Textination Newsline

Tandem electrocatalytic-thermocatalytic conversion could help offset emissions of potent greenhouse gas by locking carbon away in a useful material.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Columbia University have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂), a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon nanofibers, materials with a wide range of unique properties and many potential long-term uses. Their strategy uses tandem electrochemical and thermochemical reactions run at relatively low temperatures and ambient pressure. As the scientists describe in the journal Nature Catalysis, this approach could successfully lock carbon away in a useful solid form to offset or even achieve negative carbon emissions.

“You can put the carbon nanofibers into cement to strengthen the cement,” said Jingguang Chen, a professor of chemical engineering at Columbia with a joint appointment at Brookhaven Lab who led the research. “That would lock the carbon away in concrete for at least 50 years, potentially longer. By then, the world should be shifted to primarily renewable energy sources that don’t emit carbon.”

As a bonus, the process also produces hydrogen gas (H₂), a promising alternative fuel that, when used, creates zero emissions.

Capturing or converting carbon?
The idea of capturing CO₂ or converting it to other materials to combat climate change is not new. But simply storing CO₂ gas can lead to leaks. And many CO₂ conversions produce carbon-based chemicals or fuels that are used right away, which releases CO₂ right back into the atmosphere.

“The novelty of this work is that we are trying to convert CO₂ into something that is value-added but in a solid, useful form,” Chen said.

Such solid carbon materials—including carbon nanotubes and nanofibers with dimensions measuring billionths of a meter—have many appealing properties, including strength and thermal and electrical conductivity. But it’s no simple matter to extract carbon from carbon dioxide and get it to assemble into these fine-scale structures. One direct, heat-driven process requires temperatures in excess of 1,000 degrees Celsius.

“It’s very unrealistic for large-scale CO₂ mitigation,” Chen said. “In contrast, we found a process that can occur at about 400 degrees Celsius, which is a much more practical, industrially achievable temperature.”

The tandem two-step
The trick was to break the reaction into stages and to use two different types of catalysts—materials that make it easier for molecules to come together and react.

“If you decouple the reaction into several sub-reaction steps you can consider using different kinds of energy input and catalysts to make each part of the reaction work,” said Brookhaven Lab and Columbia research scientist Zhenhua Xie, lead author on the paper.

The scientists started by realizing that carbon monoxide (CO) is a much better starting material than CO₂ for making carbon nanofibers (CNF). Then they backtracked to find the most efficient way to generate CO from CO₂.

Earlier work from their group steered them to use a commercially available electrocatalyst made of palladium supported on carbon. Electrocatalysts drive chemical reactions using an electric current. In the presence of flowing electrons and protons, the catalyst splits both CO₂ and water (H₂O) into CO and H₂.

For the second step, the scientists turned to a heat-activated thermocatalyst made of an iron-cobalt alloy. It operates at temperatures around 400 degrees Celsius, significantly milder than a direct CO₂-to-CNF conversion would require. They also discovered that adding a bit of extra metallic cobalt greatly enhances the formation of the carbon nanofibers.

“By coupling electrocatalysis and thermocatalysis, we are using this tandem process to achieve things that cannot be achieved by either process alone,” Chen said.

Catalyst characterization
To discover the details of how these catalysts operate, the scientists conducted a wide range of experiments. These included computational modeling studies, physical and chemical characterization studies at Brookhaven Lab’s National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)—using the Quick X-ray Absorption and Scattering (QAS) and Inner-Shell Spectroscopy (ISS) beamlines—and microscopic imaging at the Electron Microscopy facility at the Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN).

On the modeling front, the scientists used “density functional theory” (DFT) calculations to analyze the atomic arrangements and other characteristics of the catalysts when interacting with the active chemical environment.

“We are looking at the structures to determine what are the stable phases of the catalyst under reaction conditions,” explained study co-author Ping Liu of Brookhaven’s Chemistry Division who led these calculations. “We are looking at active sites and how these sites are bonding with the reaction intermediates. By determining the barriers, or transition states, from one step to another, we learn exactly how the catalyst is functioning during the reaction.”

X-ray diffraction and x-ray absorption experiments at NSLS-II tracked how the catalysts change physically and chemically during the reactions. For example, synchrotron x-rays revealed how the presence of electric current transforms metallic palladium in the catalyst into palladium hydride, a metal that is key to producing both H₂ and CO in the first reaction stage.

For the second stage, “We wanted to know what’s the structure of the iron-cobalt system under reaction conditions and how to optimize the iron-cobalt catalyst,” Xie said. The x-ray experiments confirmed that both an alloy of iron and cobalt plus some extra metallic cobalt are present and needed to convert CO to carbon nanofibers.

“The two work together sequentially,” said Liu, whose DFT calculations helped explain the process.

“According to our study, the cobalt-iron sites in the alloy help to break the C-O bonds of carbon monoxide. That makes atomic carbon available to serve as the source for building carbon nanofibers. Then the extra cobalt is there to facilitate the formation of the C-C bonds that link up the carbon atoms,” she explained.

Recycle-ready, carbon-negative
“Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis conducted at CFN revealed the morphologies, crystal structures, and elemental distributions within the carbon nanofibers both with and without catalysts,” said CFN scientist and study co-author Sooyeon Hwang.

The images show that, as the carbon nanofibers grow, the catalyst gets pushed up and away from the surface. That makes it easy to recycle the catalytic metal, Chen said.

“We use acid to leach the metal out without destroying the carbon nanofiber so we can concentrate the metals and recycle them to be used as a catalyst again,” he said.

This ease of catalyst recycling, commercial availability of the catalysts, and relatively mild reaction conditions for the second reaction all contribute to a favorable assessment of the energy and other costs associated with the process, the researchers said.

“For practical applications, both are really important—the CO₂ footprint analysis and the recyclability of the catalyst,” said Chen. “Our technical results and these other analyses show that this tandem strategy opens a door for decarbonizing CO₂ into valuable solid carbon products while producing renewable H₂.”

If these processes are driven by renewable energy, the results would be truly carbon-negative, opening new opportunities for CO₂ mitigation.

• Results of the 21st Composites Market Survey
• Critical assessment of the current business situation
• Future expectations turn negative
• Expectations for application industries vary
• Growth drivers with only slight shifts
• Composites index points in different directions

This is the 21^st time that Composites Germany (www.composites-germany.de) has identified the latest performance indicators for the fibre-reinforced plastics market. The survey covered all the member companies of the umbrella organisations of Composites Germany: AVK and Composites United, as well as the associated partner VDMA.

As before, to ensure a smooth comparison with previous surveys, the questions in this half-yearly survey have been left unchanged. Once again, the data obtained in the survey is largely qualitative and relates to current and future developments in the market.

Critical assessment of current business situation
After consistently positive trends were evident in the assessment of the current business situation in 2021, this slipped in 2022. For the third time in a row, the current survey shows pessimistic assessments. The reasons for the negative mood are manifold. However, the main drivers are likely to be the still high energy and commodity prices. In addition, there are still problems in individual areas of the logistics chains as well as a restrained consumer climate. Despite rising registration figures, the automotive industry, the most important application area for composites, has not yet returned to its former volume. This also illustrates the change in strategy of European OEMs to move away from volume models towards high-margin vehicle segments. The construction industry, the second central area of application, is currently in crisis. Although the order books are still well filled in many cases, new orders are often not forthcoming. High in-terest rates and material costs combined with a high cost of living are placing a heavy burden on private construction in particular. A real decline in turnover of 7% is currently expected for the construction industry in 2023.

The assessment of the business situation of their own company is also increasingly pessimistic. The picture is particularly negative for Germany. Almost 50% of respondents (44%) are critical of the current business situation. The view of global business and Europe is somewhat more positive. Here, "only" 36% and 33% of the respondents respectively assess the situation rather negatively.

Future expectations turn negative
Following the rather pessimistic assessment of the current business situation, future business expectations also turn negative. After an increase in the last survey, the cor-responding indicators for the general business situation are now clearly pointing down-wards. The respondents are also more pessimistic about their own com-pany's future expectations.

The participants apparently do not expect the situation to improve in the short term. It is also noticeable here that the view of Germany as a region is more critical in relation to Europe and the global economy. 22% of the respondents expect a negative develop-ment in Germany. Only 13% expect the current situation to improve. The indicators for Europe and the world are better.

Investment climate clouds over
The currently rather cautious assessment of the economic situation and the pessimistic outlook also have an impact on the investment climate.
Whereas in the last survey 40% of the participants still expected an increase in person-nel capacity, this figure is currently only 18%. On the other hand, 12% even expect a decline in the area of personnel.

The share of respondents planning to invest in machinery is also declining. While 71% of respondents in the last survey expected to invest in machinery, this figure has now fallen to 56%.
 
Expectations of application industries differ
The composites market is characterised by strong heterogeneity, both in terms of materials and applications. In the survey, the participants were asked to give their assessment of the market development in different core areas. The expectations are extremely varied.

The weaknesses already described in the most important core markets of transport and construction/infrastructure are clearly evident. Growth is expected above all in the wind energy and aviation sectors. Expectations about future market developments, on the other hand, are significantly more positive than the figures presented here might suggest.

Growth drivers with only slight shifts
The paradigm shift in materials continues. While in the first 13 surveys the respondents always named CFRP as the material from which the main growth impulses for the com-posites sector are to be expected, the main impulses are now assumed to come from GRP or across all materials. There is a slight regional shift. At present it is mainly North America that is expected to provide the main growth impulses for the industry. Europe and Asia are losing ground slightly.

Composites index points in different directions
The numerous negative influences of recent times are now also reflected in the overall composites index. All indicators are weakening. Both the current and the future assessment are turning negative.  

The total volume of composites processed in Europe in 2022 was already slightly down compared to 2021. After a good first quarter of 2022, there is currently a clear cooling of activity. It remains to be seen whether it will be possible to counteract the negative development. Targeted intervention, including by political decision-makers, would be desirable here. However, this cannot succeed without industry/business. Only together will it be possible to further strengthen Germany's position as a business location and to maintain or expand its position against the backdrop of a weakening global economy. There are still very good opportunities for composites to expand their market position in new and existing markets. However, the dependence on macroeconomic developments remains. The task now is to open up new market fields through innovations, to consistently exploit opportunities and to work together to further implement composites in existing markets. This can often be done better together than alone. With its excellent network, Composites Germany offers a wide range of opportunities.

IN4climate.NRW publishes discussion paper

Not only private households, but above all industrial companies have a high demand for heat. On the way to climate neutrality, greater focus must be placed on the supply of process heat to the industry - especially in the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). This is shown by the discussion paper of the climate protection think tank IN4climate.NRW.

In 2020, process heat accounted for a large percentage of industrial energy demand - 67 percent of the energy consumed by German industry - and is still predominantly supplied by fossil fuels (BMWi 2021a). That's almost 20 percent of Germany's total energy demand. No wonder: Whether glass, metal, cement or paper are melted, forged, fired or dried - all these processes require process heat. And in some cases up to a temperature of 3,000 °C.

In the discussion paper "Process heat for a climate-neutral industry (Prozesswärme für eine klimaneutrale Industrie)", IN4climate.NRW formulates approaches and recommendations for action for a process heat transition. A total of thirteen partners of the initiative have signed the paper.

Samir Khayat, Managing Director of NRW.Energy4-Climate: "The switch to sustainable process heat supply is one of the decisive factors in ensuring that the transformation of industry can succeed. With the IN4climate.NRW initiative, we are bringing together the expertise from science, politics as well as industry, and developing concrete strategies to put climate neutrality in industry into practice."

Various figures illustrate the need for action: Only 6 percent of the energy required for process heat has so far been covered by renewable energies. Electricity also currently accounts for only 8 percent - as an energy source, it is still far from emission-free in today's electricity mix, but must become so in the future through the switch to 100 percent renewables.

NRW alone needs 40 percent of the process heat required by the whole of Germany
Tania Begemann, Project Manager Industry and Production at NRW.Energy4Climate and author of the paper: "The sustainable conversion of process heat has always been an important and urgent topic at IN4climate.NRW, but it becomes even more explosive in times of a global energy crisis. It is estimated that NRW alone requires 40 percent of the process heat required by the whole of Germany. In order to remain economically strong and an industrial state in the long term, it is therefore of particular importance for NRW to become independent of fossil process heat sources in the near future. We would like to draw attention to this with this paper. At the same time, this enormous challenge also offers NRW the opportunity to become a pioneer."

How can this be accomplished? The discussion paper shows central approaches and recommendations for action:

• Increase efficiency: The development and use of high-temperature heat pumps should be specifically promoted within the framework of pilot plants and concepts. In addition, companies should be supported in the development and implementation of concepts that minimize process temperatures and use waste heat within the company.
• Promote renewable heat sources: Local, renewable energy sources such as deep geothermal energy and solar thermal energy can be an important component of climate-neutral process heat supply and at the same time reduce the reliance on energy imports. Where renewables can supply industrial heating needs, they should be used. These forms of energy should therefore be supported in a targeted manner through inquiries and tenders.
• Increase renewable electricity: The electrification of processes and applications is the prerequisite for the energy transition. Expanding renewable power generation along with a solid power grid, creating competitive prices for green power, and developing flexible systems are therefore key tasks.
• Promote storable alternative energy sources: To be able to generate process heat even when renewable energies are not available, industry needs large quantities of storable energy carriers. In particular, sustainable hydrogen must be available at competitive prices and the necessary conditions, such as a transport and storage infrastructure, must be created. In addition to hydrogen, biomass is a valuable and storable energy carrier and raw material at the same time. This limited resource must therefore be used in a targeted and efficient manner.

The climate-neutral generation of process heat is of great importance for the whole of Germany, but especially for the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and at the same time represents a major challenge. The heat transition in industry requires an overall systemic and supraregional view and strategy development. On the one hand, such strategies should take into account the interaction of different sectors. On the other hand, they should include all heat requirements - from buildings to industry. In this paper, decision-makers from politics, industry and society will find initial reference points and impulses for this important, common task.

The paper was developed by the IN4climate.NRW initiative under the umbrella of the NRW.Energy4Climate state organization. It is supported by the institutes Fraunhofer UMSICHT, RWTH Aachen (Chair of Technical Thermodynamics), the VDZ research institute as well as the Wuppertal Institute, the companies Amprion, Currenta, Deutsche Rohstofftechnik (German raw material technology - RHM Group), Georgsmarienhütte, Kabel Premium Pulp and Paper, Lhoist, Pilkington Germany (NSG Group) and Speira as well as the Federal Association of the German Glass Industry.

From the perspective of European consumption, textiles have on average the fourth highest negative life cycle impact on the environment and climate change, after food, housing and mobility. A shift to a circular textile production and consumption system with longer use, and more reuse and recycling could reduce those impacts along with reductions in overall consumption. One important measure is circular design of textiles to improve product durability, repairability and recyclability and to ensure the uptake of secondary raw materials in new products.

Key messages

• In 2019, the EU textile and clothing sector had a turnover of EUR162 billion, employing over 1.5 million people across 160,000 companies. As was the case in many sectors, between 2019 and 2020, the COVID-19 crisis decreased turnover by 9% for textiles as a whole and by 17% for clothing.
• In 2020, textile consumption in Europe had on average the fourth highest impact on the environment and climate change from a global life cycle perspective. It was the consumption area with the third highest impact on water and land use, and the fifth highest in terms of raw material use and greenhouse gas emissions.
• To reduce the environmental impacts of textiles, a shift towards circular business models, including circular design, is crucial. This will need technical, social and business model innovation, as well as behavioural change and policy support.
• Circular design is an important enabler of the transition towards sustainable production and consumption of textiles through circular business models. The design phase plays a critical role in each of the four pathways to achieving a circular textile sector: longevity and durability; optimised resource use; collection and reuse; and recycling and material use.

Textiles are identified as a key value chain in the EU circular economy action plan and will be addressed in the forthcoming European Commission’s 2022 EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles and EU sustainable products initiative. This briefing aims to improve our understanding of the environmental and climate impacts of textiles from a European perspective and to identify design principles and measures to increase circularity in textiles. It is underpinned by a report from the EEA’s European Topic Centre on Circular Economy and Resource Use available here.

1. Production, trade and consumption of textiles
Textiles is an important sector for the EU economy. In 2019, the EU textile and clothing sector had a turnover of EUR162 billion, employing over 1.5 million people in 160,000 companies. As was the case for many sectors, between 2019 and 2020, the COVID-19 health and economic crisis decreased turnover by 9% for textiles as a whole and by 17% for clothing (Euratex, 2021).

In 2020, 6.9 million tonnes of finished textile products were produced in the EU-27. EU production specialises in carpets, household textiles and other textiles (including non-woven textiles, technical and industrial textiles, ropes and fabrics). In addition to finished products, the EU produces intermediate products for textiles, such as fibres, yarns and fabrics (Köhler et al., 2021).

The textiles sector is labour intensive compared with others. Almost 13 million full-time equivalent workers were employed worldwide in the supply chain to produce the amount of clothing, textiles and footwear consumed in the EU-27 in 2020. This makes the textiles sector the third largest employer worldwide, after food and housing. Most production takes place in Asia, where low production costs come at the expense of workers’ health and safety.
 
Textiles are highly globalised, with Europe being a significant importer and exporter. In 2020, 8.7 million tonnes of finished textile products, with a value of EUR125 billion, were imported into the EU-27. Clothing accounts for 45% of imports in terms of volume, followed by household textiles, other textiles and footwear (Eurostat, 2021a). The EU imports mainly from China, Bangladesh and Turkey, and exports mainly to the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the United States (Euratex, 2020).

Consumption
European households consume large amounts of textile products. In 2019, as in 2018, Europeans spent on average EUR600 on clothing, EUR150 on footwear and EUR70 on household textiles (Köhler et al., 2021; Eurostat, 2021b).

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic, involving stay-at-home measures and the closure of companies and shops, decreased textile production and demand overall (Euratex, 2021). As a result, the consumption of clothing and footwear per person decreased in 2020, relative to 2019, while the consumption of household textiles slightly increased. Average textile consumption per person amounted to 6.0kg of clothing, 6.1kg of household textiles and 2.7kg of shoes in 2020 (see Figure 1).

Apart from this COVID-related drop in consumption in 2020, the estimated consumption of clothing and footwear stayed relatively constant over the last decade, with slight fluctuations between years (see Figure 2). Similarly, the consumption of household textiles was also relatively steady, with a slight increase over the decade.

When calculating the ‘estimated consumption’ based on production and trade data from 2020, and excluding industrial/technical textiles and carpets, total textile consumption is 15kg per person per year, consisting of, on average:

• 6.0kg of clothing
• 6.1kg of household textiles
• 2.7kg footwear.

For 2020, this amounts to a total consumption of 6.6 million tonnes of textile products in Europe. Textile consumption estimates are uncertain, as they vary by study, often using different scopes and calculation methods.

2. Environmental and climate impacts of textiles
The production and consumption of textiles has significant impacts on the environment and climate change. Environmental impacts in the production phase result from the cultivation and production of natural fibres such as cotton, hemp and linen (e.g. use of land and water, fertilisers and pesticides) and from the production of synthetic fibres such as polyester and elastane (e.g. energy use, chemical feedstock) (ETC/WMGE, 2021b). Manufacturing textiles requires large amounts of energy and water and uses a variety of chemicals across various production processes. Distribution and retail are responsible for transport emissions and packaging waste.

During use and maintenance — washing, drying and ironing — electricity, water and detergents are used. Chemicals and microfibres are also emitted into the waste water. Meanwhile, textiles contribute to significant amounts of textile waste. At the end of their life, textiles often end up in general waste and are incinerated or landfilled. When textile waste is collected separately, textiles are sorted and reused, recycled or disposed of, depending on their quality and material composition. In 2017, it was estimated that less than 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new products (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017).

To illustrate the magnitude of the impacts of textile consumption on raw material use, water and land use and greenhouse gas emissions compared with other consumption categories, we have updated our calculations of the life cycle environmental and climate impacts in the EU. We used input-output modelling based on data from the Exiobase database and Eurostat. In line with the reduced textile consumption level in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the environmental impacts decreased from 2019 to 2020.

Raw material use
Large amounts of raw materials are used for textile production. To produce all clothing, footwear and household textiles purchased by EU households in 2020, an estimated 175 million tonnes of primary raw materials were used, amounting to 391kg per person. Roughly 40% of this is attributable to clothes, 30% to household textiles and 30% to footwear. This ranks textiles as the fifth highest consumption category in Europe in terms of primary raw material use (see Figure 3).

The raw materials used include all types of materials used in producing natural and synthetic fibres, such as fossil fuels, chemicals and fertilisers. It also includes all building materials, minerals and metals used in the construction of production facilities. Transport and retail of the textile products are included as well. Only 20% of these primary raw materials are produced or extracted in Europe, with the remainder extracted outside Europe. This shows the global nature of the textiles value chain and the high dependency of European consumption on imports. This implies that 80% of environmental impacts generated by Europe’s textile consumption takes place outside Europe. For example, cotton farming, fibre production and garment construction mostly take place in Asia (ETC/WMGE, 2019).

Water use
Producing and handling textiles requires large quantities of water. Water use distinguishes between ‘blue’ water (surface water or groundwater consumed or evaporated during irrigation, industry processes or household use) and ‘green’ water (rain water stored in the soil, typically used to grow crops) (Hoekstra et al., 2012).

To produce all clothing, footwear and household textiles purchased by EU households in 2020, about 4,000 million m³ of blue water were required, amounting to 9m³ per person, ranking textiles’ water consumption in third place, after food and recreation and culture (see Figure 4).

Additionally, about 20,000 million m³ of green water was used, mainly for producing cotton, which amounts to 44m³ per person. Blue water is used fairly equally in producing clothing (40%), footwear (30%) and household and other textiles (30%). Green water is mainly consumed in producing clothing (almost 50%) and household textiles (30%), of which cotton production consumes the most.

Water consumption for textiles consumed in Europe mostly takes place outside Europe. It is estimated that producing 1kg of cotton requires about 10m³ of water, typically outside Europe (Chapagain et al., 2006).

Land use
Producing textiles, in particular natural textiles, requires large amounts of land. The land used in the supply chain of textiles purchased by European households in 2020 is estimated at 180,000 km², or 400m² per person. Only 8% of the land used is in Europe. Over 90% of the land use impact occurs outside Europe, mostly related to (cotton) fibre production in China and India (ETC/WMGE, 2019). Animal-based fibres, such as wool, also have a significant land use impact (Lehmann et al., 2018). This makes textiles the sector with the third highest impact on land use, after food and housing (see Figure 5). Of this, 43% is attributable to clothes, 35% to footwear (including leather shoes, which have a high land use impact because of the need for cattle pasture) and 23% to household and other textiles.

Greenhouse gas emissions
The production and consumption of textiles generate greenhouse gas emissions, in particular from resource extraction, production, washing and drying, and waste incineration. In 2020, producing textile products consumed in the EU generated greenhouse gas emissions of 121 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) in total, or 270kg CO₂e per person. This makes textiles the household consumption domain responsible for the fifth largest impact on climate change, after housing, food, transport and mobility, and recreation and culture (see Figure 6). Of this, 50% is attributable to clothes, 30% to household and other textiles, and 20% to footwear. While greenhouse gas emissions have a global effect, almost 75% are released outside Europe, mainly in the important textile-producing regions in Asia (ETC/WMGE, 2019).

About 80% of the total climate change impact of textiles occurs in the production phase. A further 3% occurs in distribution and retail, 14% in the use phase (washing, drying and ironing), and 3% during end of life (collection, sorting, recycling, incineration and disposal) (ECOS, 2021; Östlund et al., 2020).

Textiles made from natural fibres, such as cotton, generally have the lowest climate impact. Those made from synthetic fibres (especially nylon and acrylic) generally have a higher climate impact because of their fossil fuel origin and the energy consumed during production (ETC/WMGE, 2021b; Beton et al., 2014).

3. Design as an enabler of circular business models for textiles
To reduce the environmental and climate change impacts of textiles, shifting towards circular business models is crucial to save on raw materials, energy, water and land use, emissions and waste (ETC/WMGE, 2019). Implementing and scaling circular business models requires technical, social and business model innovation; as well as enablers from policy, consumption and education (EEA, 2021).

Circular design is an important component of circular business models for textiles. It can ensure higher quality, longer lifetimes, better use of materials, and better options for reuse and recycling. While it is important to enable the recycling and reuse of materials, life-extending strategies, such as design for durability, ease of reuse, repair and remanufacturing, should be prioritised. Preventing the use of hazardous chemicals and limiting toxic emissions and release of microplastics at all life cycle stages should be incorporated into product design.

Designing for circularity is the most recent development in design for sustainability. Expanding a technical and product-centric focus to a focus on large-scale system-level changes (considering both production and consumption systems) shows that this latest development requires many more disciplines than traditional engineering design. Product design as a component of a circular business model depends on consumer behaviour and policy to realise its potential and enable implementation. Figure 7 shows the linkages between the circular business model, product design, consumer behaviour and policy. All are needed to slow down and close the loop, making it circular.

Fraunhofer Institutes pave new ways in plastics recycling

A sustainable society, the renunciation of fossil raw materials, climate-neutral processes - also the chemical industry has committed itself to these goals. For the industry, this means a huge challenge within the next years and decades. This structural change can succeed if all activities - from the raw material base to material flows and process technology to the end of a product's life cycle - are geared towards the goal of sustainable value creation. The key to this is innovation.

Plastics such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) or polystyrene (PS), which are currently produced almost entirely from fossil raw materials, are fundamental to many everyday products and modern technologies. The carbon contained in plastics is an important resource for the chemical industry. If it is possible to better identify such carbon-containing components in waste, to recycle them more effectively, and to use them again to produce high-quality raw materials for industry, the carbon can be kept in the cycle. This not only reduces the need for fossil resources, but also pollution with CO₂ emissions and plastic waste. At the same time, the security of supply for industry is improved because an additional source of carbon is tapped.

The "Waste4Future" lighthouse project therefore aims to create new opportunities for recycling plastics in order to make the carbon they contain available as a "green" resource for the chemical industry. "We are thus paving the way for a carbon circular economy in which valuable new base molecules are obtained from plastic waste and emissions are largely avoided: Today's waste becomes tomorrow's resource," says Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer, deputy director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS, which is heading the project. "With the know-how of the participating institutes, we want to show how the comprehensive recycling of waste containing plastics without loss of carbon is possible and ultimately economical through interlocking, networked processes." The outcome of the project, which will run until the end of 2023, is expected to be innovative recycling technologies for complex waste that can be used to obtain high-quality recyclates.

Specifically, the development of a holistic, entropy-based assessment model is planned (entropy = measure of the disorder of a system), which will reorganize the recycling chain from process-guided to material-guided. A new type of sorting identifies which materials and in particular which plastic fractions are contained in the waste. Based on this analysis, the total stream is separated and a targeted decision is then made for the resulting sub-streams as to which recycling route is the most technically, ecologically and economically sensible for this specific waste quantity. What cannot be further utilized by means of mechanical recycling is available for chemical recycling, always with the aim of preserving the maximum possible amount of carbon compounds. Burning waste containing plastics at the end of the chain is thus eliminated.

The challenges for research and development are considerable. These include the complex evaluation of both input materials and recyclates according to ecological, economic and technical criteria. Mechanical recycling must be optimized, and processes and technologies must be established for the key points in the material utilization of plastic fractions. In addition, suitable sensor technology must be developed that can reliably identify materials in the sorting system. Machine learning methods will also be used, and the aim is to link them to a digital twin that represents the properties of the processed materials.

Another goal of the project is the automated optimization of the formulation development of recyclates from different material streams. Last but not least, an economic evaluation of the new recycling process chain will be carried out, for example with regard to the effects of rising prices for CO₂ certificates or new regulatory requirements. The project consortium will also conduct comprehensive life cycle analysis (LCA) studies for the individual recycling technologies to identify potential environmental risks and opportunities.

For the development of the corresponding solutions, the participating institutes are in close exchange with companies from the chemical industry and plastics processing, waste management, recycling plant construction and recycling plant operation, in order to consider the needs of industry in a targeted manner and thus increase the chances of rapid application of the results achieved.

The following Institutes are involved in the Fraunhofer lighthouse project "Waste4Future":

• Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS (lead)
• Fraunhofer Institute for Non-Destructive Testing IZFP
• Fraunhofer Institute for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategy IWKS
• Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB
• Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR
• Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF
• Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV

Interview with Claudia Bitzer, Owner Bitzer PR, Albstadt

The past year was not only a big economic challenge for many companies, but also in terms of communication - whether in advertising or in PR topics - new ground had to be broken. Contact restrictions up to a strict lockdown, the cancellation of many trade fairs, congresses or other event formats made it necessary to rethink.

Textination discussed it with Claudia Bitzer, owner of the PR agency of the same name in Albstadt, Baden-Württemberg. Her customers include medium-sized companies from the textile and clothing industry as well as machinery manufacturers, public clients and the media.

With your PR agency based in Albstadt, you have also been busy in the textile industry for a good 5 years. If you had to introduce yourself in 100 words to someone who doesn't know you: Why did you decide to become your own boss after working for an agency, and what distinguishes your work?
Actually, self-employment gave me a call: An acquaintance suggested that I take over the communication for his employer, a textile machine manufacturer in the Alb, as a freelancer. When I was on the phone, I had our ten-day-old son in my arms. I was also a PR consultant at Ketchum in Stuttgart. Because I was curious, I got to grips with the matter over the next few months. With success: The textile machines have turned out to be surprisingly tangible products, after all, they make the clothes that we wear on our bodies every day. From this my access to the textile industry developed, which I would call my home base today.

Because I serve various companies along the textile chain, I have an overall view of the industry and can offer overarching stories with different perspectives. I also have a weakness for complex, "dusty" topics, regardless of the industry. I can delve in them with devotion in order to present them vividly. That's why I would call myself a content specialist.

In addition to German, English, Spanish and French, you speak Swabian fluently. Why is it important to have regional roots when you work for export-oriented companies in the textile industry in Baden-Württemberg?
You got that about fluent Swabian from my website, right? (Laughs) But yes, it is very helpful if you can feel whether "gschwind" – Swabian for “pretty fast” - tolerates a delay or has to be dealt with immediately.

I think the Swabian is really important in terms of the mentality behind it. I grew up in the Alb, my father ran a medium-sized company of his own. I understand many things without a customer having to explain them to me.

For example, modesty in relation to one's own person. Especially in long-established family businesses, the owners play an important role. They bear a great responsibility, both in the company and at their location. Nevertheless, the focus is always on the entrepreneurial performance, the product that, manufactured somewhere in the Swabian province, can keep up with the German, European or global competition. That doesn't happen by itself, but requires courage, entrepreneurial spirit and a great deal of openness to new things, and that fascinates me. I also often notice that by the passion, that these leading family businesses bring with them, I am carried away.

Breaking new ground means being willing to make decisions, overcoming fears - and thus also having the courage to fail. Not every project can succeed. In retrospect, which entrepreneurial decision are you particularly glad to have made?
Apart from being self-employed? The first corona lockdown with home schooling and closed daycare centers was a big challenge. On the one hand, I was relieved that it became quieter on the customer side between the end of March and the beginning of June, otherwise it would not have been feasible either professionally or in terms of family. On the other hand, this silence scared me and I often asked myself whether self-employment was the right way to go.

In early summer, when the situation on all sides had stabilized somewhat, I tackled the problem head on: I looked for co-working spaces and took extensive further training in online marketing. Being honest, of course, these were business decisions. Fortunately, they are already paying off, even if I may sit alone in the office for now.

Is there any work you are particularly proud of? Which story moved you beyond normal and which thematic challenges do you love?
One project that I fondly remember is the communication referring to a repdigit anniversary one of my clients was celebrating. For this, I first put 111 years of the company’s history down on paper in weeks, no, months of archive work. Because I had delved so deeply into the subject, I came up with many ideas for the messages of the anniversary celebration. Fortunately, the client was quickly convinced. At some point we had a signet, a slogan and a really good story for the anniversary. Incidentally, we still benefit from the numerous proof points we worked out for the occasion in our product and corporate communications today.

In addition, the project has naturally deepened the relationship with this client. I also work closely with the advertising agency that accompanied the anniversary communication. I consider such long-term partnerships as a great asset.

Have the messages you want or need to communicate for your clients changed in Corona times? And what was the focus of your work in 2020?
Unsurprisingly, the focus of work in 2020 was on online communication. For almost all of my customers we will start planning and implementing new measures in this area in the coming year.

As for the messages, little has altered. This is certainly due to the fact that the meta-topics have remained the same. Take sustainability, definitely a long-running favorite in the textile industry, and the sub-topic regionality. In contrast to previous crises, the Corona pandemic has not sidelined these approaches, but intensified them because it has shown us how dependent we are on production abroad. The same applies to the issues of transparency and quality.

Precisely because the themes have stayed the same, the crucial part for me is to find a unique story within these permanent themes so as not to disappear into the big river. That requires empathy, creativity - and a good portion of diligence.

Moving away from the simple advertising message to storytelling - what recommendation would you give medium-sized companies in general regarding their communication for the coming year? Are there any special features that the textile industry in particular should consider?
I think that will go in the direction of "We are still there, and even stronger than before". After all, the crisis demanded a lot from everyone. But it is always a productive phase, because when it comes to a head, it forces us to develop further that otherwise would not have been initiated or at least would have been initiated later. Therefore, it can represent a turning point, definitely for the better.

Take digitization, which is the most obvious approach: the crisis has given rise to a boost in this area; the online shop was or is to be expanded, the service is to become more digital.

Apart from that, there are certain individual changes in every company that the crisis has brought about. You can have the courage to name and tell them, because these are stories that interest everyone.

Goodbye Facebook - good morning TikTok. Which social media platforms do you recommend to your clients and under what conditions should medium-sized companies get involved?
TikTok has so far been more of a topic that I discuss with my daughter, who is almost 12 years old. But seriously: I recently read in a study published by Hootsuite that at the beginning of 2020, less than ten percent of Germans were using TikTok. On Facebook, the user share is still over 60 percent. For that reason alone, we shouldn't simply dismiss Facebook.

When I discuss the topic of social media with my clients, it is important for me not to think from the channels. Sure, it's tempting, but other questions should be asked at the beginning: What is the long-term goal of the social media activities? What resources are available - and what budgets? By now it is well known that social media is an extensive field of activity in its own right, which ties up corresponding resources. In medium-sized businesses, where I rarely have access to a multi-headed marketing team, a solid strategy is the be-all and end-all. It must be very, very clear which target groups are to be addressed. Then I can talk about channels and choose the most important ones. This almost certainly includes LinkedIn and Xing, as well as Instagram and Facebook, the latter especially in an international environment. By the way, the evaluation is just as important, it tends to fall behind. The relationship between measured values and corporate goals is anything but trivial.

Trade fairs, events, press conferences and meetings - these have almost completely fallen by the wayside in 2020. How important do you consider face-to-face communication to be in the long term, and which channels and measures do you recommend to your customers to compensate for these losses?
Face-to-face contact remains important! Of course, we all realised last year that not every event has to be a face-to-face event. A video conference saves time and money and, with the right discipline, can be just as effective as a face-to-face meeting. Many service cases can also be solved by video telephony, no one has to travel around. I am therefore convinced that we will not return to the meeting in person culture we had before Corona, even if this will be possible again at some point.

That's why I advise my clients to take advantage of the digital opportunities that are opening up everywhere. At the moment, everyone is still a beginner, you can only learn. Take virtual trade fairs: This is a fundamentally different approach than the classic presence fair. There is no need for a large trade fair team that is ready from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are no press appointments either. It is much more important to contact the visitors directly, i.e., to collect leads, to group the visitors and to stay in touch with them after the event by providing them with tailor-made content. Speaking of content: at the latest with such online events, it becomes clear how diverse content must be prepared. To pick up customers in the virtual space, you need graphics, videos, animations and much more.

Nevertheless, it will not work without direct, physical contact. I remain convinced that people buy from people. Video conferences work particularly well when the participants already know each other from real life. And the textile industry in particular thrives on haptics. I can never feel a yarn or a fabric digitally. Nor can I feel the production speed of a machine. With every revolution there is a slight breeze. You can't get that digitally.

The interview was conducted by Ines Chucholowius, CEO Textination GmbH

• New research shows business leaders at top fashion, retail and textile businesses are putting sustaina-bility drive first, despite COVID-19 pandemic
• The power of data in the effort to ‘go green’ is well recognized, but patchy performance suggests more access to better quality data needed to help turbocharge change
• Despite Covid-19, fashion leaders are confident that fast, affordable and sustainable fashion is realistic, with crisis seen as opportunity to recharge sustainability efforts 

New research reveals the extent of the global fashion industry's commitment to sustainability, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with sustainability ranked as the second most important strategic objective for businesses in the sector .

The new research, from the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), is like Puma, H&M and Adidas. Explored in a new report, ‘Is Sustainability in Fashion?’ the research comes at a time when the industry finds itself at a crossroads: whether to continue to invest in sustainability, or row back in light of the pandemic.

Sustainability is business critical, say fashion, retail and textile leaders  
In defiance of the pandemic, the new data shows that for many of the world's biggest brands, sustaina-bility is now business critical. The majority of fashion, retail and textile leaders surveyed (60%), named implementing sustainability measures as a top two strategic objective for their business, second only to improving customers’ experience (ranked first by 64%). This contrasts starkly with the fewer than one in six (14%) that listed 'rewarding shareholders' as a top objective.

Leaders report they’re introducing sustainability measures throughout the supply chain, from sourcing sustainably produced raw materials (65%), introducing a circular economy approach to their business and cutting greenhouse gasses (51% apiece) and investing in new technologies like 3D printing and blockchain (41%).  Overall, the majority (73%) were optimistic that sustainable, fast and affordable fash-ion is achievable.

Data matters
A key finding of the research is that data matters for sustainability. When asked what measures they were implementing today to be more sustainable, collecting data from across the business and in the supply chain to measure performance was listed at the very top of business leaders’ list of priorities by 53%, second only to developing and implementing an environmental sustainability strategy with meas-urable targets, favoured by almost six in ten (58%).

And data is not important for the immediate term only –  three in ten (29%) said the availability of relia-ble data holds the key to greater sustainability over the next decade, while almost three-quarters of industry leaders (73%) stated their support for global benchmarks and thresholds as an effective means of measuring sustainability performance and driving progress in the industry.

But data collection is patchy
However, although brands clearly recognize the importance of data, the research’s findings on data collection indicates that top fashion brands, retailers and textile businesses may find sourcing good quality data a challenge.

While business leaders report relatively high rates of data collection on supplier sustainability practices based on a survey of 150 leading executives from top fashion, retail and textile business across Europe and the US and interviews with leading brands (65%) and worker rights and workplace health and safety in the supply chain (62%), a significant proportion (45%) of businesses do not track greenhouse gas emissions across production, manufacturing and distribution of the products they sell, while 41% don’t track the amount of water and energy being used to produce the raw materials they source.

Looking to the future, over a quarter (26%) of respondents saw a lack of available, easily-accessible data as hampering collaboration on sustainability across the industry. As some respondents in interview pointed out, while collecting data could be hard it is important.  

Commenting on the findings, Gary Adams, President of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, said: "It is clear that brands are faced with a challenge on driving forward their sustainability efforts. At the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol we know that accurate, reliable data supports businesses in this work - providing not only the evidence to show hard work and progress, but the insight to drive further improvements. We pro-vide one of the most robust data collection mechanisms available for an essential material – cotton – for unparalleled transparency.”  

Partnership offers path to further progress
An additional key finding is that fashion, retail and textile business clearly cannot drive change in isola-tion: collaboration is needed. According to one respondent, from Reformation, this is already happen-ing. “We’re energized to see collaboration and cooperation across the industry and believe that will only increase over time.”

However, when it comes to external support to help guide that progress, business leaders do not nec-essarily perceive further regulation as the answer.  The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and government regulation were each given equal weight in driving sustainability change, both cited by a quarter of respondents (24% apiece). Regulatory requirements were also ranked by only a third (33%) of the business leaders surveyed as being within the top three factors that will drive sustainability pro-gress over the next decade.  

Jonathan Birdwell, Regional Head of Public Policy and Thought Leadership, The Economist Intelligence Unit: “It’s clear from the survey results and our interviews with business leaders that the industry is committed to driving progress on its sustainability performance. We were particularly struck by the fact that sustainability is largely considered as pre-competitive – behind the scenes brands are sharing re-sources and lessons learned.”

The impact of Covid-19  
This determination on sustainability flies in the face of COVID-19 uncertainty, although when asked their view on the pandemic, just over half (54%) of respondents said they thought it would make sustainabil-ity less of a priority within the industry.

The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is a new initiative that sets a new standard in sustainably grown cotton. By working closely with growers, the U.S. Trust Protocol provides clear, consistent data on six key sus-tainability metrics, including GHG emissions, water use, soil carbon, soil loss, independently audited through Control Union Certification. For the first time, brands can access annualized farm level data and trace their cotton from field to 'laydown'.

Research based on quantitative survey of 150 executives in the fashion, retail and textile industry based in Europe and the United States undertaken by the Economist Intelligence Unit between 9th July and 28th July 2020. The survey was complemented by qualitative insight from interviews with ten professionals in the fashion and sustainability space.

Interview with Steffen Jost, President of BTE e.V. and General Manager, Jakob Jost GmbH
 
On July 31 2020, the German Retail Association - HDE e.V. reported in addition to the current sales figures published by the Federal Statistical Office: “Many clothing retailers are still in danger of existence.” An HDE survey of 500 retailers showed that around two thirds of the non-grocers achieved at least 75 percent of sales in comparison to the same week last year. The main reason for this is the slowly increasing number of customers.

For 27 percent of retailers, however, the situation is still very serious: They realize their entrepreneurial existence threatened due to the corona crisis. Most retail companies will not be able to make up for lost sales that have occurred in recent months. Accordingly, two-thirds of non-grocery retailers calculated that sales would also decline in the second half of the year. Many clothing retailers continue to face difficult times.

Textination spoke about the situation with Steffen Jost, long-time president of the BTE Federal Association of German Textile Retailers, owner and managing director of Jakob Jost GmbH. The family company, founded in 1892, operates five clothing stores in Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg in the medium to upper price segment with more than 300 employees and a sales area of around 20,900 square meters.

How have you felt about the corona era to date - as a company and personally? What would you on no account want to go through again and what might you even consider maintaining on a daily basis?
The corona era was a challenging time for the company and its employees. You realize very clearly which employees are loyal and committed to the challenges and which are not. It is frightening to experience the appearance of mask refusers among the customers, who claim to go shopping without a mask and demand freedom for themselves and at the same time presuppose the employees' willingness to make sacrifices. The tone, the impertinences as well as the aggressiveness are alarming, it is often pure egoism. And in this context the meaning of freedom is limited to their own freedom.    

What does the pandemic mean economically for your own company so far, how do you estimate the consequences for the entire sector?
The economic impact, especially in terms of profitability, is immense. Since it affects the entire sector and thus also many companies that entered the crisis without a solid equity base, a major shakeout is to be feared. Especially because it is also not yet possible to predict how long the crisis will last.
 
What adjustments or innovations have you considered necessary for your product range?
As a result of the crisis, occasion related and elegant clothing is tending to decline, while sporty clothing is on average a bit more successful, so that more we emphasis on these aspects. The stationary trade as well as the industry have big problems, nevertheless there are acceptable solutions with many suppliers after intensive exchanges. A few suppliers try to enforce their own interests exclusively. Of course, this will result in corresponding consequences for the cooperation.

How do you consider suppliers in the future, what experiences have you made and will you draw consequences for your procurement policy?
A good cooperation between retail and industry is essential for economic success. If this basis does not exist (it has suffered considerably as a result of corona), it is also assumed that future economic success will be worse. A profit-oriented corporate management must take this into account in its procurement policy.
          
Which initiatives or instruments at politico-economic level did you welcome for the sector, of which have you been critical?
For many companies, including ours, both - the short-time working allowance and the KfW loans are essential components to secure the company's long-term future. For the first time the retail sector is applying for short-time work. We are critical of the lack of willingness on the political level to enforce the mask obligation and to punish violations of it accordingly. This has been passed on to the retailers and other sectors of the economy with corresponding problems in customer relations.
The interim aid was a great help for many small companies, but unfortunately medium-sized companies were not able to benefit from that. Corona has certainly massively accelerated the structural processes and developments in the retail sector, whereby the one-sided consideration of online sales, as currently can be seen, certainly falls short. It is also a question of the ability to generate profitable sales in normal times in order to build up business substance and also to finance necessary investments.

Did the corona era also have a positive effect, while the sector has brought forward innovations that would have been necessary anyway?
This might have happened in some cases. Especially companies that were not yet sufficiently digitally positioned may have taken action here very fast. In width, however, times of crisis seldom mean large investment periods.

What needs the stationary retail trade has to meet in future, what services must be offered in order to get a stable future?
The retail trade must be more than a place where goods are stocked in large quantities. The internet can do this on a much larger scale. Real customer service will play an increasingly important role, as will the length of stay and the design quality of the retail space. At the same time, it is important to make an optimum use of the digital possibilities. In addition, it is important to curate the product ranges in such a way, that the customers’ respective requirements are matched by an assortment that meets their expectations. Basically, this has been the original task of purchasing for decades. It is frightening to experience the appearance of mask refusers among the customers.
          
Which initiatives or approaches by or for your sector would you appreciate as support for such a future?
The cooperation between industry and multi-label retailers must definitely become more intensively and, above all, faster. Up to now, the possibilities of electronic data processing in a mutual flow of information, have been used by far too little and the corresponding consequences have not been drawn. In addition, the procurement times need to be reduced significantly.  The order and delivery dates must be set much later, and the possibility of using the digital world for ordering must also be implemented, in order to compensate at least the great systemic advantages of the vertical trade and thus also to reduce significantly the rates of write-offs and returns.

Until now the big issues have been globalisation, sustainability / climate change / environmental protection, digitisation, the labour market situation and so on. How must we rate them against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic?
Covid 19 will not change the big issues seriously, they will remain with us. Possibly the negative labor market situation, which is to be feared, can push them into the background, because if existential needs have to be solved, experience shows, that there is much less attention for the other problems.
 
What are the lessons for the textile retail trade with regard to these goals for the post-corona era?
The long lead times between ordering and delivery must finally be shortened. We have to become faster, better in our product ranges and adopt a more strategic approach. We may not lose sight of our own interests and the overall strategy of a company through the specifications of individual suppliers.
The strategic goal can only be to strive for permanently profitable sales and to implement all necessary measures consistently.

The interview was conducted by Ines Chucholowius,
CEO Textination GmbH

Economy
With an average GDP growth of 2% in 2018 and 2019, Canada now resembles the word’s 10th biggest economy and is worthy of a closer look wether it could serve as a sales market for investments.

Canada’s average GDP growth of 2 % in 2018 and 2019 initiates an examination if the country could serve as a market or if an investment in the country could be of value. In particular, the service sector, the manufacturing sector, energy and raw materials and agriculture form the Canadian economy. Canada’s business centers are Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, as well as the provinces Ontario and Quebec. The sometimes enormous distances between those regions should not be underestimated.

An inner-Canadian trade agreement that came into effect in 2017 aims on the reduction of trade barriers among Canada’s provinces. In addition to that, an investment plan for infrastructure by the government should enable public investments in the amount of roundabout €120 Bil. by 2028. With its national climate strategy and the ratification of the Paris climate agreement, Canada also pursues an ambitious climate policy. Today, more than 50% of the needed electricity is already created by using renewable energies, even though the country has got the third-biggest energy and raw materials reserves in the world.

Due to its dependency on export, Canada is involved in many trade agreements (about a dozen bilateral free trade agreements). The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, which has been in existence since 1994, is expected to be renewed and replaced on January 1st 2020 by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) With the EU, Canada's second most important trading partner, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been provisionally in force since 21st September 2017. Furthermore, Canada signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP) at the beginning of 2018. Besides that, there are amongst other trade agreements with the EFTA-States, as well as South Korea and the Ukraine.

Automotive parts, oil and raw materials (excluding fuels) account for more than one third of Canada's total exports. The US are the biggest customer of Canadian goods with a share of 75.9% of exports. The majority of goods being imported in Canada are motor vehicles and automotive parts; machines and chemical products. The main exporters to Canada in 2017 were the US (51.3%) and China (12.6%), followed by Mexico (6.3%) and Germany (3.2%). Germany mainly exports cars and parts and machinery to Canada and imports raw materials.

Source: GTAI, AHK, AA

Fair market
The close economic relations with the US are also reflected in the exhibition industry. For Canadian exhibitors and visitors, it does not make much of a difference in terms of time and logistics whether a trade show takes place in the neighbouring United States or in Canada. Therefore, many of them take advantage of the opportunity to participate in international fairs in the US. However, some Canadian trade fairs are among the industry's leading trade shows in North America or even worldwide. These include, for instance, the GPS Global Petroleum Show (oil and gas industry) and the Buildings Show (construction industry), but also the PDAC (commodities) and Canada's Farm Progress Show (agriculture) fairs. For exhibitors and visitors from the US and from all over the world, participation at these fairs is indispensable. In addition to the international fairs, there are various regional fairs, which are mainly used by local companies of specific industries.
 
Just as in the US, in Canada it is common for trade fairs to be either organized by trade associations or in cooperation with a trade fair organizer. It also makes sense in Canada to first test the interest in one's own products at a trade show and, in a second step, to decide on a branch or a sales partner. Canadian trade fair visitors are accessible and relaxed, which facilitates the first conversation. The stand construction is usually less expensive than in Germany and the exhibition halls are more compact.

Since the mid-1970s, the Canadian Association of Exposure Management (CAEM) has represented the interests of the Canadian exhibition industry. The members are organizations or persons organizing trade fairs, consumer exhibitions or similar events. Fair-related service providers can become associated members. Among other, the association provides its members with ‘Best Practice Guidelines’ for health and safety. As a partner of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), CAEM also offers specific courses for the Canadian trade fair industry as part of the Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM).
 
Fairs und Organizers 
The Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) approximately lists around 40 fairs in Canada every year. The majority of these events takes place in Toronto, followed by Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.

Similar to the US, most of the fairs are being organized by the industry associations. Fairs and accompaniment-events are one of the key services for their members, but also the main source of income of the associations. With the main emphasis on metalworking and processing, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers organizes among other the FabTech Fair Canada. The vast majority of organizers only hosts one fair per year. The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy & Petroleum (CIM), for instance, organizes the CIM Annual Convention (Mining) annually at changing places. The Society of Petroleum Engineers organizes the ATCE – Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition fair (Petrochemistry) - and the Woodworking Network carries out the WMS - Woodworking Machinery & Supply Expo (Woodworking).
 
Also, there are for-profit fair organizers, that host different fairs in Canada. The British company Informa PLC for instance has been active on the Canadian market since the takeover of the fair Fan Expo Canada in 2010. Over the years, the enterprise continuously extended its portfolio among other with the takeover of the company MMPI Canada. Dmg events also organizes various trade fairs in Canada, for example the trade show GPS - Global Petroleum Show & Conference. In the field of food and beverage the French company COMEXPOSIUM organizes the trade fair SIAL Canada. The activities of Messe Frankfurt GmbH and Deutsche Messe AG in the Canadian market are explained in more detail in the section "German Organizers".

* listed in AUMA fair database

German Organizers
The Messe Frankfurt GmbH has been active in Canada since 2005. Part of the Portfolio are two fairs, that take place simultaneously, the Waste & Recycling Expo Canada and the Municipal Equipment Expo.

Since 2014 the Deutsche Messe AG is represented in Canada by its subsidiary Hannover Fairs with the CanWEA fair (wind energy). The fair has been organized annually in collaboration with the Candian Wind Energy Association. Another cooperation with the solar industry association (Canadian Solar Industries Association) concerned the organization of the solar Canada fair, which was being held until 2019. The two fairs are being merged from 2020 on as Electricity Transformation Canada. In addition to that the Truck World fair is being organized in cooperation with Newcom Business Media every two years.

Contact
AHK Kanada
Deutsch-Kanadische Industrie- und Handelskammer  Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce Inc.  
480 University Avenue
Suite 1500
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1V2
Phone +1 416 598 33 55
Fax: +1 416 598 18 40
E-Mail: Info.toronto@germanchamber.ca  
Website: http://kanada.ahk.de
 
CAEM Canadian Association of Exposition Management
E-Mail: info@caem.ca
Website: https://caem.ca/
 
Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI)
E-Mail: info@gtai.de  
Webseite: www.gtai.de
 
Auswärtiges Amt
Botschaft der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Postadresse:
P.O. Box 379, Postal Station „A“ Ottawa, Ontario  K1N 8V4
Phone: +1 613-232-1101
Fax: +1 613-780-1527
Website: https://canada.diplo.de/ca-de

AUMA
Christine Zander  
Referent global markets
Regions: North America, Latin-America, Subsahara-Africa, South East Asia, Australia; Voting of foreign trade fair participations, EU-topics
Phone: +49 30 24000-125
Fax: +49 30 24000-320
E-Mail: c.zander@auma.de

• E-Commerce Market continues to grow rapidly

Russia's online retailers are entering into strategic alliances. The market is maturing and consolidating. German suppliers must prepare themselves for tougher competition.
Russia's online trade continues to record strong growth rates. In 2018, sales increased by 19 percent year-on-year to around Rubel 1.2 billion (EUR 15.5 billion; 1 EUR = 74.04
Rubles, annual average exchange rate 2018). This corresponded to about 290 million orders, according to Data Insight's analysis. By the end of 2023, the investment bank Morgan Stanley expects annual growth of 25 percent to Rubles 3.5 billion. In 2018, the cross-border Internet trade increased by 29 percent to the equivalent of EUR 4.7 billion.

¹⁾ Physical goods only; excluding cross-border trade, deliveries of ready meals, tickets for transport and events, coupons, consumer-to-consumer and multi-level marketing;
²⁾ Nominal year-on-year; variance due to rounding.
Sources: Market research institute Data Insight; Association of Online Retailers (NAMO)

The share of e-commerce in retail sales is currently still around 5 percent. With the "Strategy for the Development of Online Trade by 2025", the government wants to increase this up to 20 percent. The conditions for further growth are good, as Russian consumers are Internet-savvy and open to technical innovations. Already 76 percent of all Russians have an Internet connection. According to the national "Digital Economy" project, broadband Internet penetration is expected to reach 97 percent by 2024.
 
Growth potential far from exhausted
Russia's online retailers are following this trend by modernizing their websites and are investing in goods logistics. Electronic marketplaces are becoming increasingly popular. This is because they offer smaller Internet retailers in particular the opportunity to assert themselves against the market leaders.
In the Forbes ranking of the 20 most valuable Internet companies in Russia, online retailers Wildberries and Ozon rank fourth and fifth respectively. The Russian fashion mail order company Lamoda - a foundation of the German Rocket Internet - is in ninth place.     
The Otto Group realigned its business model in Russia in 2018 and removed its subsidiaries Quelle and Otto from the market. The Hamburg-based group relies on the online brands Bonprix and Witt as well as on the eSolutions platform, which offers B2B services in the areas of marketing, sales, logistics and IT.

Source: Data Insight (http://datainsight.ru/top100/)

Russia gets two "local Amazons" at once 
Russian online trading is already firmly in the hands of a few large players who are continuing to expand their market presence. The market leader Wildberries added electronics and household appliances to its range in 2018. AFK Sistema Holding of the oligarch Yevgeny Yevtushenkov has increased its stake in the online retailer Ozon and is investing in the construction of new logistics centers In addition, Ozon started selling medicines, jewellery and ready meals.  

In April 2018, the Russian technology group Yandex and Sberbank agreed to establish the Beru and Bringly online marketplaces. The aim is to further develop the Yandex.Market platform into a "Russian Amazon". Russia's largest bank brings in the customer data of 100 million account holders.
Beru and Bringly's range mainly includes high-priced goods such as electronics, clothing, shoes and cosmetics. Bringly cooperates with the British cosmetics chain Feelunique, among others. In September 2018, Yandex.Market also concluded a cooperation agreement with Hepsiburada, Turkey's largest online marketplace. 

Alibaba expands its market presence in Russia
In September 2018, the next major merger in Russian online trading was announced: The Mail.ru Group and Megafon (part of the company empire of the oligarch Alisher Usmanow), the Russian Fund for Direct Investments and the Chinese technology group Alibaba intend to establish a joint online marketplace by the end of the first quarter of 2019. Alibaba intends to expand its presence on the Russian market.
The Mail.ru Group provides access to the data records of around 100 million users - an enormous new customer potential for the Chinese online giant. On March 5th  2019, AliExpress, the Russian subsidiary of Alibaba, also launched a platform for the sale of passenger cars of the Chinese brand Chery.

Duty-free limit continues to fall
Two thirds of Russian online buyers also order goods from foreign traders. 90 percent of the deliveries come from China. If the price and weight of the product are within the exemption limits, no sales tax is payable. On 1 January 2019, the exemption limit for cross-border online trading was halved to EUR 500 and the weight limit was lowered from 31 to 25 kilograms. From January 1st   2020, the tax-free allowance will fall to EUR 200.  However, this measure is unlikely to generate any additional revenue for the Russian State. In 86 percent of cross-border online purchases, the maximum value of goods is at about USD 22.

Above all, capacity bottlenecks in the delivery of online orders are currently putting the brakes on sector. VTB-Bank is therefore investing around EUR 410 million in the construction of 40 logistics and distribution centers for the Russian Post Office (Potschta Rossii) by 2021. The state-owned company intends to profit from the growth in the online commerce and increase its revenue from parcel services for e-commerce to Rubel 122 billion by 2023. Since September 2018, the Russian Post has been distributing deliveries from China via hubs in Siberia and the Far East.
The logistics service provider DPD has been working with the Avito advertising portal since October 2018. In future Its customers will be able to collect their parcels at around 1,500 DPD stations. Since June 2018 DHL and eBay have been working together on logistics services in Russia.

The development of B2B platforms is becoming increasingly important in Russia's online trade. The potential is huge: the Russian B2B online market amounts to around USD 20 billion - and the trend is rising. Pioneers such as Sewerstal, Alrosa or Technonikol already rely on B2B platforms to sell directly to their end customers. In 2018, the Chinese Fosun Group acquired around 20 percent of the shares in the B2B platform Prod.Center, on which agricultural products are traded.