According to a survey by the General Association of the German Textile and Fashion Industry, 80 percent of the companies surveyed that produce in Germany see competitiveness at the location impaired.
The biggest problem for companies is the high energy costs, said the German Textile and Fashion Industry Association, Textil+Mode, on Monday. The high energy costs limit investment opportunities, although the industry sees innovation and ecological transformation as strategic priorities.
“The production of highly specialized textiles in Germany, which enjoys a high reputation around the world, has become an entrepreneurial risk,” says Uwe Mazura, general manager of the Textil+Mode Association. “The federal government does not want to understand that energy price policy is the key to competitiveness for the manufacturing industry in Germany.”
In addition to energy policy, those surveyed see the lack of planning security in Germany as the second biggest problem. Accordingly, two thirds criticize the German bureaucracy and therefore rate the location negatively. A quarter have already moved production abroad, while almost ten percent are considering stopping some production.
The mood among manufacturers of technical textiles is at a low point, and the assessment of the economic situation for the year is in some cases worse than during the Corona crisis. Over half of the textile manufacturers surveyed rated the economic situation at the beginning of this year as bad, compared to only one in five last year.
“Textile companies supply to numerous key industries and have the know-how to advance circular economy and climate neutrality. If companies can no longer produce in Germany, important supply chains in our country will break,” says Mazura. “Environmental filters, medical textiles, protective equipment, special fabrics and yarns will then only be available from Asian markets for the foreseeable future.”