Smart Textiles Have Great Growth Potential in Germany

According to current estimates, the market for so-called smart textiles amounts to a value of approximately 1.3 billion euros. By 2022, global market volume could reach a value of almost five billion euros, with German markets accounting for around 700 million euros. Furthermore, for 2030 a potential market volume of 4.2 billion euros is predicted for Germany alone. These are the findings of a short report published by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The report was conducted within the framework of the monitoring process of the German cultural and creative industries, and presented in the run-up to the Berlin Fashion Week.

The term “fashion tech” is mainly used to describe the market for wearable technology, which can be broken into two categories: wearable devices and smart textiles. The short report presented by ZEW focuses primarily on smart textiles. Smart textiles usually feature electronic components woven into them or are characterised by specific physical properties.

The fashion tech market consists of companies from various sectors, such as the textile industry, the electrical engineering sector and the information and communication technology sector. With the availability of new materials and technical possibilities opening up many new opportunities in the design and use of (everyday) clothing, this market, however, has also attracted many fashion designers.