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.

On 5-6 May, the SOLSTICE consortium met in Berlin, Germany, not only for the 5th General Assembly of the project, but also for the second regional event titled "Scaling Textile Repair and Reuse in European Urban Centres: Systemic Levers".

On 29-30 April the Skills4Circularity consortium met in İzmir, Türkiye, for its second in-person General Assembly, hosted by Ege Üniversitesi. Textile ETP joined the meeting to advance key workstreams and align on the project's next phase.

Textile ETP made the most of Techtextil-Texprocess 2026 with five guided innovation hub tours across both shows, a landmark presentation of the first SmartX strategy document on the future of EU technical textiles in defence, aerospace and protection, and a week of exchanges that bring industry reality and European funding opportunity into closer conversation.

On 14 April 2026, our Secretary General Lutz Walter participated in Pulp & Beyond, where he gave a keynote speech about the biobased fibre innovation opportunities in the EU textile market, highlighting that fossil-based fibres still account for 69% of global fibre production, and why a phase-out will be a long but necessary process.

‎Regularly, our Secretary General Lutz Walter shares his insights and knowledge through his blogposts, covering a wide range of topics related to textile sustainability and innovation. Follow his blog to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges that the textile industry is facing today.