La Cotton Textile Industry Association (AITPA), founding entity of Texfor – WithThe Textile Industry Federation held its annual General Assembly in Barcelona last Thursday, November 20th. The event brought together representatives from the cotton industry to analyze the sector's main challenges and concluded with the presentation of an award. “Cotton Flower” and Textile Innovation Awards that grants the Cotton Textile Foundation in its eleventh edition.
Throughout the meeting, the current situation of the textile industry was addressed, marked by the contraction of manufacturing activity, the fall in consumption and a particularly complex international geopolitical context.
In this edition, AITPA paid tribute to two figures closely linked to the development of the sector.
The “Cotton Flower” was awarded to Pepe Serna, CEO of ATEVAL, for its role in representing and defending the Valencian textile industry and for its contribution to the functioning of the Spanish Intertextile Council.
The career of Jaume Valeri, founding partner and CEO of FONTFILVA, Sl., a company associated with AITPA since 1977. The award recognized an extensive industrial career, marked by the ability to adapt in a constantly changing environment.
During the Assembly, attendees also followed the conference “Artificial intelligence and its application in the textile industry: stress-free innovation”, given by Antonio González-BarrosBusinessman, entrepreneur and founder of the Intercom Group, who offered a practical vision on the incorporation of new digital tools into the textile business.
The Cotton Textile Foundation closed the day with the presentation of its Textile Innovation Awards 2025, intended to recognize both research work linked to the textile field and the trajectory of an innovative company of the year.
The high quality of the projects presented highlighted the dynamism and transformative capacity of the sector, especially among the new generations.
El Innovative Company Award was awarded to Garrotxa Textile Regeneration Collective, integrated by Fontfilva, SA; Hilados Olotenses, SA; Pagès Valentí, SA; S. Vilarrassa, SA and Triturats la Canya, SA
The jury highlighted their resilience, their continued commitment to innovation, and their contribution to producing a competitive product aligned with the principles of sustainability and the circular economy. The group has successfully preserved a traditional industry and transformed it into a benchmark model thanks to high value-added regeneration processes and a joint strategy that strengthens the region's business fabric.
As a founding association of Texfor, the activity of AITPA and the Cotton Textile Foundation demonstrates, once again, the strategic role of collaboration and innovation in the future of the textile industry.
