Jorge Adalberto Machado
CEO Adalberto Textile Solutions
Our objective is to reach net zero and become planet positive by 2030
Founded in 1969, Adalberto Textile Solutions is a vertically integrated Portuguese textile manufacturer specialising in high-end fabrics for the luxury industry, with expertise spanning material science, colouration, printing, and finishing. With a strong focus on decarbonisation and next-generation sustainable textiles, the company is building a planet-positive industrial model designed to scale without compromising quality or performance.
In this exclusive interview with Fibre2Fashion, CEO Jorge Adalberto outlines how deep industrial continuity, advanced material science, and aggressive decarbonisation are reshaping sustainable luxury textiles beyond regulatory compliance. The company positions measurable environmental performance, digital transparency, and scalable innovation as the new competitive benchmarks for Europe’s premium textile supply chains.
What gap in the textile value chain led to the founding of Adalberto Textile Solutions?
Adalberto was founded in 1969 to build industrial depth and continuity in a fragmented textile value chain. From the outset, the company focused on uniting creativity, technical mastery, and manufacturing under a single industrial vision, enabling design ambition to be translated into consistent, high-quality fabrics.
With more than five decades of accumulated know-how, Adalberto has built deep expertise in material science, coloration, printing, and finishing. That continuity of knowledge is what allows us to innovate without breaking industrial reliability.
The textile industry has reached a point where incremental improvement is no longer sufficient, and experience combined with technological ambition is essential to drive real change.
How does the Adalberto Decarbonisation Project fit into the company’s long-term growth and competitiveness strategy?
The Decarbonisation Project reflects the industrial future we are deliberately building. It is designed to structurally reduce environmental impact while enabling the development of next-generation sustainable textiles.
Beyond emissions, it supports a broader transformation of how fabrics are engineered and measured in terms of water use, chemical footprint, and carbon impact. This project directly enables new categories of fabrics that would not be viable under conventional industrial models.
We are not perfect, and we do not claim to be. What matters is that we are committed to shortening the journey toward zero impact by continuously redesigning processes, materials, and technologies rather than accepting incremental change.
What role do innovation and technology play in your fabric development and sourcing process?
Innovation at Adalberto is focused on redefining what sustainable luxury textiles can be through measurable performance.
Our portfolio includes cellulosic textile solutions engineered to have no carbon or water impact at the production stage, bio-based polyamide fabrics derived partially from renewable biological feedstocks, and one of the most sustainable denim solutions available today, produced with a 99 per cent reduction in water consumption and no chemical discharge into the environment.
We are actively working to patent at least one ultra-sustainable textile solution per year, supported by close collaboration with universities and research partners globally.
We also inclusively lead a European consortium developing next-generation colourants using biotechnology, with the long-term objective of enabling natural microbes to produce pigments that progressively replace conventional synthetic chemistry. Innovation for us is not a department; it is how the organisation renews itself.
How do you ensure quality, consistency, and scalability across diverse client requirements?
Quality and consistency at Adalberto are driven by deep technical expertise combined with systematisation.
Our long-standing knowledge in colouration, printing, and finishing allows us to deliver differentiated fabrics with stable performance as complexity increases. This is reinforced by digital tools and process intelligence that support scalability without compromising aesthetic or technical integrity, which is essential for luxury applications.
How are smart technologies and digital monitoring systems improving energy efficiency across operations?
Smart technologies allow us to measure environmental impact at fabric and garment level.
All key textile equipment is equipped with sensors that measure water usage, chemical inputs, and carbon emissions per production batch. This allows brands to associate each fabric with a verifiable environmental profile, not an average or an estimate.
It enables precise optimisation, continuous improvement, and the level of transparency increasingly required by premium and luxury brands.
How does the project align with current and upcoming European decarbonisation regulations?
Our ambition goes beyond compliance. While European regulation is moving toward measurable reduction and verified reporting, our objective is to develop technologies that ultimately bring environmental impact to zero.
Regulation defines a minimum threshold, but we believe it currently lags behind what is technologically possible. Our strategy is to operate well above regulatory requirements by rethinking materials, chemistry, and industrial processes themselves.
What is your long-term vision for Adalberto Textile Solutions in the evolving global textile industry?
Our vision is to build a large-scale, vertically integrated, planet-positive textile organisation designed for the luxury industry. My ambition is to build the first textile organisation where scale, profitability, and environmental positivity reinforce each other rather than compete.
As a group, we grew more than 30 per cent in 2025, reflecting strong market demand for the type of solutions we are delivering.
We are expanding within Portugal and into other geographies, building a platform designed to be structurally relevant rather than opportunistic.
What concrete milestones have you set between now and 2030 to ensure that your zero-impact commitments remain measurable and accountable?
Our roadmap to 2030 is defined by execution and measurement.
We are implementing 11 structured decarbonisation measures targeting a 68.81 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a 48.50 per cent reduction in total energy consumption.
Continuous monitoring ensures transparency and accountability over time.
Our objective is not only to reach net zero but to become planet positive by 2030.
Do you see regulatory compliance evolving from a requirement into a competitive differentiator in textiles?
Yes. Regulation is becoming a filter for relevance. Manufacturers that can deliver verified, traceable sustainability performance will increasingly become preferred partners for global brands, particularly in the premium and luxury segments. Companies relying on offsets or partial solutions will struggle to remain credible.
How prepared is the Portuguese textile sector overall for Europe’s energy-transition targets?
Portugal hosts the largest textile and apparel cluster in Europe and remains a resilient sector with several strong, well-led companies.
We are living through a challenging period, but these challenges also create opportunities. Companies that invest in technology, sustainability, and differentiation can strengthen their position both locally and on the international stage.
How does reducing dependence on fossil fuels improve resilience against energy price volatility?
Reducing fossil fuel dependence lowers exposure to volatility and uncertainty. It stabilises cost structures, improves long-term planning, and strengthens delivery reliability, which is essential for responsible luxury supply chains.
Interviewer: Shilpi Panjabi
Published on: 09/02/2026
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
