Textiles have been around and with us since the very beginning of human civilization. It has transformed from a simple piece of cloth for cover and protection to a sophisticated and intelligent piece of product that extends itself as the second skin for our body with augmented functionalities. It goes deep into our body in the form of different textile-based implants and artificial tissues. It can be found almost anywhere: in agriculture, in the buildings, we dwell in, transportation and vehicles that transport us around, etc. Textile is omnipresent and unavoidable covering almost every aspect of our lives from cradle to the grave. Textile is not only a product of technical or technological achievement but also a cultural embodiment that carries the stories and identities of the people who produce it. The importance of the textile and textile industry cannot be overemphasized.

Over the past few decades, propelled by discoveries and advancements of technology in other fields that sometimes are not so obviously and immediately related, the textile and clothing industry has experienced a series of transformations. The introduction of nanotechnology, green chemistry, sustainability and circularity, and wearable technology in the ’80-’90s have provided both opportunities and challenges for the textile and clothing industry. New areas of applications were discovered, new ways of textile manufacturing and fabrication were prescribed, boundaries were stretched beyond the existing limits, improved flexibility for the integration of multiple functionalities and tasks were achieved. Most recently, the industry experiences the new wave of the so-called Industry 4.0 or Fourth Industrial Revolution, which envisages the building and implementation of smart factory based on a cyber-physical system by using the Internet of Things (IoT) and services. From this brief look of the recent development of textiles, three areas of interest define the theme of the conference: advanced textiles, sustainability in textile and clothing, and Industry 4.0 technologies.

According to the Masterplan for the Development of National Industry or Rencana Induk Pengembangan Industri Nasional (RIPIN) 2015-2035, which is based on the Government Regulation No. 14 of 2015 under the Law No. 3 of 2014 regarding Industry, textile and clothing is one of the six industrial mainstays and the prime mover for the national economic development with a vision to become a strong developed industrial nation in 2035. The priority for the industry is to boost its competitive advantage by way of developing a knowledgeable and highly skilled workforce and technological innovation. The focus areas of development include the application of nanotechnology in textile and textile processing, smart textiles, recycle technology, advanced functional textiles.

In response to the coming of Industry 4.0 which swept globally, the government of Indonesia through the Ministry of Industry (MoI) launched a national program called Making Indonesia 4.0 in 2018. Again, in this prestigious and strategic national program, textile sector enjoys a strategic position as one of the original five industrial mainstays with a target to become the global leader in functional textile. More recently, the Ministry of Industry urged the industry to move forward and implement the concept of circular textile and clothing. We have moved quite substantially from where we stood when we started this conference for the first time in 2014. There is ample space to fill in for research and development and to grow within all these programs and government initiatives. In this regard, the Indonesian Textile Conference (ITC) is particularly important because not only does it show the progress and a picture of the present status of Indonesian textile science and technology but also provides the reference from global perspectives.

The Indonesian Textile Conference was established as a biennial international conference by Politeknik STTT Bandung in 2014 initially under the name of Seminar Nasional Tekstil. Later on, in order to attract wider international participation, the conference changed its name to the Indonesian Textile Conference and became the 1st ITC. The 2nd ITC was successfully held in 2019 which should be followed by the 3rd ITC in 2021, but could not realize due to the ongoing pandemic situation of COVID-19. Now, the 3rd ITC will be held in 2022 taking the moment of celebration for 100 years of Indonesian textile higher education at Politeknik STTT Bandung. From the beginning, it was clear that the vision for the conference is to become a respected and trusted neutral forum that brings together the expertise and research results from textile and closely-related different fields with a particular focus on Indonesia. The forum will be the window to see the world’s textile development, especially from developed countries, by presenting guest speakers from the world’s leading textile universities research centers and also participating speakers from abroad. Similarly, on the other hand, ITC is also expected to become the main reference for Indonesia’s textile development, particularly textile science and technology. This is by far the only international conference of textile science and technology in Indonesia.

The collected research results provide valuable information and data to map the development of textile and textile-related science and technology in Indonesia and its interrelationships. The mapping would be of highly beneficial particularly in relation to the policy-making for the development of the Indonesian national textile industry, in terms of its direction, focus and funding, which also corresponds to the policy on human resource development.