From the Sector

In view of the easing of pandemic restriction policies in China, the Spring Editions of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, Yarn Expo and Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles have been moved to the new timeslot of 28 – 30 March 2023. This will allow both local and international fairgoers more time to prepare for their participation, with a higher industry turnout now expected at the three fairs. The fairs will still be located at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai where they were originally due to be held from 8 – 10 March.

Discussing the change of dates, Ms Wilmet Shea, Deputy General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd explained: “After talking to our stakeholders, we believe adjusting the spring show dates to the end of March is the right move. It provides enough time for exhibitors and visitors from local and abroad to plan for the fairs and capitalise on the ample international business opportunities brought by the reopening of China’s border.”

In light of the evolving pandemic circumstances in Shanghai, Cinte Techtextil China will no longer be taking place from 6 – 8 September at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. A new date for the technical textile fair will be announced in due course.
 
Ms Wendy Wen, Managing Director of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, explained: “After discussions with stakeholders, and in support of the government’s pandemic control measures, we have decided to postpone Cinte Techtextil China 2022 to a later date. The safety of fairgoers is of paramount importance to the fair’s ongoing success, and we are working tirelessly to provide an efficient sourcing platform for the technical textile industry. I would like to thank all participants for their sustained support and understanding.”

Cinte Techtextil China’s product categories cover 12 application areas, which comprehensively span a full range of potential uses in modern technical textiles and nonwovens. These categories also cover the entire industry, from upstream technology and raw materials providers to finished fabrics, chemicals and other solutions. This scope of product groups and application areas ensures that the fair is an effective business platform for the entire industry. The 2021 edition attracted 366 exhibitors and recorded 14,868 visits. The fair is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA).

This year, Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles again joins forces with NellyRodi™, the renowned French agency for international forecasting, to present the design theme for 2023 – ‘ALIVE’ – together with three trends: HUMAN CAPITAL, ROUSING COMMITMENT and UNREAL REALITIES.

Nature is a keyword in HUMAN CAPITAL
This direction reflects how people want to reconnect with the environment by choosing a local approach, short supply chains, raw and natural materials, and traditional techniques. For instance, 100% plant-based materials, as well as metalised fringed jacquards and gold yarns are used to illustrate this concept.

Inspired by everyday basics and daily essentials, the trend uses a soft, luminous white palette mingled with muted and amber shades of vegetal dyes. Designs also incorporate figurative hand-drawings, archaic bestiary, stylised wildflowers and geometric patterns.

ROUSING COMMITMENT celebrates creative self-expression
The trend combines a lively play of mix-matching patterns and colours. This embraces the integration of neutral shades through touches of metallic silver and fluorescent colours to represent the urban life.

Foamback and other fabrics influenced by sports materials, as well as extravagant jacquards, silicon embossing and bouclé fabrics draw out feel-good factor of the theme. Prints using modern twists on traditional patterns, lettering plays, exuberant florals and bold geometrics, also deliver the desire to live freely by sharing joy and happiness with others.

The fantasy of UNREAL REALITIES
In order to push the limits of imagination, science and technology, consumers tap into digital realms to connect with other realities, augmented worlds and futurist utopias that draw out the potential of today’s technology. Metalised rainbow colours highlight the magic and wonder under this virtual reality theme, while surrealistic photoprint shapes, misty landscapes, blurry effects and fantastical nature adds a futuristic touch.

The theme adopts iridescent gleam of semi-transparent voiles, muslins, recycled synthetics and added pearly or glazed aspects. Soft, light meshes, honeycombed or blistered surfaces and cloudy seersuckers elevate the textures in the fabrics.

The trends are decided by a committee led by the NellyRodi™ Agency (France) and formed by top forecasters including Mr Vincent Grégoire (France), the agency’s Consumer Trends and Insights Director; Mr Shen Lei (China), Founder and Chief of Interior Architects Design; and Ms Tracy Jen (Taiwan, China), the Host of ‘Eremito’; as well as Ms Sakina M’sa, the beloved French fashion designer and entrepreneur.

In order to integrate exhibitor and industry resources more effectively, the organisers of Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles have announced that the Spring and Autumn editions will be merged this year. The two fairs will now be held concurrently from 15 – 17 August 2022 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center.

Cobra International will showcase its portfolio of design and manufacturing solutions for the unmanned vehicle systems sector when the company exhibits alongside long-term partner HiveGround at the AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2022 conference.

Taking centre stage on the Cobra stand will be a fully assembled Swiftlet UAV. This compact tactical fixed wing UAV platform has a 5.5m wingspan and was developed by the Royal Thai Air Force and National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) for a broad range of survey, monitoring and search and rescue (SAR) operations. Cobra manufactured the 30kg Swiftlet composite airframe using a combination of CNC cut carbon sandwich internal structure and PVC foam sandwich skins using both high grade glass fibre and carbon fibre reinforcements.

Visitors to the Cobra stand will also see the VETAL, a twin rotor vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone with a composite airframe manufactured by Cobra for HiveGround, the Thailand based developer of UAV surveying and robotics systems.

At AUVSI XPONENTIAL, Cobra will also illustrate how the company leverages innovation and expertise developed in its water sports and automotive business to enhance its product offering to the UAV sector. Products on display include a Fliteboard electric foiling surfboard, pre-preg hydrofoil parts, lightweight medical prosthetics, flax and forged carbon parts, as well as a full set of visual carbon and painted automotive trims, each demonstrating the company’s high volume production capacity for ultra-light carbon composite structures.

The show will take place from the 25 to 28 April at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida.

Sustainability has become a major trend in the global home textiles industry. It is more common nowadays to find natural and sustainable fibres in an extensive range of home furnishing products. From this angle, the Lenzing Group (Lenzing) will take led in a brand new pavilion at Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Spring Edition. Lenzing is the world’s leading manufacturer of renewable specialty fibres, and will highlight the latest eco-friendly fibres that can meet the ever-rising sourcing demand. The fair is set to take place from 14 – 16 April 2022 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

As an upswing from the growing public awareness of environmental issues, consumers are now more willing to switch to sustainable products. According to a CottonWorks’ survey, 90% of the interviewed Chinese consumers want their home textiles to be environmentally friendly[1]. It also found that more consumers are paying attention to the fibre content that can deliver safe and sustainable home textiles.
Furthermore, the Chinese government’s ‘Outline Of the Development of the Textile Industry during the 14th Five Year Plan’, also encourages the acceleration of low cost, functional and sustainable renewable fibres in the local textile industry.

The Lenzing satellite pavilion: a one-stop platform for green home textile materials
To help home textile suppliers source a variety of eco-friendly materials efficiently, one of the fair’s long-time exhibitors is set to form a new pavilion at the upcoming Spring show. Lenzing, the Austrian brand widely known for its ecologically responsible production of specialty fibres made from renewable raw material wood, gathers seven of its local downstream supply chain manufacturers to showcase their renewable products.

Mr David Dai, Senior Commercial Director Textile China of Lenzing spoked about why they decided to organise a new pavilion at the show: “As we received positive feedback from our pavilion at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, our business partners from the home textile supply chain were hoping for a similar arrangement in this sector. We believe all the participating manufacturers can benefit from this pavilion by finding ways to better serve their clients and consumers.”

Brands in the Lenzing satellite pavilion will include:
•    Lenzing Group will introduce the first Carbon-zero TENCEL™ fibres which are CarbonNeutral™ certified products by Natural Capital Partner.
•    Botou Jinglun Textiles Co Ltd focuses on new fibre yarns. The company develops multi-component yarns for cotton, wool, silk and linen with combinations of MODAL, TENCEL™ fibres and various functional materials.
•    Fujian Yongtai County Huaerjin Textile Co Ltd provides high-quality, natural, renewable pure and blended yarns including TENCEL™ fibres, US cotton, Australian cotton, acrylic cotton, silk and other plant-based yarns.
•    Jiangsu Dasheng Group Co Ltd has one of the largest cellulosic fibre yarn spinning mills in China and focuses on producing top-quality home textiles.
•    Qingdao Textiles Group produces natural fibres, cellulose fibres, copper antimicrobial fibres and other nature-based materials for home and contract textiles.
•    Suzhou Zhenlun Spinning Co Ltd is an advanced enterprise specialising in regenerated cellulose yarns like ECO VERO, FSC Viscose, Circulose, Carbon Zero Yarn and more.
•    Ton Design Industrial Co Ltd produces medium and high-end bedding fabrics. The brand’s TENCEL™ Lyocell fibres and TENCEL™ fibres blend cotton series products are certified by Lenzing.
•    Wuxi Tianmu Extra Width Printing Dyeing Co Ltd mainly produces extra-wide, high-count and high-density down-proof fabrics and fabrics for bedding. The technique can handle different procedures for dealing with pure cotton, bamboo fibres, TENCEL™ fibres and other fibre fabrics.

In addition to the new pavilion, a number of other featured exhibitors will also showcase their sustainable products at the fair. This includes Cotton Council International (CCI) promoting US cotton fibres and cotton products, and Zhangjiagang Coolist Life Technology Co Ltd bringing their unique bedding products made from organic and environmental-friendly materials.

Promising conditions in the technical textiles and nonwovens market are expected to provide ample opportunities for suppliers at this year’s Cinte Techtextil China. The fair, which last year saw 366 exhibitors and 14,868 visits, will take place from 6 – 8 September 2022 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. Flexible exhibiting options will once again be available for overseas companies.

Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, explained the positive conditions that exhibitors should expect at the fair thusly: “The pandemic has led to a surge in Chinese exports of both technical textiles and nonwovens, the latter in particular. The country remains the largest supplier of nonwovens, comprising one-third of the global total, yet still requires the advanced offerings of overseas machinery suppliers, as well as supplies of raw materials, to support its export production.”

Ms Wen continued: “Domestically, China is seeing increasing consumption of functional apparel, sportswear and personal protection items. Heightened health and sanitary regulations and new hygiene habits will also continue to drive demand, especially for nonwovens, well into the future. There has also been a post-pandemic boost in demand for filter, greenhouse covering and high-density fabrics amongst others. All of this adds up to a wealth of opportunities for overseas companies to take advantage of, as was experienced in the 2021 edition of the fair.”

Exhibitor and visitor experiences in 2021
“Our organisation promotes US cotton and we hope to use this platform to meet more companies and brands in the nonwovens industry who are interested in US cotton, and to meet up with old friends to discuss the current situation and industry trends. We also found some new potential clients this time.” Mr Eric Ni, Senior Manager, China Supply Chain Marketing, Fabrics, Garments and Nonwovens, Cotton Council International, USA

“Cinte Techtextil China is a professional exhibition that brings together cutting-edge technologies and products, allowing us to quickly learn about innovative technology trends in the industry. I’ve been particularly impressed by the biodegradable products in the Innovation Showcase. In addition, I am sourcing mask-related products and mops, and I have found some companies that I’m interested in.” Ms Claire Zhang, Senior Scientist, Personal Health, Philips Research China, Philips (China) Investment Co Ltd, China

The Spring Editions of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles and Yarn Expo will now take place from 14 – 16 April 2022 instead of their original March date. They will continue to be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) alongside CHIC and PH Value.
 
“With the evolving situation of the pandemic globally, we have decided to hold our three spring fairs in mid-April,” Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd explained. “At this stage, we are still processing how the Omicron variant affects the hosting of large-scale events, so this new date provides us and our stakeholders with extra time to plan accordingly so we can ensure the fairs take place in a safe environment.”
 
“We are hoping to continue the momentum that was generated at last year’s Autumn Editions where our many returning international exhibitors were well received, as well as to capture the opportunities in the domestic market with strong growth in production, revenue and profit recorded in the first three quarters of 2021.”

The 2022 Spring Edition of Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles is set to return to the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) from 9 – 11 March 2022. The fair, once again held concurrently with Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Spring Edition, Yarn Expo Spring, CHIC and PH Value, will continue to offer a one-stop trading platform for businesses during the traditional peak sourcing season of the Chinese home textile industry.

The fair provides an opportunity for suppliers to tap into the fast growing Chinese home textiles market and allows prospective buyers to meet their sourcing needs. Following the success of the 2021 edition, which attracted 18,951 trade buyers and 216 exhibitors to participate in this leading industry event, the upcoming spring fair will once more focus on finished products. Nevertheless, a wide range of items are also on offer including bedding & towelling, rugs, table & kitchen linen, home textile technologies, textile design and more.

The Home Textile Products for Campus & School Zone, as well as the Feather & Down Product Zone, will roll out again in the spring show after they were launched in the last edition. The Campus & School Zone was introduced to fulfil the rising market demand for domestic student bedding: “The current demand in China for student bedding is high. There are around 8 million new university students and 16 million secondary school students each year, and nearly all university students and 70% of secondary school students need bedding, equating to over 19.2 million sets needed each year,” Mr Shi Xiangyu, Department Manager at Yantai Pacific Home Fashion Co Ltd, a 2021 exhibitor, outlined.  

Helping businesses to reach their target buyers
Ms Weiqing Peng, Trade Department Supervisor of Wujiang City Yunjie Textiles Co Ltd commented on how the 2021 fair has helped them during the challenging times caused by the pandemic: “We treasure this opportunity to communicate with customers face to face. Buyers usually need to touch the fabrics in person. Many domestic companies are enthusiastic about exhibiting here, and we’ve been really busy as many new and old customers came to our booth. This fair is very popular with the whole industry supply chain.” Mr Leo Chen from Yantai Pacific Home Fashion Co Ltd also applauded the fair for helping them to “reach some big brands in China and explore more cooperation opportunities.” 

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles concluded its 27th autumn edition in early October. Held alongside four other concurrent textile shows, the fair was the only major event for this sector able to take place in China during this season, providing a much-needed business platform for 735 exhibitors and 20,106 trade buyers. The fair was held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd expressed: “Due to the valuable cooperation of many parties and the continued support of our exhibitors and other partners, we were able to hold the fair as scheduled despite a number of challenges. Since the pandemic situation was brought under control in China last year, we have expended considerable resources to ensure our textile fairs still take place to provide trading platforms that connect the global industry. This edition was especially important as it was the only major fair to take place in the country at this time.”

While a number of international exhibitors participated this year with individual booths, the Belgium Pavilion presented home and contract products and five Chinese regional pavilions from Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Huzhou, Haining, and Tongxiang also featured. Two trend forums also provided inspiration for 2022, while the IKASAS Japanese Home Design Gallery, New Voices of Top Youth Upholstery Designers City Roving Exhibition and China International Fiber Art Exhibition gave further insights into various aspects of the industry.

Fair’s fringe programme highlights sustainability, design and more
As with all of Messe Frankfurt’s textile fairs around the world, sustainability is a big focus. A number of events under this focus took place in the fair’s fringe programme, including a half day forum titled How Sustainable Fashion is Reshaping Lifestyles, with a range of innovative companies and prestigious universities participating as speakers.

The Design Talk session featured a series of presentations from leading international designers, including from China, Japan and Europe, to share their design insights. And a new concept this year, titled New Voices of Top Youth Upholstery Designers – Intertextile Upholstery Design and City Roving Exhibition, showcased the work of six groups of young local designers from across China who presented the interior design ideas of their generation through displays and a forum. And reflecting the changes that continue to accelerate in the industry, a number of e-commerce and cross-border trade events took place, including sessions from the likes of JD Home, AliExpress and Tmall.

The 2022 Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Spring Edition will take place from 9 – 11 March, while the Autumn Edition is scheduled for 23 – 25 August 2022.

• EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver Makes Debut at Fespa Global Print Expo 2021 for a Short, Smart and Green Process
• The new, industrial, entry-level EFI™ Reggiani TERRA Silver textile printer from Electronics For Imaging, Inc. is making its debut at the Fespa Global Print Expo 2021 tradeshow, 12-15 October at RAI Amsterdam.
• The EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver uses unique TERRA pigment ink for high-quality, highly sustainable direct-to-textile printing without steaming or washing.       

“This is one of the first trade shows to return after the pandemic, and we are very excited to again meet customers in person and showcase an innovative offering that delivers superior printing results while using less time, water and energy,” said EFI Reggiani Vice President and General Manager Adele Genoni. “We are introducing this advanced EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver solution to the many print service providers at Fespa, presenting them with an ideal path to enter the industrial textile segment with a short, smart and green production process.”

The new-version TERRA Silver printer is part of EFI’s complete TERRA line-up of pigment ink printer solutions. It is a 180-cm wide printer that can print up to 190 sqm per hour with eight dual-channel printheads. The printer also features:

•    A new recirculating ink system for superior reliability and minimum maintenance
•    Several printing modes to ensure maximum flexibility in terms of design capability
•    New, real-time image processing that eliminates time spent in image pre-calculations
•    A user friendly, intuitive interface
•    A more-efficient polymerisation process that takes place as printed textile goes through the printer’s on-board dryer.

In Fespa stand 1-G71, attendees can see the EFI Reggiani TERRA Silver print smoothly and precisely on knitted and woven fabrics. The printer’s quality is evident in its high-uniformity printing modes, and it delivers numerous features that enhance the production process, including an accurate WYSIWYG interface and flexible queue management.
 
EFI Reggiani is also a leading developer of textile inks. The EFI Reggiani TERRA pigment inks used on the Silver model deliver excellent wet and dry fastness properties and remarkable sharpness in detail. Designed to leverage EFI Reggiani digital printers’ market-proven industrial performance capabilities, these eco-friendly, water-based inks provide an extraordinary level of print durability and yield longer print head life with reduced maintenance costs. The high-performance digital pigment inks also use an innovative binder technology for fast, sustainable, and cost-competitive industrial textile printing on the widest range of fabrics. Users also gain superior print definition and colour intensity.
 
This year, EFI Reggiani celebrates 75 years of heritage and innovation in the textile world. Always committed to deliver to the market new cutting-edge technologies, EFI Reggiani has world-class products offering boosted uptime and reliability, high performance throughput, and remarkable printing uniformity and accuracy – all while helping customers increase the sustainability of their textile manufacturing activities. Green EFI Reggiani processes give users fast, complete and sustainable solutions across a broad range of textile applications.
 
In this 75th anniversary year, EFI Reggiani has also launched several other ground-breaking solutions, such as EFI Reggiani HYPER, the fastest scanning digital printer on the market, and the EFI Reggiani BLAZE, an industrial entry-level, easy-to-use printer designed to give new textile companies the opportunity to adopt digital inkjet production with a compact solution to blaze a successful path into the industry.