[pageLogInLogOut]

#Sustainability

Petri Alava recognised among world’s top 50 digital retail leaders

Our Chief Executive, Petri Alava, has been unveiled among global digital commerce’s most influential individuals in The Tech List, the annual index published today by leading business intelligence site Retail Week.

The Tech List replaces The Tech 100 to exclusively celebrate the work of 50 – rather than 100 – digital retail leaders achieving demonstrable success by steering technological change.

The index has been determined with recommendations from industry specialists including NBK Retail Founder and Retail Analyst Natalie Berg, WARC Director of Insights Aditya Kishore, and True Executive Chair and Co-founder Matt Truman, alongside Retail Week’s team of expert journalists.

Petri Alava © 2022 Infinited Fiber
Petri Alava © 2022 Infinited Fiber


Leaders behind start-ups and disruptors, retailers and brands, investors, collaborators (third parties working with industry) and tech titans are celebrated for driving innovation in key areas such as stores, personalisation, payments, supply chain, social commerce and sustainability.

The Tech List is an essential read for retailers and brands looking for insights on the hottest digital trends, who to partner with and where to prioritise investment.

Produced in association with Braze, Emarsys, Fourth and Okta, The Tech List has greater female representation than ever before (36%) – compared with 32% last year – with Alibaba Group President of Core Domestic Commerce Trudy Dai, Olio Co-founders Tessa Clarke and Saasha Celestial-One, and AiFi Co-founder Ying Zheng among those celebrated.



It also boasts greater global diversity with individuals profiled from across the UK, US, Europe, Japan, China and Israel, and is not limited to tech job titles, with chief operations officers, eCommerce directors, founders and chief executives featured in the index.

Retail Week Senior Commercial Content Editor Megan Dunsby, who oversees The Tech List, said: “The Tech List serves as the ultimate showcase of digital leaders that the industry should be working with, taking inspiration from and investing in.

© 2022 Infinited Fiber
© 2022 Infinited Fiber


Despite the challenging market conditions in which global retail finds itself, these digital leaders highlight the real progress being made to stay ahead of competitors, improve customer experiences, and overcome the various cost pressures and supply chain disruption beating down on industry.

It’s interesting to see the contrast between those leaders – typically those with bigger budgets – making headway with game-changing technologies such as drones, robotics and the metaverse, and those making necessity-driven investments to make their businesses simply run more efficiently.”



More News from TEXDATA International

#ITM 2026

ITM 2026: The new geography of textile production

New production hubs are emerging across North Africa and Central Asia, while Türkiye is accelerating its transformation toward higher-value, technology-driven and more sustainable textile manufacturing.

#Research & Development

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

#Knitting & Hosiery

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

#Associations

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

More News on Sustainability

#Recycling / Circular Economy

H&M Foundation highlights economic barriers to scaling circular textile systems

Discussions at Textile Exchange 2026 underline the need for coordinated investment, reliable material flows and a fair distribution of costs and risks across the textile recycling value chain.

#Recycled Fibers

C&A and Zalando join Altag® Fiber Club to accelerate adoption of agricultural waste-based fibres

Fashion for Good and AltMat announced today that C&A and Zalando have joined the Altag® Fiber Club as its first brand signatories, marking a critical commercial milestone in the journey to mainstream adoption of next-generation fibres derived from agricultural waste.

#Industry 4.0 / Digitalization

Jeanologia and BCome connect factory data with Life Cycle Assessment and Digital Product Passports

A new white paper by EIM by Jeanologia and BCome demonstrates how primary environmental data from denim finishing processes can be integrated into a garment's Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and prepared for use in a Digital Product Passport (DPP). A comparative case study highlights significant improvements at the production stage while also showing how these translate into the environmental performance of the finished garment.

#Sustainability

Textile Exchange 2026: From sustainability commitments to industry-wide action

More than 1,300 participants and over 90 speakers gathered in Vancouver to discuss how the textile and apparel industry can move from planning to implementation, with a focus on resilient supply chains, circularity, regenerative agriculture and collaboration.

Latest News

#India ITME 2026

Stäubli to introduce new S3292 dobby for high-speed weaving at ITME India 2026

Stäubli will introduce its new S3292 dobby at ITME India 2026, taking place from December 4 to 9 at the India Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Designed for high-speed air-jet weaving, the new machine will be among the highlights of the company's presentation, which also includes warp preparation systems, cam motions, Jacquard technologies and digital services.

#Research & Development

DITF develops bio-based binding fibers for wood-fiber insulation materials

As part of the CelluWoodFlex project, the German Institutes of Textile- and Fiber-Research in Denkendorf (DITF) are developing bio-based cellulose ester fibers as alternative binding fibers for flexible wood fiber insulation materials. In addition to the spinning process and the production of suitable staple fibers, the institute is also investigating how wood and cellulose fibers can be separated and recycled at the end of their useful life.

#Recycled Fibers

Reju expands textile-to-textile recycling network with six international fabric manufacturers

Reju, a textile-to-textile regeneration company, is expanding its industrial network through collaborations with six fabric manufacturers in Europe and the Americas. The initiative aims to accelerate the integration of regenerated polyester into textile manufacturing and support the development of finished fabrics for commercial applications.

#Nonwovens

Magnera highlights HighPleat™ filtration media technology at FiltXPO 2026

At FiltXPO 2026, held on October 28–29 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Magnera highlighted advances in air filtration media architecture, with a particular focus on its HighPleat™ platform for MERV 8–10 applications. The technology combines a lofted fiber structure with optimized pore architecture to address the challenge of balancing filtration efficiency, airflow resistance and contaminant-holding capacity.

TOP