The textile industry

Thèmes abordés

THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Résumé du document

The effervescence in the textile industry dates back to the end of the 19th century. In that time researchers started looking to overstep nature by creating artificial fibers. The first one was created by Joseph Swann and is called artificial silk. Following this evolution a fierce struggle then began, and led to the first real artificial textile industry.
After World War II, the "Trente Glorieuses" were the golden age of chemistry in industrialized European countries. Then, this period signed the beginning of a new era with the resources optimization in the textile sector, followed by constantly changing technologies.
Thus, the ambition of this paper is to underline the main the main characteristics of the European textile industry as follows: the threat of foreign new entrants (China), the perspective in terms of research and development and innovation, and the growing environmental dimension of the sector
In a first part we will see the characteristics of the European textile industry, and then we will show the possible evolutions and perspectives of the sector.

Extraits

[...] The textile industry would therefore be subjected to outsourcing, which would also greatly impact Europe's economic growth. Opportunities In order to counter those threats, the politics of the European Union is to push the concerned companies to adopt the following strategy: For instance, European companies ought to differentiate themselves by investing into research and development in order to efficiently differentiate themselves from their competitors on the long run while creating and developing innovative products with high added value towards the competitive advantage. [...]

[...] Thus, with the emerging concern for environmental, social, and ethical issues, companies are pushed on the path for an ecological textile industry. Consumers are increasingly structuring demand and therefore forcing the European Union to adapt to this new area by creating European directives and eco-labels. In spite of the progresses European industrials have made over the past years in the sector, there are still issues which need to be tackled down for the viability of sector. For instance, there ought to be mandatory labeling of products imported from countries outside of the European Union. [...]

[...] Kunz and Myrna B. Garner (Hardcover - July 14, 2006) COURSES The politics and governance of the European Union, M. Navarro, BEM. DATABASE Groupes d'habillement (enseignes et marques) en Europe Faïza Bolongaro, online 05/08, Xerfi 700, http://www.xerfi.fr/etudes/8XDIS01.pdf; Consulted on 02/12/2010 WEBSITES Fin des quotas : l'UE espère éviter une déferlante de textiles chinois Aujourd'hui la Chine, online 12/12/2007 http://www.aujourdhuilachine.com/actualites-chine-fin-des-quotas-l-ue-espere-eviterune-deferlantede- textiles-chinois-5250.asp?1=; Consulted on 02/12/2010 Textile européens: Sauvés par la recherche? RTD info, online 05/2005, http://ec.europa.eu/research/rtdinfo/pdf/rtd45_fr.pdf; Consulted on 02/12/2010 Chine: Atelier du monde, marché pour l'Europe Guillaume Gaulier, Françoise Lemoine & Deniz Unal-Kesenci, La Lettre du CEPII, online 05/ 2005, Consulted on 12/12/2010 http://www.cepii.fr/francgraph/publications/lettre/pdf/2005/let245.pdf Textile Européens: Sauvés par la recherché? [...]

[...] Moreover, this textile sector revitalization makes sense only if it takes a European dimension. To this end, a European Technology Platform was established on March Textiles européens: Sauvés par la recherche? RTD info, online 2005, http://ec.europa.eu/research/rtdinfo/pdf/rtd45_fr.pdf visited 02/12/2010 General Information Autex, http://autex.ugent.be/general.htm; visited 02/13/2010 Rapport annuel: Activités de l'année 2007 Euratex. http://www.euratex.org/download/publications/others/euratex-2007-fr.pdf;visited 02/10/ APPENDIX PERCENTAGE OF TURNOVER INVESTED IN INNOVATION PAGE THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY Jennifer KIRSZ Nelly MEUNIER Anne THIEBAUD European Technology Platform solutions A reference point Before this platform, concerned people in Europe collaborative research in the field of textiles and clothing has never arranged a central contact point as transparent, efficient and accessible as now. [...]

[...] PERSPECTIVES FOR THE EUROPEAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY A. THE EUROPEAN TEXTILE: TOWARDS A REINVENTION OF THE SECTOR THROUGH INNOVATION B. THE INNOVATIVE PROJECTS C. THE TEXTILE SECTOR AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDICES APPENDIX PERCENTAGE OF TURNOVER INVESTED IN INNOVATION APPENDIX CONTINIOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY Jennifer KIRSZ Nelly MEUNIER Anne THIEBAUD I. SPECIFICITIES OF THE EUROPEAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY 4 A. THE EUROPEAN TEXTILE: A SECTOR ARRIVED AT MATURITY? After its success during the “Trente Glorieuses”, the European textile sector was considered as a worldwide leader. [...]