The Industry
The textile and fashion industry in Germany involves
- 1,200 companies
with a total of 400,000 employees worldwide (of which 120,000 are employed in Germany)
- and a recorded turnover of EUR 29 billion for the sector (2008 figure).
Industry production covers the areas of:
- Technical textiles
- Clothing textiles
- Home and household textiles
The textile and fashion industry is characterised by its power to innovate, its flexibility and its dynamism. Germany is the market leader in the area of technical textiles and its designers are highly sought-after both at home and abroad. Small and mid-sized companies in the sector have used intelligent textiles to specialise in areas of manufacturing that now constitute more than 50 per cent of industry-wide production, opening up brand new horizons. Breakthroughs in German research work have enabled textile applications to enter sectors as varied as construction, energy, healthcare, environmental protection and traffic control, while also transforming a textile segment dependent on traditional technologies and materials into an innovative high-tech industry.
The textile and fashion sector has experienced a metamorphosis in recent years. One of today's most creative and innovative sectors, it pursues the following aims:
- Maintaining presence in growth markets
- Striving to achieve the creation of global markets free of trade barriers
- Using high-tech products to create new value chains
- Staying one step ahead in research and innovation
- Attracting the top high potentials