In the past two weeks, our Senior Manager Smart & Technical Textiles Judith Bosch represented Textile ETP and the SmartX Innovation Hub in Shanghai at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics and Cinte Techtextil China, two fairs covering very different but complementary areas of the textile industry. Taken together, the two events showed innovation from two angles: what a material can be engineered to do, and what becomes possible once that material is part of a larger industrial system.

Launched today, the new Horizon Europe project MELANGE will transform colouration practices in the European interior textile industry by moving colour design from the end to the beginning of the manufacturing process. As part of a consortium of 9 partners led by Aalto University (Finland), Textile ETP  will run the dissemination and stakeholder engagement activities.

Over the next three years, MELANGE will lower the environmental impact of interior textile production by moving colour design to the beginning of the manufacturing process. This Horizon Europe project officially started on 1 August 2026, and will be publicly launched on 27 August 2026, where its visual identity, co-created by Textile ETP and Aalto University during a three-day design workshop, will also be presented.

Whether you are interested in sustainability, smart & high-performance textiles and digitalisation, our Innovation Hubs offer textile companies, research organisations, brands and retailers the chance to learn, network and collaborate on the hot topics of circular and biobased textiles, smart and technical textiles and digitalisation in the textiles sector. 

On 24-25 June 2026, Textile ETP participated in the second edition of the Textiles Recycling Expo in Brussels, Belgium. The exhibition focused specifically on solving the pressing issue of textile waste, covering the recycling of fabrics, clothing, footwear, fibres, and non-wovens, and drew a large international audience from across the supply chain, including recyclers, waste managers, textile manufacturers, clothing suppliers, retailers, and other stakeholders.

Following the publication of the Horizon Europe Work Programmes 2026-7 late last year, and our TEPPIES 2026, we are launching our 2027 TEPPIES brokerage activities!

The fourth ECOSYSTEX Conference will take place as a physical event from 22 to 24 September 2026 in Antwerp, Belgium in partnership with the University of Antwerp. This event will bring together experts, innovators, and industry leaders to explore the theme of circular textiles beyond recycling.

To provide our members with first-hand insights into cutting-edge research, technologies, and sustainable innovations, we launched ‘Textile ETP on Tour’, an exclusive members-only initiative designed to showcase pioneering developments in textile science and technology. For the fifth edition on 28 May 2026, we visited Enschede, in the Netherlands, a town that was one of the largest textile producing cities in Europe until the late 1960s.

The 20th edition of the Textile ETP Annual Conference took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands, welcoming over 150 professionals from the entire textile value chain. Against a backdrop of accelerating digitalisation, evolving European policy, and mounting pressure to demonstrate environmental progress, the conference offered a platform for strategic reflection, open dialogue, and collaboration.

On 26 May 2026, Textile ETP’s DigitX Innovation Hub published its strategic roadmap for the digital transformation of Europe's textile and apparel industry. Developed collaboratively by more than 100 industry experts from the DigitX Innovation Hub over six months, The Digital Transformation of the European Textile and Apparel Industry sets out a comprehensive plan to help European textile businesses become fit for the digital future

On 12 April 2026, Textile ETP Secretarty General Lutz Walter attended the final event of the TEX@CT project in Porto, Portugal. As part of a small team of international evaluators, Lutz participated in a panel discussion where he highlighted the unique position of the integrated Portuguese textile-fashion cluster to implement such comprehensive digital innovation programme.

On 12 May 2026, Textile ETP President Marina Crnoja-Cosic took part as in panel discussion on the transition to a circular bioeconomy, organised in Brussels by the Bavarian Industry Association in cooperation with Bavaria's representation to the European Union. The dialogue centred on how Europe can leverage renewable, bio-based resources and circular production models to strengthen supply chains, reduce dependency on imported raw materials, and maintain global competitiveness in the face of climate change.