Germany

Planning uncertainty in the terry cloth and home textiles sector has a practical answer in a new AI-powered demand forecasting tool built for Frottana Textil GmbH & Co. KG, the manufacturer behind the MÖVE brand, by Fraunhofer IWU. The tool analyses past sales records to generate monthly forecasts, replacing manual Excel-based planning and reducing scheduling uncertainty across the sector.

A new Designers Area has expanded the curatorial concept at Munich Fabric Start's 30th anniversary edition, running 14 to 16 July 2026 at the MOC Munich. The show presents five Autumn.Winter 27/28 fabric trends under the leitmotif "TASTE." and consolidates into three halls following the long-term re-letting of Hall 4 by the venue owner.

The textile industry has spent years producing pilot-scale sustainability successes that rarely translate into supply chain-wide adoption. The constraint is purchasing behaviour, not available technology. Eva Baumann, Chief Executive Officer of CHT Group, draws on CHT's foundation-owned structure and portfolio depth to make a case that is less about ambition than about where industrial reality and procurement logic continue to diverge.

Three decades of European textile sourcing leadership have been marked with a set of strategic moves: a shift to 14–16 July for the Autumn.Winter 27/28 edition, a new minimalist brand architecture, an anniversary storytelling project, and a season theme centred on individual taste and human identity.

Nearly 70% of textile products could, with existing technology, be recycled today. That figure did not land as a reason for optimism at Performance Days' March edition this year in Munich. It landed as a diagnosis. The industry has the tools. What it lacks is the data infrastructure, the coordination, and the design fluency to make those tools work at the scale the market requires.

The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research has developed a method for producing cellulose staple fibre yarns using its patented HighPerCell process. The InnoCell project is advancing market-ready cellulose yarns for apparel through a closed-loop system, regional raw materials, and a production method that reduces waste and lowers carbon emissions compared with conventional processes.

Two DITF research projects have received Techtextil Innovation Awards for materials made from renewable, biodegradable raw materials. NUO FlexHolz and FormLig combine wood veneer, cellulose, hemp and lignin with textile flexibility, three-dimensional shaping and design applications, while reducing synthetic adhesives, CO₂ emissions, microplastics and landfill waste.

Environmental permitting systems across ten major textile-producing nations contain significant gaps in how industrial pollution from spinning mills, dye houses and garment factories is regulated, a new UNEP report has found. Most national legislation fails to classify textile activities as environmentally significant or to consider gendered impacts on workers.

EU policy for textiles is no longer optional, niche, or abstract. It will define the new normal for how businesses design, produce, and sell in Europe. The real test is whether companies stay stuck in debates about bürokratiemonster and broad concepts like circularity, or whether they seize this moment to turn legislation into leadership.

Mayer & Cie, a leading German manufacturer of circular knitting and braiding machinery, has filed for insolvency under self-administration following a sharp decline in global demand. The fourth-generation family business, which recently celebrated its 120th anniversary, will continue operations while restructuring under legal protection granted by Hechingen District Court.