-sharing to turn the Pakistan Green Taxonomy into real loans for textile SMEs and reaching upstream to sustainable cotton,” he added.

Banks to Pilot Textile Green Transition Framework

The toolkit establishes a common methodology for financial institutions to incorporate taxonomy-aligned environmental assessments into lending decisions. By connecting sustainability improvements with accessible financing options, the initiative aims to strengthen the international competitiveness of Pakistan’s textile industry.

The launch brought together government officials, financial institutions and development partners, alongside a technical demonstration of the framework. Banks are expected to pilot the toolkit with textile clients, supported by further guidance and training to encourage wider adoption.

The initiative marks a practical step towards accelerating textile green transition efforts by helping SMEs identify environmental improvements and access financing to implement them.

The joint statement brings together stakeholders from across the European manufacturing value chain, spanning textiles, chemicals, metals, automobile suppliers, and numerous other sectors. Their collective demand centers on decisive action against unfair trade practices, persistent global overcapacity, and market distortions driven by state subsidies.

A Unified Call Across Sectors

Euratex, the European Apparel and Textile Confederation, was among the prominent voices behind this initiative, stating that “ensuring fair competition is essential to maintaining a strong European textile and clothing industry, supporting quality employment and encouraging investment in European production.”

The organizations outlined three clear priorities for strengthening Europe’s capacity to respond to unfair international competition — and each speaks directly to growing concerns around industrial competitiveness and EU trade defense.

Boosting the European Commission’s Trade Defense Capacity

The first priority calls for additional human resources and specialized expertise within the Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security (DG Trade), with the explicit goal of accelerating investigations into unfair trade practices.

As Euratex noted, “Faster procedures would help European companies, particularly SMEs and mid-sized businesses, to access trade defense instruments more effectively.” The current pace of investigation is seen as a barrier for smaller players who lack the resources to absorb prolonged market pressures caused by underpriced imports.

Making Better Use of Existing Trade Defense Instruments

The second priority urges the EU to make fuller use of its existing toolkit — including anti-dumping measures, anti-subsidy rules, and safeguard mechanisms. The joint statement also calls for stronger action against circumvention practices, greater consideration of environmental and social costs, and a more comprehensive approach that protects entire industrial value chains rather than individual sectors in isolation.

Notably, the statement emphasized the importance of avoiding negative spillover effects on close European partners. “In light of the closely integrated value chains, it is crucial to avoid negative impacts between the EU and close European partners, such as Norway, Switzerland and the U.K.,” the statement noted, adding that “effective trade defense instruments serve to strengthen European competitiveness, safeguard industrial value chains and support quality jobs.”

Developing New Tools to Address Global Market Distortions

The third and perhaps most forward-looking priority calls on the EU to develop new, targeted policy tools capable of addressing the growing complexity of state-driven market distortions — something the organizations believe existing policies may no longer be adequate to handle.

The joint statement specifically referenced distortions linked to third-country investments in production facilities, which have fueled surges in underpriced exports entering EU markets. “The EU industry is paying the price of broad state-driven distortions from third countries and the increased investments by those countries in production facilities in third-country markets, which have contributed to additional surges in underpriced exports to the EU,” the statement said.

Euratex’s Long-Standing Concerns Over Import Pressures

Brussels-based Euratex has repeatedly warned that the European textiles industry is being adversely affected by imports from nations such as China. These concerns now have broader industry backing, with the joint statement reflecting growing alarm across multiple manufacturing sectors about the sustainability of Europe’s industrial base.

Following a pledge last month from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to rebalance fair trade, cut red tape, and strengthen industrial and strategic autonomy, Euratex called on the Commission to act without delay on those commitments.

Dirk Vantyghem, Director General of Euratex, underscored the urgency: “Europe cannot build a strong defense, 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.”

A Broader Industrial Imperative

Euratex made clear that EU trade defense is far from a textile-specific concern — it cuts across a wide range of sectors that together form the backbone of European industry. The organization stated it signed onto the joint statement precisely because strengthening industrial competitiveness for EU entities will benefit all European suppliers and manufacturers alike.

“Euratex supports a rules-based trading system that promotes open markets without allowing unfair practices to undermine European manufacturing,” the organization said. “The joint statement sends a clear message: Europe needs stronger, faster and more effective trade defense instruments to preserve its industrial base, protect employment and strengthen long-term economic resilience.”

The unified push from over 40 organizations marks one of the most coordinated industry-wide efforts in recent years to press EU institutions for meaningful reform of trade defense mechanisms — with industrial competitiveness and the fight against unfair trade practices firmly at its core.

The Hot Button Report serves as a critical tool for assessing viscose and other man-made cellulosic fibre (MMCF) producers on their forest sourcing practices and use of recycled textile fibres. It is a key reference point for over 550 global apparel brands participating in the CanopyStyle initiative, making its updates particularly consequential for sourcing decisions across the textile industry.

A Leaner, Clearer Framework

One of the most notable structural changes in the updated framework is the reduction of the rating system from seven categories to five. According to Canopy, this simplification is designed to offer clearer goals and expectations for producers, with defined targets expressed in both volume and percentage terms. The criteria have also been tailored to reflect the varying capacities of small, medium, and large MMCF companies, recognising that a one-size-fits-all approach may not equitably serve the diversity of producers operating at different scales.

The rating system will now use just three shirt colours — green, yellow, and red — to represent overall risk levels. Producers found to be sourcing fibres from known high-risk locations will automatically receive a red shirt designation, indicating the presence of Ancient and Endangered Forests or other controversial sources within their supply chains. This automatic classification sends an unambiguous signal to brands and sourcing partners about supply chain risks.

Greater Weight for Next Gen Solutions and Landscape Conservation

A significant development within the revised framework is the increased weighting assigned to companies that are actively investing in Next Gen Solutions. These include fibres produced from recycled textiles, as well as participation in landscape-level forest protection initiatives. Canopy has emphasised that these shifts directly address the mounting pressures of the global climate crisis and an increasingly stringent international regulatory environment.

The focus on Next Gen Solutions reflects the growing recognition within the industry that forest sourcing practices must evolve beyond harm reduction toward active contribution to circular and resilient fibre systems.

Industry Consultation and Legal Review

The development of the updated Hot Button Report framework was not conducted in isolation. Canopy stated that the process included consultation with all 28 rated MMCF producing companies and select brand partners. A legal review was also undertaken to ensure the framework’s compliance with international legislation — an important step given the tightening of environmental regulations in key markets globally.

Canopy senior lead MaryAnn Ramirez commented on the evolution of the Hot Button Report: “The Hot Button helped change the conversation about where fashion’s fibres come from. Ten years ago, the industry was asking whether viscose could be sourced without destroying the world’s most vital forests. Today, we have the opportunity to build a fibre system that is circular, resilient, and keeps forests standing. Hot Button is a system that must feel fair, equitable, and consistent year-to-year so producers can plan with confidence. At the same time, it must remain flexible enough to credit diverse pathways to impact.”

What This Means for the MMCF Sector

For MMCF producers, the revised Hot Button Report sets a clearer path forward while raising the bar on responsible forest sourcing. The updated framework’s three-colour system removes ambiguity in how risk is communicated, and the tailored targets across company sizes ensure expectations are proportionate and achievable. At the same time, the emphasis on Next Gen Solutions and landscape-level conservation signals that the direction of the Hot Button Report is firmly aligned with the broader sustainability demands now shaping the global textile industry.

With over 550 apparel brands anchored to the CanopyStyle initiative relying on the Hot Button Report for their sourcing decisions, the impact of these updated criteria will be felt across a wide span of the fashion supply chain when the 2027 edition comes into effect.

Addressing the Demands of the Asian Weaving Market

The Asian textile market continues to evolve rapidly, shaped by high production volumes, rising quality standards, and an accelerating push toward automation and process reliability. Weaving mills across the region are actively seeking technologies that enhance efficiency and sustain long-term competitiveness.

Stäubli’s weaving solutions are built to help manufacturers achieve stable processes, consistent fabric quality, reduced downtime, and reliable performance across extended production runs. At ITMA ASIA 2026, visitors at the Stäubli booth will have direct access to technologies responding to the concrete needs of modern weaving mills — from faster preparation and precise shedding to flexible patterning and dedicated lifecycle support.

Stäubli’s participation at the event reflects its long-standing commitment to supporting textile manufacturers across China and Asia. The company combines a strong local presence with technical expertise and global application knowledge, working closely with weaving mills to address day-to-day production challenges.

Weaving Preparation Technologies on Display

SAFIR PRO S37 — Automatic Drawing-In System

The SAFIR PRO S37 will be presented as a high-performance automatic drawing-in system developed specifically for filament yarns and demanding weaving applications. With advanced yarn handling and textile automation capabilities, the system supports greater efficiency and consistent preparation quality at the feed stage of production.

MAGMA — Automatic Warp-Tying Machine

Also on display will be the MAGMA automatic warp-tying machine, engineered for coarse and technical yarns. Its single and double-knot capability, combined with optoelectronic double-end detection, enables flexible and reliable warp changes across a wide range of demanding production applications.

Jacquard Technology: Precision Across Every Application

Stäubli’s comprehensive Jacquard technology portfolio covers formats ranging from 80 to 25,600 hooks, combining precision, reliability, and advanced control technology to enable high-quality woven fabrics and broad creative possibilities across segments.

SX PRO with Harness

The SX PRO with harness will be showcased as a versatile Jacquard solution designed to deliver performance, reliability, and flexibility across a wide range of fabric types — including terry, apparel, upholstery, tapestry, silk fabrics, and technical textiles.

N4L PRO

Complementing the Jacquard area, the N4L PRO will also be on display. This machine provides genuine added value to premium fabrics by enabling brand names to be woven directly into selvedges, offering manufacturers a distinctive and functional capability.

Optimised Shedding Systems for Asian Weaving Mills

Stäubli’s frame weaving solutions are engineered to meet the demands of high-speed industrial weaving, supporting stable shedding performance, fabric quality, and operational reliability. Several shedding systems configurations will be featured at Stäubli ITMA ASIA 2026.

S1628 Cam Motion

The S1628 cam motion is designed for air-jet and rapier weaving applications, delivering a robust shedding solution suited to demanding production environments with speeds reaching up to 1,200 rpm.

S3018 Rotary Dobby

The S3018 rotary dobby will be presented in two configurations, offering weaving mills a flexible shedding option adaptable to a range of production requirements.

S3060 Rotary Dobby

The S3060 rotary dobby will also be featured, highlighting its suitability for air-jet weaving applications with operating speeds of up to 800 rpm.

Case Study: JIEDE Textile and the Power of Proven Shedding Solutions

JIEDE Textile, a large-scale denim producer based in Guangdong Province, China, demonstrates what proven shedding systems and weaving solutions can achieve at industrial scale. Integrating spinning, dyeing, weaving, and finishing operations, JIEDE Textile holds an annual denim fabric production capacity of 100 million metres, supplying high-quality denim fabrics to customers worldwide.

Since implementing Stäubli weaving solutions, JIEDE Textile has recorded clear improvements in production efficiency and process stability. Stäubli’s dobbies perform reliably at high speeds, helping reduce downtime and fabric defects while improving batch-to-batch consistency across large production runs.

Currently, a total of 430 Stäubli S3060 rotary dobbies are in active operation at JIEDE Textile — a direct demonstration of the performance and reliability that Stäubli’s textile automation technology delivers at scale.

Wang Lihua, General Manager at JIEDE Textile, stated: “For us, Stäubli is more than an equipment supplier. It is a key technology partner. From solution design to ongoing service, they support us throughout the entire lifecycle.”

Technical Textiles and Industrial 3D Weaving

Driven by growing requirements across aerospace, automotive, energy, and industrial applications, the technical textiles market continues to expand, creating new opportunities for advanced weaving technologies and high-performance composite materials.

For more than a decade, Stäubli has been actively engaged in industrial 3D weaving. Building on this experience, the company has developed the TF platform into a highly modular and configurable weaving system capable of adapting to evolving products, materials, and applications.

At ITMA ASIA 2026, visitors will be able to view samples of technical fabrics woven on Stäubli TF machines, illustrating the practical potential of these advanced weaving systems in real-world technical textile production.

Member Engagement Driving UKFT’s Agenda

Mansell emphasised that direct engagement with businesses remains central to how UKFT shapes its work. So far this year, the organisation has visited more than 60 textile businesses to better understand the challenges they face. It has also worked with over 100 textile companies at export shows and connected with many more through events, webinars and roundtables.

“Our members and their challenges sit at the heart of everything we do, so our work starts with the conversations we have with you,” Mansell told attendees.

He acknowledged that much of the work carried out by a trade association happens quietly behind the scenes but stressed that it remains vital to the UK textile industry.

Government Representation and Policy Advocacy

A significant portion of UKFT’s efforts involves representing the textile sector to various parts of government, both at Westminster and across the four nations, as well as in Europe and increasingly in the United States. This work spans a range of policy areas, from changes in emissions permitting with the Environment Agency and lobbying on international trade regulations to campaigning for the expansion of the BICS energy scheme and pushing for the best possible terms for UK manufacturers within free trade agreements.

Mansell highlighted UKFT’s sustained campaign to promote the economic and security advantages of using public procurement to support UK textile manufacturing. He also drew attention to the organisation’s ongoing push for UK businesses to receive the same level of export support as their international competitors, describing the current lack of financial support for exports as “indefensible.”

Export Promotion and International Presence

To bridge that gap, UKFT has raised £250,000 over the last two years to fund export promotion activities. In 2026 alone, the organisation has promoted UK textile manufacturing at a series of major international trade shows. These include showcasing apparel fabrics at Milano Unica, Intertextile Shanghai and VIATT in Vietnam, as well as highlighting the innovation and technical capabilities of the sector at Techtextil in Germany and CINTE Techtextil in China.

Mansell also noted that UKFT’s President, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, visited a narrow fabric weaver, a wool sorter, a bedding manufacturer and a technical textiles company this year, further raising the profile of UK textile manufacturing on the global stage.

Tackling Sustainability Compliance and Regulation

Growing regulatory complexity was identified as one of the most pressing concerns for textile businesses. Mansell outlined an expanding list of obligations facing manufacturers, covering product safety, packaging, Extended Producer Responsibility, Digital Product Passports, supply chain transparency, environmental claims, chemicals, water usage and international trade compliance.

In response, UKFT has developed a suite of practical resources including guides, webinars, workshops and its Regulation and Policy Newsletter. The organisation has also introduced Sustainability Clinics, green claims audits, circular design resources and its annual Sustainability Conference. Additionally, UKFT helps businesses connect with research organisations and funding opportunities and is working with fibre innovators to help them better understand the UK textile industry.

The 2026 UKFT Regulation Summit, held in June, and the Textile Innovation Showcase at the Sustainability Conference were highlighted as key events supporting businesses in this area. UKFT also launched its Textile Industry Advancement Days this year, bringing textile professionals together to identify challenges, share expertise and shape the next steps for advancing product development, process efficiency and textile innovation across the sector.

Addressing the Skills Gap in Textile Manufacturing

Skills remain a long-term challenge for the industry, with businesses repeatedly reporting difficulties in finding the right people, developing technical capability and passing knowledge between generations. Mansell said this is slowing companies’ ability to innovate, invest and grow.

To help raise awareness of career opportunities, UKFT has talked to more than 7,500 young people about careers in textiles over the past couple of years through careers events around the country. The organisation has brought education providers and businesses together through its UKFT Education Partners Conference and developed training and industry-focused continuing professional development opportunities in partnership with Leeds, Manchester and Huddersfield universities.

Through the support of its partners, UKFT provides more than £250,000 a year in training support through programmes including the Young Textile Technician Training Fund, Made IT and the Weavers x UKFT Bursary.

Mansell revealed that the organisation has this year undertaken its largest piece of research into skills challenges facing the UK textile industry, speaking in depth to more than 65 businesses. The ambition, he said, is to develop a vocational skills system that directly supports UK textile manufacturing and avoids the shifting goalposts of government-backed skills provision.

Innovation and Technology for Textile Manufacturing

Mansell noted that members are increasingly asking how textile innovation and emerging technologies can make their businesses more productive, competitive and resilient. Questions about artificial intelligence, robotics and digital transformation are becoming more common, and the most frequent query UKFT receives is simply: “Where do I start?”

The UKFT Weaving Conference was positioned as a forum to begin answering those questions. “Today isn’t about technology for technology’s sake,” Mansell said. “It’s about understanding what is possible, seeing real examples, and understanding where these technologies can genuinely improve productivity, quality, efficiency and decision-making.”

A Collective Voice for the Sector

Mansell closed by reaffirming UKFT’s passion for the sector and its role in ensuring the right environment exists to support the growth and evolution of textile manufacturing in the UK. He urged members to maintain an open dialogue with the organisation, stressing that continued conversation about challenges and needs is essential for UKFT to deliver meaningful support.

“We can bring the industry together. We can give you a collective voice. And we can help you understand what is changing,” he said. “But to do that, we need you to keep talking to us, keep telling us what your challenges are, and where you need our support.”

The dual-arm machines can recognise, pick and sort products without requiring item-specific training or predefined stock-keeping unit (SKU) data. This capability addresses a longstanding challenge in AI-powered fashion returns, where garments arrive in different conditions, packaging formats and combinations that make conventional automation difficult.

The deployment follows a Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, enabling warehouse personnel to concentrate on monitoring operations, managing exceptions and maintaining quality standards.

AI System Handles Unfamiliar Products

Sereact’s Cortex physical AI platform supports multiple robotic configurations, including single-arm picking systems, dual-arm return-handling units and humanoid robots. The platform draws on operational experience across its robotic systems to improve its ability to recognise and handle unfamiliar objects.

Chris Walton, SVP Contract Logistics at CEVA Logistics, said: “One of the toughest challenges is returns handling, due to its extreme operational nature and scale, unpredictable volumes, manual quality checks, seasonality, value decay, and a disproportionately high cost per unit.”

“Our Robotics-as-a-Service model classifies items faster, reduces manual touchpoints, and delivers consistent, predictable quality on a large scale. For our customers, this transforms returns from a cost driver into a controlled, high‑performance service.”

Zalando Expands Robotics Collaboration

Zalando participated as a strategic investor in Sereact’s Series B funding round in July 2026. The companies are also working together to expand intelligent automation throughout their European logistics networks.

Masood Choudhry, SVP Logistics at Zalando, said: “By solving the most complex challenges in modern fulfilment today, we are actively shaping the future of e-commerce logistics for fashion and lifestyle,”

Returns represent a substantial operational burden for online fashion retailers. Zalando reports that approximately 50% of its online sales are returned, making efficient processing essential to controlling logistics costs and maintaining product value.

By automating labour-intensive sorting tasks, AI-powered fashion returns technology could help retailers improve processing consistency, reduce manual intervention and manage fluctuating return volumes more effectively.

Field-level data was collected from 59,094 harvested acres on 469 fields across seven major U.S. cotton-growing states through the Field Partner Program pilot. The findings show that U.S. Regen™ cotton was produced with 20% lower greenhouse gas emissions, 30% greater soil carbon sequestration, 75% lower soil loss, and a 49% improvement in water-use efficiency compared to the established baseline.*

“Growers are making long-term investments in the health and productivity of their farms, while also adapting regenerative practices to their unique growing region,” said Marjory Walker, Co-Director of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. “U.S. Regen™ supports those efforts through a consistent framework that measures outcomes, verifies practices, and provides traceability to the bale. We’re pleased to see this program expand from pilot to scaled availability for the 2026 cotton crop.”

For brands, U.S. Regen™ provides access to verified, field-level data tied to the cotton they source, rather than relying only on industry averages. The resulting data provides brands with a comprehensive suite of outcome metrics including carbon removals, emissions, soil health, water quality/quantity, and biodiversity. Enrolled fields are monitored using remote sensing and scientific modeling, enabling company-level Scope 3 reporting.

U.S. Regen™ is traceable to the bale through the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol’s solution. Each bale carries a unique Permanent Bale Identification number authenticated by the United States Department of Agriculture, providing assurance of the cotton’s origin and allowing U.S. Regen™ volumes to be tracked through the supply chain.

For the first time, brands can also use approved on-product claims to identify U.S. Regen™ cotton content in consumer-facing communications. The updated U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol Claims Framework is now available, allowing brands to communicate their regenerative cotton sourcing while helping protect the accuracy and integrity of those claims.

“The U.S. Regen™ offering is a direct outcome of hearing from brands that they are looking for regenerative cotton that is credible, practical, and scalable,” said Liz Hershfield, Co-Director of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. “U.S. Regen™ connects the work growers are doing on the ground with verified traceability to support brands’ sourcing goals.”

U.S. Regen™ reaches the market through Field Partner Programs led by merchants, marketing cooperatives, and self-marketing growers. Brands interested in sourcing the fiber can work directly with participating Field Partners or contact the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol for more information.

*The baseline for reductions was established using U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol data, including fields without soil health practices. The baseline for removals was established using the national MRV dataset, incorporating both regenerative and non-regenerative practices.

Exports to European Union countries grew by 1.3% to €2.69 billion, translating to an increase of €35.1 million year-on-year. Meanwhile, sales to markets outside the European Union rose by approximately 5% to €1.09 billion, adding €51.9 million. Despite the faster pace of growth in non-EU destinations, the EU continues to account for around 71% of Portugal textile exports in this period.

Non-Knitted Clothing Leads Product Category Growth

Breaking down the performance by product category, non-knitted clothing and clothing accessories recorded the strongest increase in absolute terms. Exports in this segment rose by 8.5%, adding €54.7 million to reach a total of €696.5 million.

Knitted clothing and clothing accessories, which remain the single largest export category for the Portuguese textile industry, grew by 1.3% to €1.46 billion — an increase of €19.3 million compared with the same period last year.

Among the other strong performers, impregnated, coated, covered, or laminated fabrics — which include products intended for technical applications — saw exports rise by 13.8% to €259.2 million, representing an additional €31.4 million. Wadding, felt, nonwovens, and cordage articles grew by 7.3% to €253.6 million. Carpets and other textile floor coverings recorded a 17.2% increase, reaching €76.4 million. Other made-up textile articles, a category that encompasses a significant share of home textiles, also performed positively, though more moderately, rising 2.1% to €518 million.

On the other side of the ledger, man-made staple fibres recorded the largest decline in absolute terms. Exports in this category fell by 26.4%, from €153.2 million in the first eight months of 2025 to €112.8 million — a reduction of €40.4 million. Man-made filaments also declined by 11.2% to €53.6 million. Other vegetable textile fibres fell by 16.2%, while cotton exports dropped by 4.6%.

France and the Netherlands Drive Export Market Gains

Among destination markets, Spain retained its position as the largest customer for Portugal textile and clothing exports, with purchases of €873.3 million — virtually unchanged from the €874.2 million recorded in the same period of 2025, representing a marginal decline of 0.1%.

France, the second-largest destination, posted the biggest absolute increase among key markets. Exports to France grew by 4.1%, equivalent to an additional €22.2 million, reaching a total of €559.2 million. Germany, in third place, recorded a decline of 2.6% to €307.1 million, €8.3 million below the prior-year figure.

The United States, ranked fourth, increased its purchases of Portuguese textiles and clothing by 3.1% to €300.9 million, an uplift of €9.1 million. The Netherlands stood out as another strong performer, with exports growing by 10.2% — an additional €21.3 million — to reach €230.1 million.

Italy registered the largest absolute decline among major destinations, with exports falling 11.1% to €191.6 million, a reduction of €23.9 million. Exports to the United Kingdom also fell by 2.6% to €221.6 million.

Among the remaining markets within the top ten destinations, Belgium grew by 9% to €109.8 million, Canada increased its purchases by 12.7% to €79.8 million, and Sweden posted growth of 7.4% to €74.2 million.

Emerging Markets Record Notable Increases

Beyond the ten main destination markets, several emerging economies recorded particularly strong increases in clothing exports from Portugal. Poland grew by 25% to €63.9 million, representing an additional €12.8 million compared with the same period of 2025. Mexico recorded a 71.7% rise to €43.4 million, adding €18.1 million year-on-year. Vietnam registered an 88.2% increase to €20.5 million, an uplift of €9.6 million.

These figures from INE collectively reflect a broadly positive trajectory for Portugal textile exports through August, underscored by growth in technical textiles, woven apparel, and expanding trade relationships across both established and emerging markets.