1. Extent of the European Union Trading conditions on European markets have changed rapidly
over the recent years because of the process of realization of the internal market of the European Community. This process of
developments will have important consequences for supplies from outside Europe and particularly for supplies from developing
European countries. In some cases, competition will increase and supplies will have to meet new demands if they wish to succeed on the
European market. In other respects, Europe will offer new opportunities as well as a more uniform and manageable market.
Five Countries (Germany, U.K., France, Italy and Spain) account for almost 80% of European Union (EU) consumption. The EU is the
market
current name for the former European Community. The EU consists of 15 member States since January 1995. The Euro (€) has now
become the legal currency within twelve EU member States -
Austria, Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Greece. The national
currencies are now replaced by the Euro.
Classification of Home Textiles Textiles used in an interior environment (homes, offices, hotels, etc.)
are indicated as interior textiles or home textiles. The latter term is old and traditional name. Definitions of these textiles vary from
country to country. For example, in Germany and the Netherlands, a distinction is made between house textiles and home textiles. In
that case, products like filling materials used in duvets, quilts, pillows, sleeping bags and mattresses are included in the category of
house textiles.
The following classification of home textiles or interior textiles can be made:
Household textile products, includes
-bath products or bath linen: towels, bath rugs, bath mats, washing gloves etc
-bedding products or bed linen: blankets (cover), sheets and pillow cases, bedspreads, quilts etc.
-table top products or table linen: table cloths, napkins etc.
-kitchen products or kitchen linen: tea towels, Dish towels, other cleaning products like rags, mops
etc.
Furnishing textiles includes
-textiles which are used for window covering, curtains and draperies-wall and ceiling coverings-
upholstery. Others like decorative pillows, throw rugs etc.

2. Market size and trends
The number of individual households have grown rapidly and secondly, the quality of the new housing stock is appreciably higher than that of previous generation. More
individual rooms, the dinning room, the lounge, the study, the kitchen, individual bedrooms and one or more bath rooms have all extended the family living area. The
requirements for new and replacement furniture furnishings and household textiles have expanded accordingly. Higher living standards have brought more entertaining at home
when the whole house and its furniture is shown off. In turn, this has reinforced the demand for variety and greater colour combination in textiles which again, express the status
and taste of the family. At all levels of the market, the plain and simply, functional products of the previous generations, white fittings, white sheets, white towels etc. have all
given way to an immense variety of colour, print and exotic weaves. The results of this merchandising pressure have been of great benefit to the producers and traders. Colour
co-ordination alone has greatly extended and expanded the average purchase as more and more preciously individual items are now brought to coordinate one with another.
PRODUCT PERFORMANCE IN USE Apart from the point of sale characteristics, there are a number of consideration concerning quality in utilization which
should be stressed here -principally those relevant to an up- marketing operation and the technical problems of providing today's consumer with a product which will satisfy him not
only from a fashion point of view but also in daily use. In household textiles, the washing performance is paramount. The programmed washing machine is now part of life for most
European consumers: It is no longer necessary to wash everything at high temperatures. Indeed most blends would suffer from this. Now with the development of new and better
detergents and biological cleaners, a large number of stains can be removed at quite low temperatures. Nevertheless very hot washing (85 -100 c) is still common in many countries
as is the habit of adding bleaching agents during washing. Dry cleaning is also used in stain removal from greasy items. In this situation, the dry fastness of any product is clearly
important, not only to the product itself but to the other contents of the wash. With fashion items, this requirement will even be stronger.
Shrinkage is another important factor which must be taken into consideration with unfitted sheets. Allowance is normally made for shrinkage. by making sheets slightly bigger than
required. Shrinkages of up to 7 per cent .in length and 5 per cent in width have been usual and acceptable. With the increasing use of fitted sheets, this becomes more critical and
maximum residual shrinkages of 3 per cent in length and width should be aimed for. However, this aspect has to be got confirmed from the importer before finalizing the contract, if
necessary.
Durability, fabric strength, and abrasion resistance should not present too much of a problem to the manufacturing process. However, minimum standards do of course exist in every
European Country and are demanded by the distribution. But, here again one will notice differences between the Countries. Fabric specifications can vary enormously and many
organisations such as mail houses, chain stores and department stores, particularly, if they are selling under their own brand name, will issue their own specifications to the suppliers.
For the determination of quality and adoption of Internationally agreed procedures and testing methods and equipment, the International Standards formulated by the International
Organisation for Standardization (ISO) Geneva are considered.

3. Product characterstics
Bed linen- A distinction may be made between the following items of bed linen:
1. Sheets
2. Fitted sheets
3. Pillow cases
4. Duvet covers
Functions of bed linen are to protect the bedding to enhance "sleeping pleasure" and an aesthetic appeal. Bed linen is almost entirely bought ready-made, through
retail outlets and there is not much "over the counter" selling of fabrics per meter for sheets and pillow cases.
Material used:_Cotton fabric is mainly preferred for all types of categories of bed linen; to a much lesser degree polyester-cotton primarily due to its shrink
resistance and durable qualities. Other textile fabrics, such as silk, account for a minor percentage of the total market.
In North-European Countries including the Netherlands most people sleep under a duvet/quilt. It should be noted that the quilt cover has much more potential for
fashion expression than sheets. A minority of the EU population (mainly in the South of Europe) sleeps under blankets using traditional sheets and bedspreads.
While many houses have central heating capability including the bedrooms, the temperatures maintained by them are essentially ambient and the bedlinens must
have excellent insulation properties.
Weight:-As far as weigh t is concerned there is a number of points to consider. The first is the inclination, notably in bed cloths towards lighter weights in all
European Countries -well down into the market. To some extent, this trend has resulted from the introduction of stronger blended constructions in recent years and
the growing influence of duvets. Normal preferred weights are:
Plain white and unicoloured cotton sheets -180 -200 grams
Pure cotton percales -down to 100 to 120 grams
The Netherlands, for instance, the average sheeting weight is 150-160 grams where as in France 125 - 130 grams is the more popular norm. In countries where
quilts are popular, there are two weight ranges: the bottom sheet which is usually fitted would be in the range of 140 to 170 grams whereas the quilt cover would
be from 100 to 140 grams. The sizes of bed linen depend on the sizes of the beds (children's beds, single beds, double beds and twin beds) and the mattresses on
the beds. Important is the development in the heights of mattresses in the last decade. More and more heights of 12 cm are replaced by heights of 15 cm or even
20 cm.
Bed
Measureme Fitted Sheet Flat Sheet Duvet Cover
nts
Single
90 x 190 x 20 cm 180 x 260 cm 150 x 200 cm
90 x 190 cm
Double
140 x 200 x 20 cm 220 x 260 cm 200 x 200 cm
140 x 200 cm
King
160 x 200 x 20 cm 265 x 275 cm 240 x 220 cm
160 x 200 cm
Super King 200 x 200 x
280 x 290 cm 260 x 220 cm
200 x 200 cm 20 cm

4. Product characterstics
BATHLINEN/KITCHEN LINEN The importation of made-up towels including Kitchen Towels, Bath Towels, Toilet Towels, Bath Mats, Washing Gloves,
Bath Rugs and Shower Curtains has shown a strong growth particularly in recent times. The trend of imports from developing countries has not only shown an upward movement but
also increased its share of the market. The most important differences are based on the end-use which dictates the different sizes.
Materials:- Towels are mainly made of terry cloth (non-cut loops). The trend is in the direction of more and more heavy, voluminous and softer qualities. Bath Towels and also
towels for other purposes are made of cotton. New developments include blends of cotton (40 percent) with modal fibres or Tencell-byocell fibres (60 per cent). The quality of pile,
which is warp pile fabric, is also determined by the weft arrangement (3,4,5 or 6 picks per loop), the distance between the loops (in other words: the number of loops per sq. cm.) and
the height of the loop. Loops can be created on the face, on the back but mainly on both sides.
Weight:-A good towel has a weight of atleast 420 grams/m2 -warp: NE 2/30s; loop:NE 2/20s; weft:16/1. Cheaper qualities have a weight of 300 grams/m2 -warp:NE 16/1;
loop:NE 16/1; weft: NE 16/1. Check patterns are still most popular for tea towels. A good dish or tea towel has a weight of 220/225 grams/m2 and has a yarn count of NE 2/12 for
warp and weft. A decrease in the use of tea towels has greatly influenced by the fact that increasingly more households are using automatic dishwasher so that hand drying is no
longer necessary.
Guest towels 30 x 50 cm
Hand towels 50 x 70 cm
Shower towels 70 x 130 cm
Bath towels 90 x 180 cm
kitchen towel 27” x 27”
TABLE LINENThis group comprises of table cloths, table runners, table covers, table centers, place mats, napkins and matching accessories like tea cosy etc. Napkins are
mostly purchased together with a table cloth. Table cloths are more fashion sensitive than are bed linens. Changes in taste, colour, fabric and prints need to be monitored closely. The
table cloth has two functions: protection of the table and decoration (aesthetic appeal). There is enormous offer as to sizes, forms, materials, colours and designs. One could see the
table cloths for breakfast, lunch and dinner, for coffee and tea drinking: for garden or terrace tables: for Christmas, Easter, Children's parties etc. It is an excellent article to give
away as a gift. There is an enormous difference between the simple place mat and the luxurious dinner cloth. Materials can be
flat, structured, printed, dobby, jacquard, embroidered, damask of all kinds of adornments and decorations. Table linen is mostly made of cotton and the market share for pure cotton
has so far remained stable.

5. Product characterstics
WINDOW COVERINGS Textiles for window covering can be divided into net or lace curtains, curtains and draperies. The function of window covering is various: provide privacy,
eliminate (sun) light, insulation purposes (thermal, acoustic), aesthetic effects etc. The more open the fabric construction, like net or lace curtains, the greater the visibility of outside view and light
penetration, but there is less privacy. In this case, the decorative function has the highest priority. Curtains are relatively sheer and light weight often opaque and normally have top linings with valances
in matching designs. Curtains and draperies are made from all types of fibres and fabric constructions. Some expensive materials like silk, silk blends with cotton have also a good market.
UPHOLSTERY FURNISHINGS ANDCURTAINSFurnishing fabrics include heavy figured and jacquard fabrics used for drapery and
upholstery purposes - Furnishing manufactured from waste cotton are an interesting and exotic variation and fabrics made of coarser counts of
yarn with art-silk embellish-ments are popular in the EU. Indian Handloom fabrics, popularly known as piques, seer sucker, double cloths,
mushroos, casements, damasks, tapestries etc. are important varieties ideally suitable for upholstery and furnishing purposes. Requirements are
higher in the case of usage in the contract sector (Public Building, Public traffic, Hotels, Offices etc) and also based on safetyaspects. Fabrics for
upholstery are stretched tautly over furniture frames and this requires more durable and compact fabrics. Upholstery fabrics are also used for
cushions. The classified upholstery material is usually structured with highly figured and elaborate design by the placement of coloured threads
within well defined areas of cloths.
WOVEN RUGSHandwoven durries and similar flat woven rugs serve as a colourful foundation for the decorative plan and colour
scheme of all rooms, bathrooms, patios and poolsides as well as for office buildings, conference halls, hospitals, hotels etc. As floor
coverings are among the more costly items in a furnishing budget, careful consideration must be given to fibre, colour, decorative
character, design, size and construction to obtain the best value at any price level. Handwoven durries and flat woven rugs have enjoyed
a long period of popularity in EU. Since around 1990, the theme "back to nature" has had a dominant influence on trends in furniture
and furnishings. There is a strong demand for these items- in Coir, Fiscal, jute, reed and other natural fibres. Naturallooking textures,
colours and designs are important.

6. PACKAGING are must be taken to the packaging of the products, if one intends to export to the EU Countries. The important aspect is that the packaging must be travel steady
and the products should be protected against elements, changes of temperature, rough handling and theft. The exporters should be prepared to discuss these issues with their potential
clients for fulfilling their packaging requirements. The European Directive on packaging and packaging waste (94/62/ EC) stipulate legislation on these aspect. To fulfill the
requirements of the target market, good communication with the importers about packaging is necessary.