Textile ETP has set a target for biobased and circular materials to account for 50% of Europe's fibre base by 2050, according to its Bioeconomy Innovation Strategy for the European Fibres, Textiles, and Apparel Industry, published on 22 September.

The Circular & Biobased Textiles Innovation Hub of the Brussels-based platform launched the strategy at the fourth ECOSYSTEX Conference in Antwerp. Experts from across the European biotextile value chain developed the document between February and August.

The strategy frames the shift as a response to three pressures: rising fossil dependence, supply-chain exposure and the need to improve competitiveness. It states that increasing global per-capita fibre consumption is being met almost entirely by additional fossil synthetics.

The exposure case is stark. More than 90% of global polyester capacity sits in Asia, with other man-made fibres following a similar pattern. Europe therefore depends on a small number of non-European suppliers for strategic textile materials, the document argues.

The competitiveness case is linked to the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and the upcoming Biotech Act II. Textile ETP contends that biomaterial and bioprocess innovation could hand EU-based manufacturers new openings for competitive advantage and intellectual-property differentiation.

Textile ETP president Marina Crnoja-Cosic said: "Europe's textile bioeconomy is not only a sustainability opportunity, it is an industrial opportunity. Reversing decades of rising fossil dependence can strengthen competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy, while creating new industrial value and high-quality jobs. The choice is ours."

Four layers, five building blocks

The roadmap is structured around four interconnected layers: feedstock; bio-processing and refining; fibre and material production; and markets, demand and end-of-life.

It identifies five main building blocks: biobased feedstock and biorefinery processes; sustainable man-made cellulosic fibres; biosynthetics and novel biopolymer fibres; sustainably sourced natural fibres; and biochemistry and biobased processing.

Textile ETP has also built a quantitative model covering EU-27 textile fibre consumption from 2000 to 2050. The model examines seven end markets and 11 fibre types under three scenarios: business as usual, a circular biobased pathway, and an aggressive bioeconomy pathway.

Under business as usual, the fossil share of Europe's fibre base keeps rising while industrial competitiveness declines. The circular biobased pathway combines investment in recycling, bioeconomy innovation and capacity with balanced incentives. The aggressive scenario assumes a concentrated push towards biomanufacturing and biobased materials and processes.

The strategy calls for an outcome between the latter two scenarios. Renewable materials should form the majority of EU fibre consumption by 2050, with the value chain producing them anchored in Europe. That pathway is associated with the potential mobilisation of tens of billions of euros annually across the EU value chain and tens of thousands of direct jobs.

Ten recommendations for policymakers

The blueprint puts forward 10 recommendations for EU policymakers. Supply-side actions include recognition, research funding and expanding biorefinery capacity. Demand-side measures cover public procurement, legislation and reliable sustainability claims.

Both strands must reach the small and medium-sized enterprises that form the sector's industrial backbone, the strategy says.

The document also outlines five actions requiring collaboration across the value chain: establishing regional bio-manufacturing hubs; creating links between agriculture, forestry, pulp and paper, chemicals, biotechnology and textiles; developing common methods, standards and traceability for biobased materials and processes; forming demand-side coalitions supported by green public procurement and reliable off-take agreements; and building a pan-European skills and talent pipeline.

Implementation strategies for the recommendations are due to be developed during the remainder of 2026 and into 2027, with Textile ETP inviting interested stakeholders to participate.

For sourcing directors, the strategy signals where EU fibre supply is heading: biobased and recycled content requirements are likely to harden into procurement criteria and legislation over the next decade. Suppliers to EU brands should begin mapping feedstock availability, biorefinery capacity and traceability systems now rather than waiting for the policy detail.