The General Assembly of the Gesamtverband textil+mode confirmed Ingeborg Neumann as President for a further three years. She said the patience of companies is not unlimited.

Neumann set out clear expectations for policymakers. Germany needs an economic policy that makes investment easier rather than harder, she said, and that treats industry as part of the solution rather than as the addressee of ever new burdens and regulation.

BDI President Peter Leibinger criticised the tendency of political and social debates to look too far back. Germany, he said, needs a convincing vision of the future. The country has the industrial base and the innovative strength to deliver it. What is needed now, he added, is political reliability and competitive conditions for locations.

The industry sees itself as part of the solution, in areas such as the circular economy, technical textiles, protective clothing, medical applications, mobility, climate and environmental protection, and aerospace. Around 1,300 companies employing more than 100,000 people develop products for these future markets.

New Faces on the Presidium

Jörg Ortmeier, CEO of TWE Group, was elected Vice President and Treasurer. Dr. Philipp von Waldenfels, CEO of BFW Group and President of the Bavarian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (VTB), joined as a further Vice President. Philipp Ebbinghaus, CEO of Sandler AG, was newly elected to the Presidium.

Members bid farewell to Dr. Christian Heinrich Sandler, who shaped the association's development over more than two decades, Dr. Wilfried Holtgrave, who stepped down from his honorary role, and Michael Kamm, who left the Presidium. Neumann considers the association well positioned with the new appointments.