INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PAGES
A New EU Strategy for Textiles
& Clothing: EURATEX Vision
Euratex Position Paper September 2021
textiles and apparel, some of which
are strategic for the European
economy. It supplies other indus-
tries, including healthcare, agricul-
ture, construction and automotive
and is closely connected to the cre-
ative industries, retail and others.
The sector also embraces textiles
related services and labelling.Background – the EU textiles &
clothing industry
•The EU Textiles & Clothing indus-
try currently includes 160,000 com-
panies (of which 99% are SMEs),
employing 1.5 mln people and gen-
erating a turnover of Euro 162 bln.
•The sector covers a long supply
chain: from fibres into yarns, into
fabrics and into final products in•The T&C sector is one of the most
NCM-OCTOBER 2021
55globalised segments of the Euro-
pean economy. Exports dropped to
Euro 53 bln in 2020, while imports
remained very high (Euro 115 bln),
resulting in a significant trade defi-
cit.
•Quality & innovation are the main
drivers for the EU T&C competitive-
ness, as confirmed by the number
of patents (1303, compared to 869