Because they are dependent on the activity of the sectors they feed, the textile industry companies have suffered, each in their own way, from the health and economic crises. Yves Dubief, President of the UIT (Union des Industries Textiles) - concerned with the upstream part of the sector - helps us to take stock.
"The textile industry is plural. It evolves at the same time in the traditional sectors linked to the equipment of the person or the house, and in the technical sectors which one finds in the fields of health, air, rail and automobile transport, sport, agriculture or real estate",summarizes Yves Dubief. While it has returned to growth and experienced an increase in its workforce over the past 3 years, the textile industry, due to its multiple dependencies, has not escaped the Covid-19 crisis.
With an activity rate of nearly 75% today, it is no longer at a standstill, but its recovery is uneven: "there are companies that are running properly, others that are working with partial unemployment, and others still (whose number is starting to be consistent), which have signed LTPA (Long Term Partial Activity) agreements".
The tourism, hotel and event sectors have suffered, and continue to suffer, from the crisis. The ricochet is painful for the textile industries supplying the equipment of these different actors, some of which are now "completely or almost completely shut down", deplores Yves Dubief. According to him, today they are recording between 10 and 15% of activity.
Another major contextual casualty is the fact that the fashion industry is facing new consumer behaviour. "The fashion industry has been heavily impacted by the textile disruption crisis in Europe. Because people are increasingly staying at home, they are spending less time and money on outdoor wear. The summer season was very bad, the winter is looking bad, and next year is going to be a tricky one,"anticipates Yves Dubief. The ITU president also notes the impact of consumers' ecological awareness. Accentuated by the crisis, it is pushing the French into the arms of the second-hand market. "Fashion must evolve through its distribution methods and its repositioning of articles.It isup to the players in the sector to mobilise today to make things happen.
If the aeronautics sector has suffered from the crisis and caused a drop in activity of 30 to 40% of the textile industries supplying it, the companies working for the automobile industry are not all in the same boat. "The situation differs according to the products and manufacturers with which they trade. Some companies record 60% of activity, others 100%,"notes Yves Dubief.
On the health side, "although one might think that activity is maintained during a health crisis, this is not entirely the case. A large number of operations have been delayed because of Covid-19.Therehas been less consumption of textiles used in cardiology, traumatology, etc.,"explains the ITU president.
Finally, one sector is still benefiting the sector. "In the field of home furnishings, the players are very close to 100% of activity", says Yves Dubief. A good score that can be explained by the renewed interest of consumers in their homes. "Confinement has raised the awareness of Europeans, who have realised the importance of feeling good at home. This, combined with the development of teleworking, has led to a strong demand for bed and table linen, furniture in general, but also outdoor equipment.
One problem has managed to bring together the players in the textile industry, all sectors combined. Faced with a shortage of masks at the beginning of the crisis, France was able to rely on its companies to make up for the shortage. At that time, "the whole economy was in hibernation, and this call to make fabric masks showed the agility and capacity of the sector to innovate". If Yves Dubief talks about innovation here, it is because masks had to be designed quickly to meet health applications, with standards verified by the DGA (Direction Générale de l'Armement) and the IFTH (Institut Français du Textile et de l'Habillement).
The ITU President is nevertheless cautious: "Obviously, this was a short-lived activity linked to the shortage. The lull we experienced at the end of spring and the beginning of summer, and the massive supplies that arrived from France, Europe and Asia, meant that the market is now very calm. He nevertheless trusts that consumers will prefer these made-in-France fabric masks to others: "We must defend the French fabric mask, which has kept the textile industry busy over the last few months. Above all, it must be said that it is not for single use and that, a fortiori, it is less harmful to the planet than the surgical models that are easily thrown away in the street and very difficult to recycle. He hopes that this awareness will encourage consumers to switch their purchases to French-made textiles and materials.
Source : La French Lab
