A Century of Textiles, and an Ever-changing World

Few companies can trace their roots back more than a century and still count themselves among their industry's innovators. Texia, headquartered in Monistrol de Montserrat, Spain, is one of them.

But the story of Texia is not simply one of longevity.

It is a story of continual reinvention. As the textile industry has grown more global and competitive, Texia has repeatedly reshaped its business, investing in technology, developing its own brands, and placing sustainability at the centre of its mission. In doing so, it offers a compelling example of how a heritage manufacturer can lead rather than follow through a period of profound industry change. Image Credit: Texia

The Structual Shift is Real and its Already Here

Volumes are moving east, where digital production is accelerating rapidly. Consumer behaviour has shifted.

Demand is now driven by personalisation, shorter buying cycles, and an expectation of near-instant responsiveness. Regulatory pressure is intensifying, with supply chain transparency now a legal and commercial fact in many markets. And margins? They are under sustained, structural pressure.

This is not a temporary disruption. It is a fundamental reordering of how textile manufacturing must operate.

The Challenge: Standing Firm as the Industry Shifts

The wallpaper landscape has changed dramatically. Digital printing has lowered the barrier to entry, spawning countless direct-to-consumer brands and pushing much of the market towards faster, cheaper production.

At the same time, manufacturing in the UK has grown steadily harder - rising minimum wage, national insurance, energy and substrate costs all bear down on margins. Surface Print have embraced all of these challenges - and stand resolutely prepared for the future.

What if covering a wall or window was never really the point?

The word "toxic" carries weight. It conjures danger, harm, and things best avoided.

“Yet in the textile industry -  Where between 3,000 and 10,000 chemicals move through the supply chain, a reflexive fear of the term is one of our biggest obstacles to progress.”

This article distils the key takeaways and what buyers, designers, and brands should be asking right now.

What Is the Digital Product Passport?

At its core, a Digital Product Passport is a digital record attached to a physical product - For a printed textile product, this means the DPP would capture data on the substrate, inks and dyes used, the printing process and technology, chemical compliance, environmental impact (including water and energy use), supply chain traceability, and end-of-life instructions.

The Market Gap that Changed Everything

Future Fashion was founded in 2019, timed deliberately to coincide with a pivotal moment in global textile technology: the commercial launch of the EFI Reggiani BOLT Single-Pass digital printing system.

The founders recognised that single-pass architecture had fundamentally changed what was industrially possible - and that Pakistan's domestic market had yet to catch up.

Print is no longer defined by the inefficiencies that once characterised it…as advances in production processes and technology have significantly improved its environmental performance.

Taran Rai, Corporate Sustainability Manager at Epson explains why?

The story of what happens when young designers access digital technology is still being written.

A perfectly placed floral, stripe, or graphic can transform a garment

Today’s consumers do not just want a printed t-shirt.

What does it mean to truly lead an industry through transformation?

The Printed Textile Industry Does Not Sustain Itself.

Expanding the Map: New Products and New Revenue Streams.

Premiumisation: The Customer Demand Driving Innovation

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.”

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.