Fibre2Fashion Toggle navigation 23 The textile and clothing industry in Europe was hardly hit by the pandemic in 2020. Now, it is time for the European Commission and its Member States to set the conditions for future competitiveness and resilience of industrial base, particularly the textile and clothing industry, EURATEX, the voice of the European textile and clothing industry, has said. "The textile and clothing (T&C) industry is a pillar of Europe with its savoir-faire and excellence, counting 160,000 companies (mainly SMEs), employing 1,500,000 people, generating €162,000 billion. 38 per cent of such industry’s turnover is sold on global markets, whereby SMEs cover more than 50 per cent of those global sales," EURATEX said on the occasion of EU Industry Days.