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Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jens Liebchen (c) Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Jens Liebchen
08.01.2019

SLEEP! THE FUTURE FORUM

  • HEIMTEXTIL IS ALREADY SHOWING TODAY HOW WE CAN SLEEP BETTER TOMORROW

According to doctors specialising in sleep, we already know almost everything there is to know about sleep. However, studies show that the quality of this regeneration process is deteriorating all the time. How can we prevent this from happening? The upcoming Heimtextil (8-11 January, Frankfurt am Main) will supply solutions to this with the new ‘Sleep! The Future Forum’. Here, international experts will present the latest findings and textile innovations for a restful night. The world’s leading trade fair for home and contract textiles brings together around 800 producers of textiles in the bed segment. Of these, 140 international industry leaders will be represented in the ‘Smart Bedding’ segment alone in hall 11.0, which will be presenting the latest sleep systems, mattresses, bedding and smart sleep technology. In addition, the new ‘Sleep!

  • HEIMTEXTIL IS ALREADY SHOWING TODAY HOW WE CAN SLEEP BETTER TOMORROW

According to doctors specialising in sleep, we already know almost everything there is to know about sleep. However, studies show that the quality of this regeneration process is deteriorating all the time. How can we prevent this from happening? The upcoming Heimtextil (8-11 January, Frankfurt am Main) will supply solutions to this with the new ‘Sleep! The Future Forum’. Here, international experts will present the latest findings and textile innovations for a restful night. The world’s leading trade fair for home and contract textiles brings together around 800 producers of textiles in the bed segment. Of these, 140 international industry leaders will be represented in the ‘Smart Bedding’ segment alone in hall 11.0, which will be presenting the latest sleep systems, mattresses, bedding and smart sleep technology. In addition, the new ‘Sleep! The Future Forum’ in the foyer of hall 11.0 will provide a platform for knowledge transfer, exchange of experiences and networking relating to a good night’s sleep. International experts will provide an overview of the current state of research and the latest findings on the ‘Future of sleep’ in the four subject areas of digital, sport, hotels and sustainability.

‘We sleep too little’
It is not without reason that many experts are declaring sleep to be the latest lifestyle trend after nutrition and fitness: numerous current studies prove that we are sleeping ever more badly despite increasing knowledge. ‘You don’t always notice sleep deprivation straightaway but you do become less attentive’, says Prof. Ingo Fietze, Head of the Interdisciplinary Sleep Medicine Centre at the Berliner Charité and chair of the German Sleep Foundation. At ‘Sleep! The Future Forum’, Fietze will talk about ‘The power engine of sleep’. ‘From a scientific point of view, we already know a great deal about our night’s sleep. The big problem is that we don’t sleep enough and don’t give sleep the importance it deserves’, says Fietze.

In order to improve our night’s sleep, there are now a number of smart gadgets available: intelligent pillows, noise-reducing high-tech earplugs and sleep trackers – these are all designed to help banish bad sleeping habits and consolidate healthy ones. Given that consumers can quickly get lost in this maze, the Schlafonauten, who call themselves Germany's biggest YouTube channel on the topic of sleep, are ready to help. ‘We test products that promise a calmer night to see how effective they are’, says Schlafonaut Fabian Dittrich. He will present the latest test results in the knowledge forum as part of an interview (‘Smart innovations – the practical test’).

Sleep like a (sports) professional
Another speaker knows the sleeping habits of professional athletes very well: Nick Littlehales, sleep coach of five-time World Cup footballerCristiano Ronaldo and four-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, will present his findings from his 22 years as a sleep coach for top athletes (‘Redefining Sleep in Elite Sport’). ‘Athletes and professionals in world sports are facing the growing demands of a globalised 24-hour society’, says Littlehales. This is also increasingly true for non-athletes, says Littlehales, who is certain that his sleep tips for professionals will also be useful for normal mortals.

The night's rest as an experience
Sleeperoo founder Karen Löhnert will show that you can sleep comfortably in the most unusual places during her lecture ‘Sleeperoo - The Night, The Place and You’ at the ‘Sleep!’ forum. She will be introducing the world’s first ‘Design Sleep Cube’. The sleeping capsule known from the start-up TV show ‘Höhle des Löwen’ is currently nominated for the German Innovation Award 2019. It allows the user to spend the night in exotic places such as a museum, a bunker or a pier in the Baltic Sea. ‘I'm a big fan of adventure nights, from tree houses to tepees; but unfortunately I've only been able to find a few local accommodation offers of this type and they don't come with quality guarantees’, says Löhnert. With her sleep cube, she wants to make sleep experiences with a high standard of amenities possible for the first time. In the Sleep Cube, the user lies on a comfortable 1.60 metre wide and 2 metre long mattress, while three large panoramic windows and the roof provide a view of the surroundings and the sky.

Even classic hotel stays have now become a focus of research. Vanessa Borkmann from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO will talk about the importance of sleep in hotels in Frankfurt am Main in January (‘The importance of sleep during a hotel stay – a special experience thanks to innovation’). ‘Healthy sleep is particularly important in hotels’, says Borkmann, who wants to show how the effect of rest in the hotel bed can be improved, for example through the design of the sleeping environment, the behaviour of the guest themselves or technical innovations.

Sustainable sleep
More and more people are using natural materials and sustainably produced textiles in their bedrooms. The lecture block ‘Sleep & Sustainability’ is therefore dedicated to the material properties of textiles and the quality of their processing as well as the auditability of sustainable procurement and production standards. This is how Hendrik Albers, buyer of home and household textiles, bedding & mattresses at OTTO, and Dr Juliane Hedderich, managing director of the Down and Feather Associations in Mainz, describe the growing importance of nature conservation, environmental protection and animal welfare in the bedroom (‘Sustainable good advice - Convincing with the right arguments when it comes to animal welfare and quality’). ‘In the past, criteria such as weight, moisture wicking and filling power has played an almost exclusive role in the choice of bedding, but now the ethical component is increasingly coming into play’, says Hedderich. Consumers are placing ever greater importance on certificates and seals which prove that the processed down and feathers did not originate from live plucking or foie gras production. Hedderich and OTTO buyer Albers present the quality seal ‘DOWNPASS 2017’, which guarantees controlled animal husbandry and adherence to animal protection criteria.

DOWNPASS e.V.’s FIRST TRADE FAIR IN CHINA Traumpass e.V.
20.03.2018

DOWNPASS e.V.’s FIRST TRADE FAIR IN CHINA

  • The association's zero tolerance standard was presented at Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles between 14 and 16 March
  • The association enjoyed a successful appearance together with three certification bodies from Germany, Japan and the US/China
  • Chinese manufacturers showed great interest in the unique combination of animal welfare and quality control

‘We met many committed companies – primarily from China – that showed great interest in traceability and the ethically sound sourcing of feathers and down. The potential that Downpass offers as a traceability standard together with continuous quality control was clearly recognised and won companies over not only for export-oriented purposes, but also for the domestic Chinese market’, explained Dr Juliane Hedderich, who was responsible for the trade fair appearance as managing director of Downpass e.V.

  • The association's zero tolerance standard was presented at Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles between 14 and 16 March
  • The association enjoyed a successful appearance together with three certification bodies from Germany, Japan and the US/China
  • Chinese manufacturers showed great interest in the unique combination of animal welfare and quality control

‘We met many committed companies – primarily from China – that showed great interest in traceability and the ethically sound sourcing of feathers and down. The potential that Downpass offers as a traceability standard together with continuous quality control was clearly recognised and won companies over not only for export-oriented purposes, but also for the domestic Chinese market’, explained Dr Juliane Hedderich, who was responsible for the trade fair appearance as managing director of Downpass e.V.
‘The follow-up after the trade fair will be crucial to translate Chinese companies’ interest into actual memberships.’

The association's representatives and rotating teams from the certification bodies Wessling, QTEC and IDFL advised visitors at a large stand in the foyer of hall 4.2 (HOME) with a deliberately puristic design. These independent testing institutes and auditing organisations are companies’ direct contacts for audits and product monitoring. As is common for trade fairs, the largest crowds were seen on the afternoon of the first and second day of the event.

The markets are increasingly demanding materials that guarantee trading partners and therefore consumers the greatest possible security when it comes to ethics and sustainability, alongside high product quality. Products certified by independent testing institutes gain in importance and set sales standards.

Ms Anna Elisa Wessling, legal representative of the subsidiary Wessling Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd. and representative of the German Wessling Group at the trade fair, was happy to engage with customers directly, explaining, ‘our presence as a consulting, analysis and testing company at Intertextile Home gave us the opportunity to talk to visitors and thus allowed us to increase transparency on the Chinese market such that retailers and consumers are suitably informed of the highest requirements of product quality and of the origin of bedding filled with feathers and down.’
As a German family company, the Wessling Group has stood for continuous improvement in the quality and security of products and processes for 35 years and is set to move into new, larger premises for its subsidiary in Shanghai in the near future so that it can fulfil the increasing number of testing requests in Asia with a larger team.
‘We expect constant growth in our analysis and consulting segment feathers and down, especially as our international customers see Downpass as a clear advantage for customer acquisition domestically and abroad. As an independent testing institute, we play a substantial role in underpinning trust in the Downpass brand’, highlighted Ms Weßling.

The Japanese institution QTEC also confirmed Downpass’ high level of visitor interest and, like its colleagues, stressed the importance of an institute’s independence. The managing director of Shanghai QTEC Testing Laboratory, Hiroyuki Nakamoto, who successfully presented the company’s three Chinese sites – including Shanghai and Wuxi – at the home textiles trade fair, explained, ‘our knowledge of the Japanese market, together with our testing expertise, make us a top contact for manufacturers of bedding and clothing products filled with feathers and down to ensure the supply chain is ethically sound.’ The institute expects a steady rise in the number of testing requests for Downpass, especially at Chinese sites.

A large, bilingual English-Chinese sales team from IDFL China, based in Hangzhou was available at the trade fair in Shanghai to answer all questions relating to audits and testing procedures with its varied specialist expertise. Together with its cooperation partner, the Chinese national down and feather laboratory CIQ Xiaoshan, IDFL has capacities for a broad range of different tests and audits.
IDFL’s Global Audit Manager Bryan Mortensen highlighted that Downpass had become a standard and therefore a seal that is recognised worldwide and in China in particular. The joint appearance with other certification bodies provided the opportunity to answer the questions of Chinese companies along the supply chain, from wholesalers to clothing and home textile brands and trading partners.
‘We are seeing strong demand for the current version of the standard, Downpass 2017, and its seal. IDFL carried out numerous audits across the globe in 2017 and we receive new requests every day. Overall we anticipate a successful future for Downpass in the down and feather industry’, explained Mortensen. IDFL – which will celebrate 40 years in the industry in 2018 – has been carrying out audits in the field of down and feathers for more than 10 years and is currently undergoing certification in accordance with ISO/EN 17065 and 19011.

In their first summary of the event, the extended Downpass trade fair team took stock of a successful trade fair premiere. ‘We aim to promote the sustainable use of natural resources across the globe and to increase transparency in the supply chain’, explained Dr Juliane Hedderich. ‘Animal welfare and guaranteed product quality are our hallmarks. We did a great job in Shanghai of jointly informing others about these and finding new collaborators.’

 

About the zero tolerance standard DOWNPASS 2017
Products filled with feathers and down that are certified in accordance with Downpass 2017 exclude products sourced from live plucking and production based on force feeding. The animals’ rearing is monitored and monitoring may be extended to the parent animal farms.
To this end, farms, commodities traders and producers are subject to audits and monitoring.
Pre-made products are bought by mystery shoppers at the point of sale and subsequently undergo quality control in independent testing laboratories.
As of January 2018, 503 million animals had been audited in accordance with DOWNPASS 2017.
Labelled products are available in North America, Europe and Asia.