The European Apparel and Textile Confederation (Euratex) has urged the European Union to quickly build an ambitious industrial strategy to help the textile sector bounce back post COVID-19. Latest data suggest a situation worse than 2009 as the turnover has fell by nearly 25 per cent in the textiles industry, and by 35 per cent in the clothing sector.

The second quarter of 2020 has shown a decline of ‘our’ industry as we have never seen before, not even during the 2009 financial crisis as retail sales plunged by 43 per cent, in some countries even more than 60 per cent, Euratex, president Alberto Paccanelli discussed during the recent meeting of the board of the directors.

On the other hand, during this same period (April-June 2020), a remarkable increase has been witnessed in imported textile products from China. Specifically, imports of face masks grew from ca. €0.5 bln in 2019 to €13.5 bln in 2020, an increase of 2,700 per cent. At the same time, EU exports of T&C products fell by 35 per cent during that same quarter.

“The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced an update of the EU’s Industry Strategy during her State of the Union; I would ask her to first implement what has been promised, before announcing new strategies: ensure a level playing field for our companies, develop a resilient industry, and support innovation. We have put proposals on the table but fail to see progress on their implementation,” Paccanelli said.

With its recovery strategy submitted to the European Commission in June 2020, Euratex has proposed to establish a strategic textile alliance, to support innovation and digitalisation of the industry, to turn sustainability into a source of competitiveness, and to ensure free and fair trade.

European T&C companies have shown great responsibility during this crisis, by maintaining their labour force as much as possible (employment fell by less than 5 per cent) and reorganising their production to support the health crisis. Many companies invest to improve sustainability and circularity, but they are nonetheless criticised for environmental damages which are caused by others.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)

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