At the Techtextil 2026 trade show, Techtera showcases innovations in the French textile industry regarding sustainability.
The international Techtextil trade show, to be held in Frankfurt from April 21 to 24, will see a strong presence of the French textile industry. Led by Techtera, the competitiveness hub of the sector, the largest French delegation will bring together more than 25 industrialists in a 350 m² space. The goal is clear: to demonstrate that the French textile industry, far from the stereotypes of a declining industry, is now a major vector of technological innovation, performance, and sustainability. This initiative is supported by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, a true driving force in the sector in France.
A sector undergoing significant transformation In 2024, the French textile industry comprises nearly 2,400 companies, mostly SMEs, generating over 58,000 jobs with a turnover of 16.3 billion euros. Within this ecosystem, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region stands out as the national locomotive, concentrating 24% of the companies and achieving a turnover of 3.58 billion euros.
The driving force behind this dynamic lies in technical and functional textiles, which account for about 30% of national production. These high value-added materials, destined for markets such as health, security, sports, or defense, are at the heart of French competitiveness. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region dominates this segment, accounting for nearly 70% of the French sector’s turnover.
Innovation to meet future challenges In response to increasing demands for transparency, sustainability, and performance, textile industry professionals are adapting their strategies. Techtera supports its members around three major technological axes: high-performance smart materials, circular economy (bio-based materials, recycling), and Industry 4.0. These directions aim to address societal challenges while strengthening the agility and competitiveness of companies facing global competition. The sector is thus engaged in profound transformation, where social and environmental responsibility becomes a growth lever.
Concrete advancements, from smart clothing to chemical recycling The innovations presented in Frankfurt illustrate this transition. Among them are solutions like H&B Materials’ bio-based alternatives to replace PFAS pollutants in textile treatments, or the industrial-scale deployment of Recyc’Elit for recycling complex textiles. Other companies, like Chamatex or Europrotect, are reinventing materials for security and defense, while Satab Group is developing textile sensors for tension variation. The AQ-Tech study office stands out by bringing muscle measurement out of the laboratories and directly integrating it into smart clothing. The complete press kit, presenting all of these innovations, is available online.
Focus: AQ-Tech, turning clothing into a mobile laboratory One of the most striking illustrations of this innovation wave is the AQ-Motion platform developed by AQ-Tech. Up to now, precise analysis of muscle activity (electromyography – EMG) was confined to laboratories, with heavy and cumbersome equipment. AQ-Tech has overcome this obstacle by integrating miniaturized sensors, the size of a two-euro coin, directly into leggings and a technical bra.
“The measuring tools are powerful, but too heavy to be carried into the field. We cannot analyze an athlete in real conditions with laboratory equipment,” explains Alexandre Quarrey, founder and CEO of AQ-Tech. This technology allows continuous and contextualized monitoring of effort, offering data that were previously inaccessible for injury prevention, rehabilitation, or performance optimization. “Today, we can tell an athlete to reduce their effort, but we don’t really know what their muscles are experiencing. Five kilometers could already represent 120% or 150% of exertion,” emphasizes Alexandre Quarrey.
The company positions itself not as a performance analyst, but as a provider of reliable data for experts. “Our role is to provide reliable data that experts can then interpret,” he adds. This collaborative approach with sports doctors, physiotherapists, and research laboratories opens the way to finer and more personalized monitoring protocols.
Techtera, the competitiveness hub orchestrating this dynamic, animates a network of 281 members. Since its creation in 2005, it has supported over 338 collaborative R&D projects, representing a total budget of over 798 million euros, confirming its central role in stimulating textile innovation in France.
