Textile industry

The textile and clothing industry is a traditional branch of manufacturing industry in Germany. In around 1300 almost exclusively medium companies of the German textile and clothing industry around 130,000 employees generate a turnover of around 28 billion euros. The export rate is about 40 % in the textile industry and 44 % in the clothing industry (2008). The textile and clothing industry is so after the food industry is the second largest consumer goods industry in Germany.

The sooner usual distinction between the textile industry on the one hand and the clothing industry on the other hand is now out of date, since the boundaries between the two areas are fluid. In addition, there are today in Central Europe as well as no more plants, in which all production stages are operated from raw material to finished product. Rather, the operations of the textile and garment industry work hard labor and internationalized. So today, as no clothing more is produced in Germany as well, although some of the largest clothing manufacturer based in Germany.

Germany is the fourth largest after China, Hong Kong and Italy exporter of products of the textile and clothing industry.

Directly and indirectly from the textile and clothing industry depend jobs from other industries. It is a supplier to the pharmaceutical, automotive and construction industries as well as for medical and protective clothing area and in turn utilizes the services of other industries in claim such as the engineering industry or the chemical industry.

Techniques and production stages

Basically, the following production steps and techniques along the textile production chain must be distinguished:

• The production of chemical fibers and yarns by spinning and twisting
• The manufacture of textile fabrics by weaving, knitting, felting, tufting, braiding, knotting, lace making
• The design of textile fabrics through embroidery, textile printing, dyeing, flocking
• The textile finishing by kier, bleaching, equipment, textile coating, walking, embossed, caustic treatment, shrinking, and many others Merzerisation
• The assembly of end products such as apparel, home textiles, technical textiles.

Textile raw materials may be of natural origin (such as jute, sisal, cotton, wool, silk) or been but produced artificially (eg, polyester, acrylic, glass fibers)

History

The beginnings of the textile industry dates back to the Middle Ages. Especially in rural areas, and particularly in the uplands, where there was good climatic conditions for the cultivation of hemp and flax, as well as meadows for the keeping of sheep were present, the making of linen and spinning and weaving were an important source of income for the farmers.

Textiles with increasing population in the 18th century, demand rose sharply. So initially developed the publishing system in which a publisher ankaufte the raw material, let it spin and weave for wages and then finally drove the finished product. The spinners and weavers came almost exclusively from the rural lower classes. Often the whole family had to ensure, through their work income.

In the 18th century spinning machines and finally looms were first developed. The result was the relocation of production in large factories with lots of spinning machines and looms. Merchants and publishers invested their capital in factories with new machines. The previous manual labor was replaced by the automated production, many weavers and spinners lost their livelihoods. This was one of the reasons for the so-called Weber uprising.

Aided by the Holland -goers who also dealt in linen, was established in Western Munsterland one of the biggest centers of German and European textile industry. In addition, there were focal points of the textile industry in almost all German low mountain ranges such as the Swabian Alb, the Eifel, the Hunsrück Rhön, Vogelsberg, the Franconian Forest, the Vogtland, the Ore Mountains, the Black Forest and the Bavarian Forest.

The textile industry often replaced declining economic sectors such as mining.

In the environment of the enterprises of the textile industry developed dependent industries, where steam engines and drives have been produced for spinning and weaving. The rise of textiles to the main consumer in addition to food and beverages also brought the emergence of other industries like the manufacture of washing machines.

In the first half of the 19th century, the British textile industry became the main competition for farms in mainland Europe. By emanating from the British Isles mechanization of weaving and spinning process as well as the displacement of linen and wool by cotton textile industry in the uplands became less important. Consequence was, among others, the weavers' revolt. The importance of the cotton processing industry in the German - Dutch border region grew, however.

After the Second World War, first the Ruhr area became an important site for the clothing industry in the Federal Republic, as among the refugees and displaced several entrepreneurs had come from the former centers of the German clothing industry around Wroclaw and the East Berlin to the Ruhr. They opened new businesses, the first mainly old clothes and textiles umarbeiteten due to the scarcity of raw materials before they helped the textile and clothing industry to a brief boom. East Berlin was the center of the garment industry of the GDR. Since the early 1960s, the industry is however characterized by a sustained contraction process due to the increasing competition from the Far East.

So went to the German textile and clothing industry since 1980 around 450,000 jobs lost.

Textile and clothing industry by country

Germany

The German textile and clothing industry is guided by medium. More than half of the companies employs fewer than 100 employees, less than 10 companies have more than 1000 employees. Numerous companies have been family for generations. About a third of the industry is attributable to the clothing industry, two-thirds of the textile industry.

The future prospects of the German textile and clothing industry are mainly in the area of ​​so-called technical textiles and their diverse applications and uses. The Textile Research Council provides the following main core beliefs and future potential for the textile and clothing industry.

Education and Research

In no area is so intense research in Germany as in the textile sector. Overall exist in Germany 17 institutes and research institutions that are active in the textile sector.

Associations

The interests of the German textile and clothing industry employees represents the IG Metall union since 1998 it merged with the GTB ( union textiles and clothing). The interests of the German textile and clothing industry textil mode represented at the federal level by the General Association. In it, the following regional and trade associations are members of:

Regional associations:

• Association of Northwest German textile and clothing industry, Münster
• Employers' association of the apparel industry and Lower Franconia Aschaffenburg, Aschaffenburg
• Total clothing industry association of Lower Saxony and Bremen, Oldenburg
• Association of the Bavarian textile and clothing industry, Munich
• Association of the clothing industry Berlin- Brandenburg, Berlin
• Association of North East German textile and clothing industry, Chemnitz
• Association of the Rhineland Textile Industry, Wuppertal
• Association of South-West German textile and clothing industry, Stuttgart
• Association of the Textile and Clothing Industry of Hesse, Rhineland -Palatinate and Saarland, Neustadt
• Textile Manufacturers of Berlin, Berlin
• Business Association clothing industry in North Rhine, Krefeld

The national associations are the regional employers' associations of the textile and clothing industry. Your definition is based on the limits of the tariff districts. You assist and advise its members, especially in social and collective bargaining matters.

The General Association in Textile and Fashion federated trade associations represent the interests of its member companies, depending on the stages of production or final products. You do not have the function of employers' organizations:

Trade associations:

• Industry association Finishing - Yarn - Fabric - Technical Textiles, Frankfurt am Main
• Initiative handmade, Salach
• Association of the German Home Textiles Industry, Wuppertal
• Association of German worsted spinner, Eschborn
• German Association for Technical Textiles clothing ( BKTex ), Mönchengladbach
• Federation of the linen industry, Bielefeld
• Federation of the German mesh industry, Stuttgart
• Association of sewing thread, Taunusstein
• Industry association Plauen Lace and embroidery, Plauen
• Confederation of the German Textile finishing industry, Frankfurt am Main
• BVMed German Medical Technology, Berlin
• Association Wollkämmerei, Bremen
• German Fashion - Fashion Association Germany
• Leather Garment Association, Munich
• German Fur Association, Frankfurt

Health

In the future, textile- integrated monitoring systems for care will make the long-term acquisition of physiological parameters and the diagnosis and follow-up after medical procedures outside of hospitals and medical practices possible. Textile Future projects include clothing with biofeedback, orthoses with sensors / actuators and crash protectors with emergency function, so-called smart clothes.

In addition, working on the development of textile implants because textiles due to their physiological and mechanical properties of the biological structures of the human body are similar metals as a great potential for the future is seen here. So today there are vascular grafts and hernia mesh and meniscus implants and artificial cornea made ​​of textile structures. Highly stressed fiber composite materials, novel cell supports and shapes for the regeneration of organs and tissues are more future projects that allow to some extent even in conjunction with integrated sensors and intelligent drug delivery systems for wireless monitoring and control of the healing process by the physician.

In addition, working on the development of germ- tight barrier textiles for the operation area and new fabrics that allow better chances of recovery especially in chronic wound conditions.

Mobility / transport

Already have textiles in cars, trains, airplanes and ships important functions in terms of comfort, safety, acoustics and fuel economy. The share of textiles in a car is currently around 20 kilograms and 2015 will amount to about 30 kilograms. Beside the classical use of textiles for seats textile compounds of plastic fibers are increasingly replacing metals with epoxy resins, since they have similar stiffness, but weigh a lot less. So the new Airbus A 380 is already a quarter of fiber-reinforced plastic. Forecasts assume a share of 80 percent.

Other future projects include textiles for seats that allow active ventilation, more efficient climate control of spacer textiles and enhancing the ambience by textile operating and lighting surfaces.

In the safety area, the trend is towards a self-monitoring of safety textiles in tires, adaptive shock absorbers and luminous textile fabrics for emergencies.

Security

Due to technical developments, but also by climate change and the increasing number of natural disasters protection and safety of workers, assistants and consumers are becoming increasingly important. Here textiles will play an increasingly important role. Example of these are fabrics that protect against the UV radiation.

Preventive geotextiles can be used in construction to prevent erosion.

Already, large roofs of sports fields, football stadiums, public places and industrial areas are increasingly made ​​from textile materials because they have a lower weight without giving up the structural safety as concrete or glass, at the same time but are more flexible, have a high light transmittance and above can protect UV exposure. The trend is towards fabrics that are selbstabdunkelnd at excessive light or can contribute to electricity generation by solar cells implemented.

In addition, textile-reinforced concrete is already being used in the construction of cantilevered bridges.

In protective clothing isolatorische the action of protective clothing against cold or heat are detected online in order to set actuatory heating or cooling systems in operation through the integration of microsystems technology in the future, avoid frostbite or burns. In addition, the vital signs of the wearer of the clothing can get caught.

In addition, the need for special clothing that protects the wearer from chemicals or UV radiation, as well as gain visibility clothing eg for pedestrians and cyclists.

In the field of home textiles sensors will take in the future in carpets control functions eg for the indoor environment, in emergencies show the way or take access controls.

Communication

The trend in the apparel sector is in the integration of almost all functions of mobile electronic devices into clothing such as calls, listen to music or determine position. The research is working to develop garments that can perform this function, but can be washed just like a "normal" piece of clothing and cleaned. In addition, the researchers are working to integrate the energy supply through the use of flexible solar cells also in the garment.

Other future projects are in the area of ​​circuit and packaging technology, the Multiuse transponder (eg RFID) and the use of transponders during the manufacturing process.

Clothing

The trend is in the direction of clothing systems that adapt to the environmental conditions and the state of the carrier. This is especially true for functional textiles in the sports and leisure sector, which adapt to temperature changes, make color changes according to the environment and regulate the moisture management on the body surface depending on the performance of the carrier.

Another future project are textiles that deliver therapeutic and fitness -enhancing substances to the skin. Especially in the field of working clothes and working gloves such textiles can also act preventively to avoid skin problems.