AMAZON ACCELERATES THE ECOMMERCE RACE - LUXURY FASHION - SUSTAINABILITY AND PRINT ON DEMAND
“Amazons investment further exemplifies a seismic shift for the future of textile production. Choosing Kornit Digital as their technology partner, understandable, as Kornit’s technical innovations continue to disrupt the textile industry. Kornit seek to increase their annual sales to $500 million by 2023”.
Ronen Samuel, the CEO of Kornit, observed “Kornit is a business on fire – fashion companies are moving online and to textile printing on demand.” - RONEN SAMUEL
It’s been quite a week for Amazon as it accelerates its commitment to online luxury fashion, sustainability and a massive $400 million investment pledge with Kornit Digital technologies as it tools up for merchandise on demand.
The march to customised merchandise and Print on Demand just took another leap forward.
First came the launch of its new luxury stores, where Amazon Prime customers can buy a wide range of top luxury fashion labels. In addition to Oscar de la Renta, its luxury stores now also feature iconic fashion houses - Roland Mouret and La Perla.
Amazon will continue to launch stores with more well-known designers and some up-and-coming brands in the near future – the luxury marketplace has previously resisted an online presence. Amazon has a new ecommerce strategy for couture online fashion brands. It has invested in new technology and intelligent algorithms to deliver enhanced customer engagement, all of which will meet the luxury consumers expectations and move to redefine the sector.
Amazon’s fashion offering comes equipped with its ‘view in 360’ feature where customers can view products in a full 360-degree panoramic view that allows best-fit and colour to be reliably achieved online, with the usual safety net of 30 day return with full refund backing up the offer. The Luxury sector offers the Amazon behemoth substantial revenue opportunities.
Driving the sustainable agenda to new heights - Amazon’s new Sustainable labelling initiative is set to revolutionise how we evaluate our purchases.
Amazon wants its customers to know which products are sustainable and has started to introduce its ‘Climate Pledge Friendly’ label on more than 25,000 products, as it tries to help customer make sustainable and eco-friendly purchasing decisions.
As well as sustainability information labelled on a wide range of products in household, fashion, beauty and electronic products, Amazon has also opened a dedicated section on its store that will feature ‘Climate Pledge Friendly’ items.
The ‘Climate Pledge Friendly initiative’ supports Amazon’s commitment to reach the Paris Agreement ten years early and be net zero carbon by 2040.
The company has already committed to reaching 100% renewable energy by 2025, ordered over 100,000 fully electric delivery vehicles, and plans to invest $100 million in reforestation projects around the world. Amazon also launched the Climate Pledge Fund, a $2 billion fund to back visionary companies whose products and services will facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy.
Building on these actions, Amazon will now make it easier for customers to access product choices that align with their commitment to a more sustainable future
Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder and CEO, said: “Climate Pledge Friendly is a simple way for customers to discover more sustainable products that help preserve the natural world. With 18 external certification programmes, we’re incentivising selling partners to create sustainable products that help protect the planet for future generations.”
Adding further substance to its luxury and sustainable aspirations, Amazon has signed a $400 million agreement to buy Kornit Digital printing machines and eco-friendly inks.
Well known throughout the world for their on demand digital printers, Kornit Digital also lead the way in using water & energy saving ink systems. With their Neo-Pigment inks meeting top world wide standards, such as Oeko Tex 100, Global Organic Textiles (GOTS 3V) and the AATCC (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colourists), Kornit Digital have been pathfinders as the Textile Industry moves inexorably towards dealing with its environmental footprint.
Expanding on the machines already installed, Merch by Amazon have proved the success of their profit-sharing on demand production model.
Disney, for example, reports that it has expanded all of its product line sales on the platform, including huge names like Star Wars, Pixel, and Marvel. Reporting a surge in demand, Disney also reports that Amazon's on-demand print service has also allowed them to offer items online that would not be viable, due to low-stock turn in physical retail outlets.
Equally, Dr Seuss Enterprises, the owners of Cat the Hat and The Grinch, have reportedly increased sales of T-Shirts and Hoodies by 40% since hooking up with Merch by Amazon.
All in all, the success of the alliance between Merch by Amazon and Kornit Digital has been exemplary, and it is upon this success that the two companies now want to move forward together.
Amazon has agreed to buy $250 million of Kornit Digital Printers and Inks over the next five years, with $150 million being reserved for ‘future products’ yet to be announced.
The deal totals $400 million.
Amazon intends to use this new digital textile printing equipment to expand into sportswear, textiles, and housewares with products such as throws and tableware - signposting the future growth of print on demand.
So, with the Global Digital Textile Print market predicted to expand from $2.6 billion to $8.8 billion by 2027 (Allied Market Research) and with the Digital Ink Market set to grow to $2.66 billion in the same period (Allied Market Research), Amazons investment further exemplifies a seismic shift for the future of textile production. Choosing Kornit Digital as their technology partner, understandable, as Kornit’s technical innovations continue to disrupt the textile industry. Kornit seek to increase their annual sales to $500 million by 2023.
No wonder, that as the company signed an expanded agreement with Amazon that will triple its sales to the online retail giant. Ronen Samuel, the CEO of Kornit, observed “Kornit is a business on fire – fashion companies are moving online and to textile printing on demand.”
The story of what happens when young designers access digital technology is still being written.
What once was a theoretical sustainability goal seems to have shifted into an active regulatory reality.
Is the Textile Market Finally Recovering?
After a difficult few years, there are genuine reasons for optimism. Duncan was candid about the challenges: "The market for textiles has been very difficult over the last three years. I'm not going to hide the truth there. But the tide is turning.“
A profound shift is currently reshaping the sector
Changing consumer expectations demand greater design diversity, faster turnaround times, and sustainable manufacturing practices.
To thrive, interior brands must adapt their supply chains, bringing production closer to the end consumer and moving away from bulk manufacturing.
Digital textile printing offers a definitive solution to these operational bottlenecks.
Digital transformation doesn't announce itself.
It accumulates - one innovation at a time - until an entire industry looks back and realises the ground has shifted beneath its feet. That's precisely where textiles stands today.
The conversations happening now about AI, automation, sustainability, and digital product passports are not theoretical. They are shaping decisions being made on factory floors and in boardrooms right now.
“By leveraging advanced digital textile printing, Marylene Madou has successfully merged traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. Her approach offers a blueprint for how independent designers can scale their brands globally while maintaining a minimal environmental footprint.”
From Helsinki's printing mill to Paris's Le Marais, discover how Marimekko is scaling a design-led brand with purpose, craft, and bold innovation.
But what makes Marimekko's story compelling is not just its aesthetic legacy?
The textile industry is undergoing a vital transformation. As the insights from Techtextil and Texprocess reveal, the path forward relies on a combination of sustainable hardware, intelligent chemistry, and seamless digital workflows.
From Zimmer's industrial-scale energy reductions and Stratasys's on-demand 3D embellishments, to Kornit's single-step technical printing and the unified digital ecosystems of NedGraphics and Optitex, the tools for change are here. To stay competitive, brands and manufacturers must adopt these innovations, moving away from fragmented, wasteful processes towards a truly connected, circular economy.
Friedmans stands as a testament to the power of combining traditional textile knowledge with forward-thinking innovation.
“Operating from their UK headquarters, Friedmans now serves a diverse array of sectors, including swimwear, dance, entertainment, sportswear, interior decor, prosthetics, and even pet apparel. With a strategic supply chain that reliably serves clients worldwide”
The apparel decoration industry is decisively moving away from isolated, analogue production tools toward connected digital manufacturing environments.
"Kornit’s unwavering commitment to transformative technology continues to disrupt the status quo. For business leaders and innovators ready to capture the future of apparel manufacturing, the path forward is clear”
The Urgent Need for Sustainability at Scale
The transformation at Coats provides a vital blueprint for the wider textile and apparel sector. True sustainability cannot be achieved in silos. As Dearing emphasised:
“Cross-industry collaboration is the engine of meaningful change. Brands, machinery suppliers, chemical providers, and fibre producers must act as an interconnected ecosystem”
Today’s customers demand superior product quality, real-time data visibility, and lightning-fast turnaround times.
For large-scale garment decorators, managing these expectations while balancing seasonal demand fluctuations - such as the massive surges seen during Black Friday - presents a monumental challenge.
"Relying on transactional vendor relationships and outdated legacy equipment is no longer sufficient to secure long-term stability and growth.”
Printing method is never a secondary detail. It shapes the entire life cycle of a product, from concept to customer. In today’s fashion industry, where margins are tighter and speed matters more than ever, technical knowledge has become a competitive advantage.
“The future of textile design belongs to professionals who can combine creativity with execution, aesthetics with practicality, and vision with production reality”.
Are we witnessing the reinvention of Merch driven by adaptive, digital technologies?
The commercial opportunity presented by printed, personalised merchandise is already a lucrative revenue stream; it is the core driver of growth in a multi-billion-pound industry. And the mandate for print businesses is clear: automate, adapt, and offer undeniable added value, or choose to gradually lose market share.
Powderless DTF is an important area of innovation. It deserves research, investment, and thoughtful development.
“But at its current stage, it often feels like the industry is attempting to commercialize the concept ahead of the underlying chemistry and system readiness”.
All Apparel Manufacturers face an Urgent Mandate: “Automate or be Left Behind”.
Industry leaders like Super Nova Sports and Ryozo International were struggling with severe pre-press bottlenecks and unsustainable fabric waste. By integrating AI Sublimation Software into their workflows, these forward-thinking businesses eliminated manual variable data entry, boosted fabric efficiency to over 80%, and reduced delivery times by more than half, establishing a highly profitable, agile, and environmentally responsible production model.
The Future of Manufacturing belongs to those who Embrace Connected Digital Ecosystems
“Whether you produce garments, car interiors, or home furnishings, the transition from creative concept to production-ready product often remains fragmented. Design teams work tirelessly to develop compelling materials, yet technical teams struggle to interpret these visions without losing data along the way.”
The European digital wallcovering marketplace is expanding at an impressive rate.
“For print professionals and interior designers, this transition presents a distinct set of challenges. Achieving flawless colour consistency, managing complex substrates, and meeting stringent environmental standards are no longer optional extras; they are fundamental requirements for commercial success.”
If you're looking to optimize your website for AI search, hang onto your cowboy hat. It's the Wild West out there. Former (and current) SEO companies see the handwriting on the wall as more search moves from traditional SEO to AEO (answer engine optimisation). Opportunists are popping out of the woodwork.
(There are good options out there, but vet them carefully.)
A swimsuit might start life as a sketch. By the time it reaches the shop floor, dozens of hands have touched it - designers, dye houses, printers, trim manufacturers, quality controllers. Each one interprets colour in their own way, under their own conditions, with their own tools. The result is often a product that looks nothing like the original vision.
New Delhi, India – August 2026 – IKEA, the global home furnishing retailer, has announced its partnership with the Regenerative Cotton Accelerator Programme (RCAP) as a strategic member.
The partnership will see IKEA join RCAP's Steering Group, contributing its cotton sourcing and supply chain expertise to accelerate the adoption of regenerative cotton across India.
Launched in February 2026, RCAP is a joint initiative by Solidaridad Asia, WWF-India, Regenagri and Control Union..
The invention, a dark adsorbent material that can be added to wastewater and separated with a magnet, builds on the team’s 2022 breakthrough in microplastics removal, extending performance to much smaller particles and more complex wastewater.
Microplastics are an increasing global concern, with growing evidence of their presence in water systems.
The researchers say the ability to remove micro‑ and nano‑plastics under practical conditions sets this work apart.
Winterthur – Switzerland - July, 2026 – Recycling Powerhouse Ltd. was established in July 2026 to industrialize, standardize and scale textile recycling.
Based in Switzerland, the venture will operate a franchise-driven business model that enables the production of high-quality, certified recycled yarns.
The project is supported by the following partners: Rieter Group, the world’s leading system supplier for natural and man-made fibers, Säntis Textiles, a Swiss textile engineering company, and Valvan, a Belgian sorting technology company.
Singapore, July 2026 – DyStar, a leading specialty chemicals company with more than a century of expertise in product development and innovation, today announced the release of its FY2025 Sustainability Report, marking a significant milestone in its sustainability journey and reinforcing its commitment to long-term value creation
Germany, France and the Netherlands are advocating coordinated European action against ultra-fast fashion.
The three Member States raised the topic at today’s EU Environment Council in Luxembourg, and called on the European Commission to make existing and planned EU provisions more effective against short-lived, low quality textiles.
Their call was supported by other Member States, including Slovenia and Denmark.
LONDON, June 11: Textile Exchange has published its new polyester Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, providing robust, accurate, and credible data to strengthen the fashion, textile, and apparel industry’s understanding of the impacts of different types of polyester production.
The study is the second in a series of LCA studies led by Textile Exchange and addresses key gaps and limitations in the LCA data currently available for polyester.
Widnes, Cheshire - 5 June 2026 – On World Environment Day, Roberts Group International has announced a pioneering partnership with St Helens Council, Seamster & Shepherd, and Hope Academy.
The initiative, titled Hope for the Earth: From Reclaimed Textiles to Sustainable Student Fashion Show, empowers students to transform reclaimed textiles into original fashion pieces ahead of a summer showcase event in July.
The collaborative project addresses the urgent need for circularity in the fashion industry by bringing the sustainability message directly into the classroom.
Shenzhen, June 2026 – To address the urgent need for sustainable practices and digital transformation within the global fashion industry, the Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics and Yarn Expo Shenzhen will return from 9 to 11 June 2026.
Held at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, the event will host over 600 international exhibitors across 45,000 square metres.
The innovative washing process SMART WASH represents a modern, high-performance, and environmentally conscious approach to textile care.
The targeted combination of the products BEIPLEX GREEN, BEICLEAN ECO, BEIPUR ANP, BEIBLEACH WP 35, and BEIACID CIT creates a holistic, sustainable washing and bleaching concept.
Stuttgart, Germany – May 2026 - Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certification continued to grow in 2025, with nearly 18,000 certified facilities worldwide, despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and rapidly evolving regulatory requirements across global textile supply chains.
New figures released today in the 2025 Annual Report for Global Standard, the nonprofit that owns and operates GOTS, show that uptake of robust, independently governed sustainability standards remains a priority for companies seeking to manage risk, substantiate claims and meet rising expectations on transparency and due diligence.
Kyocera Document Solutions has highlighted its FOREARTH, a pioneering water-free textile production concept designed to drastically reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
By addressing the critical need for sustainable manufacturing, this innovation sets a new standard for the textile industry, minimising environmental impact while streamlining the entire printing process.
ECCO, in partnership with Spinnova, announces the launch of the limited edition ECCO BIOM® 720, a first-of-its-kind shoe utilising an often overlooked leather by-product, transformed into a protein-based fibre.
The fibres are produced using patented technology that advances material innovation while reducing waste and supporting full resource use across the leather and textile industry.
Newark - Delaware - May 2026 – The global digital textile printing market is set for a substantial transformation, having crossed a valuation of USD 6.1 billion in 2025.
According to recent market forecasts by FMI, the sector is projected to surpass USD 6.6 billion in 2026, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 7.7 per cent.
Driven by the urgent need for sustainable production and fast fashion customisation, the market is on track to reach a total valuation of USD 13.9 billion by 2036.
Cagliari - Italy – May 2026 – To address the escalating crisis of water scarcity in the Mediterranean basin, the Interreg NEXT MED Programme has officially announced the launch of the SWAMED project.
This international initiative introduces smarter irrigation systems and modern agricultural technology to farming communities across the region. By deploying innovative, data-driven solutions, the project seeks to safeguard the future of agriculture in areas where every drop of water is critical for survival and economic stability.
The SWAMED project is spearheaded by the Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" in Italy, operating in close collaboration with a strategic coalition of partners from Tunisia, Egypt, Greece, and Türkiye.
Washington DC - 24 April 2026 – The Bezos Earth Fund has announced a $34 million commitment to advance breakthrough sustainable materials for the global fashion and textile industry.
Working with leading scientists across the United States, these new grants aim to reinvent the fabrics used in everyday clothing, focusing on next-generation materials that replicate the feel of rayon, silk, and cotton while drastically improving upon the environmental impact of conventional manufacturing.
ISTANBUL, Türkiye – April 2026 – In a critical step towards securing a sustainable and ethical future for the global textile industry, Textile Exchange and the Organic Cotton Accelerator have officially announced the comprehensive agenda for the upcoming Organic Cotton Summit.
This vital industry event is scheduled to take place from the 2nd to the 4th of June 2026 at the Istanbul Marriott Hotel Sisli in Türkiye.
By bringing together global stakeholders, the summit aims to urgently address the pressing challenges facing agricultural supply chains and to build organic cotton systems that are resilient, fair, and economically viable for all participants.
Manchester, UK – April 2026 – John Hogg Technical Solutions has announced a strategic minority equity investment in SwitchDye Limited, a University of Leeds spin-out.
This vital partnership aims to rapidly scale SwitchDye's pioneering CO2-responsive, drop-in dyeing system, answering the urgent industry need to significantly reduce chemical intensity, energy use, and water consumption in the dyeing of polyester and other synthetic fibres.
April 2026 - As sustainability expectations rise across the fashion industry, Lectra has announced the publication of a new document aimed at helping brands reduce their environmental impact while remaining competitive.
The newly released insights detail how fashion brands can overcome the four main barriers to sustainable product development, providing the necessary data clarity to make better, environmentally conscious decisions.
London - April 2026 – In a decisive response to the escalating global need for urgent climate action, Ricoh today announced a comprehensive revision of its environmental, social, and governance targets.
Launched as a cornerstone of its fiscal 2026 mid-term strategy, the company is significantly accelerating its efforts to realise a decarbonised society.
By raising its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and renewable energy adoption targets, Ricoh is firmly linking sustainable innovation with its global business operations to lead the industry toward a greener future.
The organisation has elevated its fiscal 2030 target for reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from 63 percent to 75 percent, compared with fiscal 2015 levels.
Zhanjiang, China - 26 March 2026 – BASF today announced the official inauguration of its state-of-the-art Verbund production site in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province.
Covering four square kilometres, this €8.7 billion facility represents a paradigm shift in sustainable chemical manufacturing.
Fully powered by renewable electricity, the site reinforces BASF’s market position in China whilst addressing the urgent global need for decarbonised industrial processes.
Employing over 2,000 people, the Zhanjiang site produces a highly diversified portfolio of basic chemicals, intermediates, and speciality chemicals.
Stockholm – Sweden – March 2026 – The H&M Foundation has announced the launch of a practical, open-source workshop toolkit designed to help organisations across the textile industry apply its innovative System Map.
Introduced earlier in 2024, the System Map is a visual framework that reimagines the fashion industry as an interconnected ecosystem.
Now, this comprehensive toolkit empowers brands, suppliers, policymakers, and investors to turn systemic insights into actionable strategies, identifying crucial leverage points to halve greenhouse gas emissions every decade until 2050 while enabling a just transition.
March 21st 2026 – To mark the International Day of Forests, Lenzing Group has announced its continued and unwavering dedication to global forest conservation and ecological resilience.
As the world faces unprecedented environmental challenges, the company is taking decisive action to ensure that the preservation of healthy forests remains firmly embedded in its sourcing strategy and product innovations.
San Francisco – March 2026– The Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) has today announced the launch of its innovative Energy and Carbon Benchmark.
This vital new tool is designed to provide fashion brands and their global suppliers with a unified reference point for measuring energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across textile manufacturing facilities worldwide.
London – March 2026 – The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has announced a new collaboration with global non-profit the Soil Health Institute (SHI) and national ag-tech provider Growers Guide to support cotton producers across the United States in strengthening their soil conservation practices.
The partnership will fund intensive on-farm data collection to equip producers with actionable, data-driven insights aimed at improving soil health and reducing chemical inputs.
Amsterdam - March 2026 - Sappi Europe, a leading provider of sustainable paper and packaging solutions, represented the company at this year's AWA Global Release Liner Summit in Amsterdam.
Under the theme of "Innovation and Sustainability," Sappi's Director of Sustainability Sarah Price and Manager of Technology & Development Wolfgang Hoffmann led a well-received session titled "Navigating Sustainability: Accelerating Together."
Nottingham, UK - 6 March 2026 – Worn Again Technologies has announced the start-up of its Textile-to-Fibre Accelerator plant in Winterthur, Switzerland, marking a major step towards commercialising its chemical recycling technology.
The facility provides real-world validation of a process designed to recover and regenerate polyester and cellulose from end-of-life textiles, proving the technical and economic feasibility of polycotton recycling at scale.
Oban – Scotland – February 2026 - OCEANIUM has highlighted OCEAN INK®, the world's first fully biodegradable, water-based ink derived from sustainably farmed seaweed.
This groundbreaking innovation is poised to transform the luxury textile, printing, and packaging industries by offering an eco-friendly alternative to conventional harmful inks.
As industries worldwide face mounting pressure to adopt sustainable practices, OCEAN INK® addresses a critical gap in the market.
BIRMINGHAM, UK – February 2026– Hollywood Monster, a prominent leader in large format print and signage, has reaffirmed its commitment to environmental stewardship by aligning its core service offerings with rigorous Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria.
The initiative is designed to ensure that bold visual branding supports, rather than hinders, corporate sustainability goals, offering a definitive solution for businesses navigating complex compliance landscapes.
February 2026 – Printful, a leading on-demand printing and fulfilment company, has released comprehensive insights detailing how the shift towards on-demand manufacturing is critical in addressing the fashion industry's contribution to global textile waste.
The company highlights that traditional manufacturing models, which rely on volume-based assumptions, are the primary drivers of the millions of tons of garments sent to landfills annually.
The traditional fashion supply chain is often optimised for speed and volume at the expense of environmental responsibility.
Lenzing / Stockholm, February , 2026 – The Lenzing Group is taking another strategic milestone by acquiring a controlling majority in the Swedish innovation company TreeToTextile AB.
This step strengthens Lenzing’s position as a leading provider of sustainable, wood‑based specialty fibers and expands its innovation pipeline with a highly scalable, patent‑protected technology platform.
The transaction is executed through the issuance of new shares