As we launch into 2026, the Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide (PCIAW®) is proud to reflect on a transformative period of growth. As a not-for-profit industry association, our governance framework ensures that any surpluses are reinvested directly back into the organisation.
Owing to a significant increase in our global membership base over the last two years, we have successfully reduced membership subscription costs by up to 50% over the last few years. By listening to our members’ needs, we have implemented monthly and quarterly payment options for membership subscriptions, supporting business cash flow priorities to ensure that the benefits of networking, knowledge sharing, and international business opportunities are more accessible than ever.
Strengthening Our Governance and Executive Team
Our leadership continues to evolve to meet the needs of a global industry. We wish Karen Burrows a very happy retirement and thank her for her dedicated service as a non-executive Board Director. We are delighted to welcome Andrew Maylor, who will be stepping into the role to support our strategic vision. Julian Bartholet will represent Tuffking on the Board.
We welcomed Jules Allen, representing DuPont, who joined the Board in 2025, guiding PCIAW® alongside fellow Directors: Cesar Araujo from ANIVEC, Abby Hannah from PBI, Ryan McClintock from Cooneen Group, Rick van Es from Phantomleaf and Natalie Wilson from Workwear Solutions International. Ed Grigg will continue to lead the Board as the Chairman, alongside Yvette Ashby, the Founder and CEO of PCIAW®.
Internally, PCIAW® has strengthened our executive team:
- Julian Bartholet joined PCIAW as Business Development Director on 6th January to lead new member recruitment.
- Julia James continues her vital work as Executive Consultant, engaging with the membership to support them in maximising their benefits.
- Declan Osborn has been promoted to Communications and Operations Director. After five years as Editor, this promotion recognises Declan’s impact on enhancing the association’s global role and improving the value proposition for our members.
2025: A Year of Collaborative Networking and Knowledge Sharing
In 2025, PCIAW® networked and shared knowledge among members in seven roundtables hosted throughout the year. Educated end-user procurement teams in a Uniform Buyers’ Network event and hosted the second year of The Airline Clothing Show, in addition to the flagship PCIAW® Summit & Awards event, providing frameworks for members to tackle the industry’s most pressing challenges.
Educating the End-User: The Uniform Buyers’ Network Event
In June, the Uniform Buyers’ Network (UBN) brought together global buyers from diverse industries. The event focused on educating end-users on how sustainability and supply chain transparency regulations now impact tender processes, providing a blueprint for embedding best practices into uniform management.
The 2025 Roundtable Series
- Eco-Design Compatibility: We began with a framework presentation on eco-design compatibility across professional clothing categories, setting the stage for sustainable product development and a sensible end-user safety first approach.
- Inclusive Professional Clothing: Following our studio video podcast, PCIAW® sponsored the BSI Provision of Inclusive PPE BS 30417 standard, making the guidance free to all. Board Director, Natalie Wilson, Chaired the standard development committee and spoke at the Parliamentary launch alongside PCIAW Chairman Ed Grigg, sharing best practices for inclusive professional clothing.
- Firefighter Safety & Anthropometric Data: Our 2024 roundtable led to a landmark 2025 project with Women in the Fire Service UK. Scanning serving female firefighters revealed that 20% are smaller than the smallest size instructed by EN 469 standards. This proved that the Inclusive PPE standard is an essential starting point for industry-specific safety cases.
- Defence & Security: Working with the NGO SecurityWomen, we addressed the dangers of ill-fitting female body armour. The discussion highlighted how equipment not designed for the female form causes physical scarring and dangerous gaps in protection for soldiers and security workers.
- Emergency Services: This new focus for 2025 explored procurement gaps, discovering that some technical specifications in tenders were out-of-date by over 40 years. We also explored the fascinating differences in PPE provision between public and private ambulance services.
- Supply Chain Transparency & DPP: We brought technology platform providers together with the industry to navigate Digital Product Passport (DPP) compliance. Tracing materials from raw origin to end-of-life is a massive transformation, and collaborative knowledge sharing is essential for this transition.
- Skills, Training & Education: Our 2025 roundtable brought universities together with industry to explore how to help students be “industry-ready” both commercially and practically. Rebekah Bradley’s contributions were a highlight as a former PCA VISION (student design competition) finalist that progressed to win the PCIAW Best Industry Newcomer Award 2025.
The Airline Clothing Show 2025 – co-located with APEX/IFSA Global EXPO
The Airline Clothing Show in Long Beach, USA, offered world-class thought leadership for the second edition of the show, complemented by The Airline Clothing Runway Show, which brought excitement to the exhibition.
Highlights included Air Canada’s runway show featuring its uniform designs from the 1920s to the modern day, and an immersive cultural experience from Fiji Airways and the Fiji Warriors. WestJet showcased its uniform collection of above and below wing uniforms, while Alaska Air showcased its collection that demonstrated the pioneering spirit of the Pacific Northwest.
In 2026, the show returns for its third year, moving from Long Beach to Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Centre, Dallas on 9-10th September 2026, co-locating with IFSA Global EXPO with FTE.
PCIAW® will continue the co-locating collaboration with APEX Global EXPO in an additional Airline Clothing Show hosted in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore on 18-19th November 2026 to support our members’ global ambitions.
The PCIAW® Summit & Awards 2025
The 2025 flagship event, the PCIAW® Summit focused on The Digital Transition. Greenful Group was the Premier Sponsor with MODAPORTUGAL, CENIT & ANIVEC as the Key Sponsor.
The Summit opened with a keynote presentation on the global economy and its impact on the professional clothing industry by Citi Research’s Senior Global Economist, Michel Nies.
The proceeding presentations and panel discussions focused on sustainability and supply chain transparency, featuring speakers from Textile Genesis, CGS Blue Cherry, Lectra, Avery Dennison, BlockTexx and Greenful Group, plus Phantomleaf, representing the PCIAW as a Board Director with a presentation on eco-design impact on professional clothing.
PCIAW® Summit & Awards Agenda
- Summit Day 1 explored traceability and the impact of eco-design on the professional clothing sector.
- Summit Day 2 represented the key findings from our 2025 roundtables, concluding with the Professional Clothing Fashion Show, which featured inclusive ranges of female-fit PPE for engineers, firefighters, police, and rail workers.
- PCIAW® Awards was a spectacular celebration of innovation, with several categories seeing joint winners due to the exceptionally high standard of entries.
PCIAW® would like to thank the promotional sponsors who also helped to make the event a resounding success: Catalyst Brands and Brooks Brothers, Gresham Blake, Bodi.Me and PULSAR®.
