INNOVATION IN TEXTILES

By Anisha Kujur

IMPORTANCE OF
TEXTILES IN THE
CURRENT PANDEMIC
SITUATION
The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted an external shock on the global economy.
Despite this decline, the textile and apparel industry could be a key engine for
growth and employment in certain countries.
The textile industry creates a special opportunity during the pandemic for
employment. Most of the brands started their own online stores as the demand
actually increased with people staying more at home and using regular items
like bedsheets, towels, etc. As the textile industry empowers women, the
increased demand for textile products not only uplifted the economy but also
restarted the employment opportunities for women.
Regardless of the fact that the fashion industry has faced an immense fiscal loss
throughout the pandemic outbreak, technical textiles, or non-aesthetic
textiles, have showed their true potential to the health sector. Adding masks to
portfolios is no longer a marketing stunt by brands, but a responsibility of the
entire industry to produce masks to serve the nation.
Brands have added their own novelty by creating reusable masks with various
finishes like anti-microbial, anti-viral to serve the continuous rise of wellbeing
as of one the core needs.
Antimicrobial textiles continue to play an important part as hygiene and safety
are of prime importance now. We can see a continuous rise in the demand for
hygiene based products and protective fabrics.
Countries building back after COVID-19 should not ignore the textile and
apparel industry; it is a starter sector in the way of industrialization. When the
industry expands, it provides a base to build capital for more technologically
demanding industries. In fact, the textiles and apparel sector can be critical to
the growth and development strategies of many developing countries.
Looking to the future, attention is being turned to the development of textile
products which are made from environmentally sustainable materials. This has
been highlighted as an area of concern because most single-use products, such
as face masks, are made from materials incorporating synthetic fibres derived
from petroleum products rather than fibres derived from renewable sources.
Therefore, shifting to sustainable textile practices can ensure a better future
for the environment too.
 INNOVATION IN TEXTILES

REFERENCE 57%
stock maturity

38%
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/how-the-textile-
finance growth
industry-can-help-countries-recover-from-covid-19/
Written by Bandar Hajjar, President, Islamic Development Bank - 10th
August, 2020
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1657698
Posted on 22 SEP 2020 2:30PM by PIB Delhi
https://apparelresources.com/fashion-news/trends/innovative-
textiles-redefine-trends-fashion-industry-post-covid/
Posted on 04 January-2021 by Apparel Resources
https://www.innovationintextiles.com/covid19-spurs-innovation-in-
antiviral-fabrics-for-medical-protective-clothing/
Posted on 9 October 2020 by Innovation in Textiles, United Kingdom

https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/fashion-gets-anti-viral-
makeover-how-coronavirus-pandemic-changed-apparel-
industry/2138913/
Written by Srisha Roy – 29th November, 2020