According to a Euratex survey, the EU smart textiles market is projected to hit € 1.5 billion in 2025 as a result of key developments in smart high performance materials and goods, digital manufacturing and supply chains, and bio-based materials and processing. In the future of the industry, digital evolution will play a significant role. The Internet of Things (IoT) revolution will completely transform how manufacturing devices work in the future, while data collection across all processes will cement big data in decision-making at all levels. Simultaneously, design in the fashion and technical textiles industries shifts to a fully digital process, allowing for rapid simulation of generated goods and evaluation of their effectiveness before they are actually made.
The Europe’s ICT-TEX project for textile and clothing education, as well as businesses, has been researched in 2020 and most companies are using automated programs, although the staff mainly manage the production stages. Companies value creativity and expect their workers to improve production lines and produce new goods. They agree, on the other hand, that these types of skills, along with those related to technological and ICT skills, are the ones that technical workers need to develop the most. Finishing printing and functionalization companies must adopt cutting-edge technologies. For this purpose it requires the development of technical skills and special knowledge, especially related to particular processes such as rotary screen printing, raster printing, colorimetric printing, etc. Cad systems were used by 66.7 percent of T&C businesses, while Cam systems were used by 38.1 percent. ERP is used by 31,7% of respondents, while PPC is used by 30,2%.