From September 8th – 10th the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) and the International Apparel Federation (IAF), for the first time in their histories, are jointly holding their annual convention. This year’s venue is the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. IAF and ITMF organize it with their mutual Uzbek member, the Uzbek Textile & Apparel Industry Association (Uztextileprom). The theme of the convention is “Innovation, Cooperation & Regulation – Drivers of the Textile & Apparel Industry”.
At the Samarkand convention, IAF and ITMF will bring together the entire supply chain, including raw material suppliers, spinners, weavers, machine suppliers, garment and home textile manufacturers, brands, retailers, solution providers and educators. Industry experts and leaders will discuss the relevance of innovation, cooperation, and regulation for our industry and how they will influence and shape the future. The convention will also introduce the Uzbek textile and garment industry to the rest of the world, providing a good view of this industry, both during the conference program and during the planned factory visits.
Uzbekistan was known as one of the major cotton producers in the world. But in the last 10-15 years it has turned from a major cotton exporting to a cotton importing country. During this time, Uzbekistan has developed a textile and apparel that is in an exciting early stage of rapid development.
IAF and ITMF are organizing their annual conventions together out of a strong conviction that the apparel industry and textile industry need to jointly discuss collective solutions for our common industry challenges. Textile and garment manufacturers together hold keys to the solutions that the entire fashion industry relies upon. Reduction of the environmental footprint of textile and apparel products happens at the level of fiber producers, spinners, weavers, knitters, finishers, printers, and sewing operations. Information needed to fill a Digital Product Passport or to run a 3D digital design and development operation requires an effective flow of information between all segments of the textile and apparel value chain.
Samarkand is also a beautiful historic backdrop for the convention’s social events, including a gala dinner and a city tour. Save the dates in your calendar. From September 8-10 our value chain will meet in Samarkand!
