The fashion and textile industry is one of the most wasteful industries in the world. Global production of all apparel and textile fibers amounts to more than 110 million tons annually, leading to a high amount of textile wastes. These textile wastes take decades to degrade while they are emitting greenhouse gases, pollutes water, and leaves a negative impact on the Earth.

Ergonomics – is a field of study that contributed to the understanding of work-related stress, anatomy, and physiology, biomechanics, psychology, anthropometrics, industrial design, and engineering. This field is aiming to make sure that tasks, equipment, information, and the environment will suit each worker and make their work productive.

The COVID – 19 pandemic has created unparalleled challenges for the textile industry, including the shift of consumer needs and disrupted supply chains. This situation is forcing the industry to pay attention to changing needs of the consumer and look for greener and sustainable supply chains.

Years of human ignorance have diminished our natural resources and left a negative impact on our planet. People nowadays are trying to make an effort to treat our planet better. The textile industry is also becoming more and more environmentally conscious about the impact of materials used for their products. By going eco – friendly textile industry can reduce textile waste and make their products more sustainable.

The pandemic caused by Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected every aspect of life globally, including the business sector. This has brought along several changes in market conditions.

Many of us often shop in the clothing stores of shopping centres, and large discounts on clothing not only entice but also delight us. Rarely we, when measuring a garment, think about how that garment was made and that we support a large fast fashion industry with our purchase. Meanwhile, fast fashion has become one of the 21st century sustainability and ecological issue.

We face with the textile every day. Probably because of this, there is a growing desire to rethink, what it is like today. What it will be like tomorrow? Not just in a global sense, but also for everyone personally. One thing that is really obvious, is that textile has come a very long way: from craft to the way of thinking, to form of culture. Today, it not only highlights or raises problems, but can also contribute to their solution.

Functional textiles are textiles with integrated functions of controlling or adjusting according to its application area. Functions such as temperature control, humidity control etc. are such functions which are in build upon manufacturing. The basic and mostly used fibers in the functional textiles are viscose (rayon) and polyester fibers. Besides this, the demand for such functional textiles is majorly for the active and performance type of wear.

Products of Lithuanian producers are valued abroad, as they are on great demand and abundantly exported. Lithuanian textile products and the long-standing traditions of the sector have repeatedly attracted the attention of foreign magazines and portals with a huge audience, such as Vogue, Daily Mail, and the Financial Times. The awareness of brands and the growth of companies' sales are mostly increased by Lithuanian products purchased by famous people of the world or influential journalists, - say the representatives of companies that have gained instant popularity.

COVID-19 has caused a slowdown in business activities of the Textile industry. However companies can stand by creating more sustainable textile products and implement innovations.

UAB “Sabalin“ was established in 1998. The company started with the production of footwear. The manufactured products provided an opportunity to ensure the good name of the technologist and to choose orders at the company's discretion both local and abroad.

There are many clothing and textile companies of various sizes and types in Lithuania. Some of them are of Lithuanian capital, others develop their activities with the help of foreign partners and their experience. We will review the path of LATIA Export Development cluster companies in Lithuania. We invite you to read an interview with UAB Sabalin Director Regina Arcišauskaite.

The clothing industry is creating loads of trends and is now working on its most important trend yet – sustainability. It’s particularly important in the fashion industry as it’s a significant contributor to environmental and human damage. Fashion production releases 10% of the world’s carbon emissions. That’s more than international flights and maritime shipping combined. The industry’s also responsible for 20% of all water pollution worldwide. Good news is that the fashion industry is addressing these issues and is trying to create a more sustainable world.

We kindly invite you to participate in the event aimed to integrate into the global chains of Experimental Development and Innovation (R&D&I) which will be organised on 5 November as a remote meeting.

Foreign correspondents see a great amount of potential in Lithuanian textile and clothing. While discussing the sector, they focus on tradition and its positive impact on today’s industry.