#Sustainability

2023-01-19

Inditex renews its support for Caritas’ clothing reuse and workplace inclusion drive in Spain, pledging €8.5 million

Inditex’s CEO, Óscar García Maceiras, and the president of Caritas in Spain, Manuel Bretón Romero, officially extended the two organisations’ collaboration until 2025 this morning in Madrid © 2023 Inditex

Inditex will contribute €8.5 million to Caritas during the next three years to reinforce its clothing collection and reuse initiative, known as Moda Re-, and continue to fund upskilling, training and inclusion projects for people in need in Spain. Óscar García Maceiras, CEO of Inditex, and Manuel Bretón Romero, president of Caritas in Spain, signed a new agreement this morning in Madrid, extending the collaboration between the two entities, which dates back to 2007, until 2025.

The Moda Re- programme, to which Inditex will earmark €3.5 million out of the €8.5 million pledged under the agreement, is Caritas’ community project devoted to the full-cycle management (collection, reuse via donation or charitable sale and recycling) of using clothing, an activity that has enabled the NGO to create 1,200 jobs, half of which inclusion-driven.

Between 2023 and 2025, the money donated by Inditex to the Moda Re- scheme will mainly go to reinforcing clothing collection capacity and the related traceability systems and expanding its 129-store chain of charity shops with new openings. In order to give new life to any products collected that cannot be reused, Moda Re- will continue to innovate at its textile processing facilities in Bilbao, Barcelona and Valencia, where it extracts fibres and raw materials of value for the industry.

Caritas’ employment and training programme, meanwhile, will receive €5 million of funding to continue to carry out projects that provide labour skills to vulnerable people at risk of social exclusion and those left behind in order to increase their chances of inclusion. With that money, Caritas will also roll out social economy and selfemployment initiatives.

Since 2007, the year it began to work with Caritas, Inditex has donated over €32 million to the NGO’s humanitarian aid and emergency, international cooperation and community work projects in Spain. During today’s signing ceremony, Manuel Bretón, Caritas’ president in Spain, underscored that “Inditex’s support will allow us to articulate proposals for social transformation that shape a society based on respect for human rights, dignity, cooperation and justice, all framed by care for our planet”.

Texprocess 2026: Automation, digitalisation and AI redefine textile processing

Making investment decisions in textile processing has become significantly more demanding. Increasing energy costs, a shortage of skilled labour and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties are compelling companies to focus on technologies that deliver clear gains in efficiency and process reliability. This applies equally to apparel manufacturing and to the processing of technical textiles and high-performance materials. As a result, modernisation initiatives are assessed more carefully – even as the need to upgrade production systems continues to intensify.

Techtextil 2026: Between innovation pressure & market reality

From 21 to 24 April 2026, Techtextil in Frankfurt am Main will once again become the central meeting point for the international technical textiles and nonwovens industry. Running in parallel, Texprocess will focus on the industrial implementation of textile processing technologies as the leading platform in this field. Together, the two trade fairs form a closely integrated presentation and working platform along the entire textile value chain – from material development to finished applications.

Between geopolitical pressure and industrial resilience

In this interview, Dr. Janpeter Horn (VDMA) discusses the current challenges facing textile machinery manufacturers, shaped by geopolitical tensions, regulatory developments and subdued investment. He also outlines why innovation strength, integrated solutions and strategic positioning remain key to global competitiveness.

A new standard to combat plastic waste in forests

With DIN SPEC 35808 “Tree Shelter for Forestry Applications,” the testing and research service provider Hohenstein, in collaboration with Rottenburg University of Forestry, as well as forestry authorities and industry partners, has established a clear framework for bio-based and fully biodegradable tree shelters. The pre-standard defines requirements and practical testing methods designed to reduce plastic waste in forests and strengthen the long-term protection of soil and the environment.

Europe’s textile future at a turning point: New 2030 Circularity Blueprint aims to scale recycling and unlock investment opportunities

The EU textile system is at a critical crossroads. Today, less than 1% of discarded garments are recycled into new garments, despite EU-wide obligations for separate collection. In response, Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) is launching the 2030 Circularity Blueprint, in partnership with ReHubs. This ambitious initiative is designed to support the transformation of the EU textile ecosystem to advance textile-to-textile recycling and drive the transition to a circular economy.

Young talents honoured – 60 years Walter Reiners Foundation

At the Techtextil trade fair in Frankfurt at the end of April, Peter D. Dornier, chairman of the VDMA’s Walter Reiners Foundation, presented awards to five successful young engineers. Promotion and sustainability awards were presented in the categories of bachelor’s/project theses and diploma/master’s theses. Academic theses are eligible for the sustainability awards if, for example, they develop solutions for resource-efficient products and technologies.

RE&UP contributes to Global Fashion Summit 2026 circularity discussion

RE&UP contributed to the global conversation on textile circularity at Global Fashion Summit 2026 in Copenhagen, where Fatih Konukoğlu, Chairman of RE&UP and Vice Chairman of Sanko Holding, took part in both the keynote session “The New Rules” and the panel discussion “A Reckoning and Renewal for Circular Horizons”, alongside leaders from H&M Group, Looper Textile Co. and Sourcing Journal.

Regional hemp bast for lightweight construction profiles

The cultivation of fibre hemp for the production of ropes and clothing has a long tradition in Saxony. Due to its excellent fibre properties, it is also suitable as a renewable raw material for reinforcement in fibre composites. At the STFI and IWU in Chemnitz, the CannaPul project is cur- rently investigating how a regional value chain for hemp-based lightweight construction profiles can be established. To this end, the technical processing of hemp fibres into continuous fibre strands and their embedding in a suitable bio-based matrix are being investigated.

Kornit Digital launches Konnections 365

Kornit Digital (NASDAQ: KRNT) (“Kornit” or the “Company”), a global pioneer in sustainable, on-demand digital fashion and textile production today announced the launch of Konnections 365 - a year-round movement designed for the people moving the apparel, print, and retail industries forward. The strategy is built on the overwhelming success of Konnections 2026 held in Hollywood, Florida, featuring more than 500 customers, partners, and collaborators who together are driving the future of apparel and textiles.