Textination Newsline

Most people want to live as independently as possible in old age. Exhibitors at the industry's leading trade fair ALTENPFLEGE from April 26 to 28 in Essen, Germany will be showing how senior facilities with modern interior design and smart equipment meet this need.

Demand for forms of housing such as service living is on the rise. Studies predict a need for around 540,000 new service living units in the coming years. One of the major trends at this year's 32nd edition of the Altenpflege trade fair is how senior facilities are meeting the rapidly growing demand with flexible room design and digital support. They can be seen in the Aveneo special show, including intelligent systems for stove shut-off, lighting control and room temperature, as well as for fall sensors and emergency calls.

Future tenants or buyers of serviced apartments are prepared to invest specifically in their own living environment (source: Terragon study 2021). The focus is on a feel-good atmosphere, a high level of security and the option of using care services if required. "This can be facilitated by a cleverly thought-out arrangement of the rooms within a serviced apartment, for example by arranging the bathroom and bedroom right next to each other and making the wall with the washbasin rotatable," explains Carolin Pauly, managing director of Universal Rooms, which considers itself to be the interface between the wishes of the operators and the products in the serviced apartment market. "The furniture and furnishings industry is called upon to design modern collections with hidden product features that make life easier in old age," Pauly demands. This could be, for example, a grab handle built into the washbasin or a dining table that can be accessed by a wheelchair.

Lighting management also plays an important role. It should convey a sense of well-being and security as well as provide orientation and safety. Age-related clinical pictures in particular place high demands on lighting. Here, lighting systems that simulate the natural day and night rhythm can provide help.

Living, care and digitalization combined
The Chief Executive Officer of the Evangelische Heimstiftung (EHS - Evangelical Home Foundation), Bernhard Schneider, sees "an individually and comfortably furnished apartment that uses intelligent technology to provide a great deal of security and self-determination" as the senior living of the future. "I am certain: In the future, in a sector-free setting, we will have to understand housing, nursing and care, and digitalization even more strongly as building blocks that can be combined as needed."

According to Schneider, this starts with housing: In a nursing apartment or an assisted living apartment, in a shared apartment or other form of communal living, in a residence or an intergenerational project. All forms of housing should be well integrated into the neighborhood - this requires reliable, financed advisory structures, for example through neighborhood managers. In addition, there is care, support and assistance, in the form of day or night care, a mobile service or volunteers. "And technology, for example through our Aladien system, i.e. with intelligent home emergency call, fall sensors, stove shut-off, roller shutters and light control, video door telephony, etc. In the future, Aladien will evolve into a service robot," predicts Schneider.

This makes it possible for people to live a self-determined life and participate in society, even in old age. That's what people want, he says: a pleasant living environment, social contacts, cultural offerings and the certainty that someone will take care of them if necessary. "What we need for this is political commitment in the form of an ambitious funding program for modern forms of housing in old age," demands the EHS CEO. This would not only help the older generation, but young families could also benefit because this would free up the far too spacious apartments and terraced houses of the older generation for them.

ALTENPFLEGE – Trade fair and congress for the care industry since 1990
The traditional leading trade show for the care industry has so far been held alternately in Hanover and Nuremberg. From this year it alternates between Essen and Nuremberg. It covers all segments of professional geriatric care: services and products for care and therapy, occupation and education, IT and management, nutrition and home economics, textiles and hygiene as well as space and technology. In more than 30 lecture blocks, the accompanying trade congress covers the current topics of the industry, such as digitalization, the future of professional nursing care, hospice and palliative care, training or the new collectively agreed payment under the Healthcare Development Act (Gesundheitsversorgungsweiterentwicklungsgesetz - GVWG).

• Exhibition in Hamburg Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe: 25/02/ - 28/08/2022

Our wardrobe is among our most personal possessions. Nothing is closer to our bodies. Alongside its purely practical function, clothing is also a nuanced means of communication and self-expression. The exhibition DRESSED. 7 WOMEN – 200 YEARS OF FASHION presents seven fashion-conscious women and their wardrobes, ranging from the nineteenth century to the present day.
The spotlight is on the personalities and biographies of the wearers, who reveal themselves to be both performers and consumers of fashion. Whether haute couture, daywear, protest gear or avant-garde trends – what they chose to wear is every bit as diverse as their lifestyles. Their wardrobes tell of the status-consciousness of high-society wives, of an existence marked by illness, of “power dressing” for projecting confidence in the executive suite, of Hamburg’s punk scene, and of the aesthetics embraced by an art and design collector.
 
Rather than basing the selection on status or celebrity, the protagonists cover the greatest possible variety of women’s lifestyles and their expression through fashion. Around 150 garments and accessories from the Fashion and Textiles Collection at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (MK&G) illuminate seven different walks of life and 200 years of fashion, women’s liberation and contemporary history. The fashion items were produced by famous designers, couturiers/couturières and fashion ateliers such as Maison Worth, Elsa Schiaparelli, Yves Saint Laurent, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Martin Margiela as well as by anonymous tailors and seamstresses. They are supplemented by biographical testimonies, photographs and documents.

„The idea of approaching not only fashion history but also the former wearers through the seven wardobes on display immediately excited me”, remarks Tulga Beyerle, director of the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg. “The narrative also goes beyond that and deals with a topic that is still relevant today: the changing role of women in society.”
 
Senator Dr Carsten Brosda says of the exhibition:” The history of clothing is the history of man. The history of fashion is the history of our social self-image. “Dressed” tells both the story of individual lives and the spirit of the times. The exhibition traces our understanding of aesthetics, the relationship between no-go’s and avant-garde, do’s and don’ts and as a whole is a symbol of possibilities. With the exhibition „Dressed”, the MK&G once again sensitises us to the social value of clothing in a time of material hyperconsumption.”
               
SEVEN PERSONALITIES – SEVEN WARDROBES
The earliest apparel ensemble, which once belonged to ELISE FRÄNCKEL (1807 – 1898), consists mainly of accessories and reveals the up to date fashion sense of the senator’s wife from Oldenburg in Holstein around 1820. The wardrobe of the diplomat’s wife EDITH VON MALTZAN FREIFRAU ZU WARTENBERG UND PENZLIN (1886 – 1976) includes elegant daywear and exquisite afternoon and evening attire from the years 1895 to 1950. The life and clothing of ERIKA HOLST (1917 – 1946) were shaped by war and her illness with tuberculosis. Dating from 1935 to 1945, her wardrobe contains mostly daywear. The Hamburg gallery owner and museum founder ELKE DRÖSCHER (b. 1941) wore almost exclusively pret-à-porter models by Yves Saint Laurent between 1968 and 1986, opting for a form of “power dressing”. INES ORTNER (b. 1968), active in Hamburg’s punk scene since the mid-1980s, combines an interest in fashion with a socio-critical stance in her ”self-constructed”, in some cases anarchic clothing objects. ANGELICA BLECHSCHMIDT (1942 – 2018), editor-in-chief of German Vogues from 1989 to 2002, clad herself in high-end products from international fashion houses as befitting position. Her “work uniform” consisted of little black dresses in combination with chunky costume jewellery. The art and design collector ANNE LÜHN (b. 1944) has over the years donated individual pieces from her wardrobe to MK&G. The often asymmetrical garments created by an international design avant-garde display an aesthetic of resistance.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF FASHION
The seven wardrobes selected for the show shed light on the development of fashion since the early nineteenth century. The items on view can be seen in one sense as an abstract succession of generations. The Second World War marked a clear turning point in terms of women’s opportunities, as revealed by the marital status and occupation of the carious women portrayed. Women born after 1940 were no longer confined to the role of mother, wife and house wife but were able to pursue their own professional goals. The garments also tell of contemporary political and social developments. The rigid corset disappeared after the First World War, roughly concurrently with the rise of women’s suffrage. The proliferation of trousers in women’s fashion from the 1970s onwards went hand in hand with the women’s liberation movement. And in the 1980s, an increasing plurality of clothing styles reflected developments in society at large.
          
CLOTHING AS AN ARCHIVE
The design of the exhibition is inspired by the concept of an archive. Reference is thus made to the museum’s mission of collecting and research but also to the archival function of clothing itself, which serves as a material but also to the archival function of clothing itself, which serves as a material witness to the history of design, technology and trade. At the same time, garments perpetuate the traces of individual bodies, movement and use, providing immaterial clues to the wearer’s aura and calling to mind notions of femininity, beauty and chic as well as personal and collective memories.
 
CLOTHING AS OBJECT OF DAILY USE
Garments are everyday items inscribed with signs of their use and of the body that wears them and bearing the marks of material wear and tear and of storage. These visible marks are just as unwelcome in private wardrobes as they are in museum collections – and yet they prove to be extremely valuable as evidence for object-based research. The exhibition therefore also shows objects with clear signs of wear and provides information about their state of preservation.

CLOTHING AS A MEANS OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION
Clothing norms and dress codes depend on factors such as age, gender, body shape, occasion, location, status and social group. We already start learning in childhood how to navigate this maze of rules and find the right mix for ourselves between conformity and individuality. As demonstrated by the biographies recounted here, fashion and a preoccupation with how we look is even today primarily a topic for women and people who read as female. Women are judged more by their appearance that their male counterparts and
are held to account more harshly for ostensible “mistakes” in how they present themselves. The role dress plays in social communication cannot be overestimated. Its effect is immediate. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we send and receive signals with our clothes bodies – not to communicate is impossible.

FASION HOUSES AND DESIGNERS REPRESENTED
The exhibition provides a detailed look at high-quality items of clothing in the MK&G collection along with glimpses of the creative work of a wide range of both anonymous makers and famous national and international fashion designers, couturiers/couturières and ateliers, including Georges Doeuillet, Romeo Gigli, Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons, Alice Lanot, Emilienne Manassé, Maison Martin Margiela, Issey Miyake, Rick Owens, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Elsa Schiaparelli, Worth, Yohji Yamamoto and others.

CATALOGUE
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue of the same name, published by Hirmer Verlag Munich, edited by Turga Beyerle and Angelika Riley, and with essays by Claire Beermann, Turga Beyerle, Joanne Entwistle, Birgit Haase, Peter Kempe, Ingrid E. Mida, Angelika Riley and Maria Stavel, and photographs ny Anne Schönharting. In German with two essays in English, ca. 250 pages, ca. 475 colour illustrations, 90 of them full-page plates, 49.90 Euro.

Ingo Offermanns (Hamburg) is responsible for the graphic design of the catalogue and exhibition. The exhibition architecture is the work of designer and scenographer Katleen Arthen (Berlin).

EDUCTAIONAL PROGRAMM
As part of the exhibition, the MK&G is organising numerous analogue and digital guided tours, including the exhibition tour “With Pen and paper” – a drawing workshop on the seven wardrobes on display with the artist Anne Pflug. You can participate in the exhibition via MK6G’s social media channels: Which favourite piece of clothing should be preserved for posterity? The best photos and stories that are shared with MK&G links can be seen digitally in the exhibition shortly afterwards. More information on the event programme on the website under CALENDAR.

The exhibition is made possible by funds from the Exhibition Fund of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the Hubertus Wald Foundation and the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation.

SCIRT stands for System Circularity & Innovative Recycling of Textiles. Coordinated by VITO, an independent Flemish research organisation in the cleantech and sustainable development sector, SCIRT is a three year EU-funded project from the Horizon 2020 Programme.

It aims to demonstrate a complete textile-to-textile recycling system for discarded clothing—or post-consumer textiles—involving stakeholders throughout the value chain and focusing on the recycling of natural fibres, synthetic fibres and fibre blends. To reach this goal, the project has set four main objectives.

• Deliver a closed-loop recycling solution for discarded textiles.
• Stimulate and encourage conscious design as well as production practices.
• Create new business opportunities by boosting textile value chain activity.
• Raise awareness of the environmental and social impacts of buying clothes.

Gathering 18 partners from five countries, the SCIRT project held its virtual kick-off meeting in mid-2021 to begin tackling the issue of clothing waste and recyclability, one of the biggest challenges faced in the fashion industry today.

As clothing brands are setting ambitious targets and making promises to incorporate recycled fibres in their products, discarded textiles are piling up in abundance around the globe. Though it would seem that the stars of supply and demand have aligned for this part of the circular economy, the truth is that less than 1% of textile waste is recycled into new textile fibres, according to an Ellen MacArthur Foundation report published in 2017. This miniscule percentage is indicative of a greater problem-achieving circularity in the fashion industry is not just a question of supply and demand, but of the connection between the two. There is a lack of knowledge surrounding the technological, economic and environmental feasibility of recycling fibre mixtures, and a need to align the quality and cost of recycling processes with the demands of textile companies and fashion brands.

SCIRT will develop solutions to support systemic innovation towards a more circular fashion system and bridge this supply-demand gap. To address the demand side of the equation, SCIRT will demonstrate a complete textile-to-textile recycling system for discarded clothing, otherwise known as post-consumer textiles, involving stakeholders throughout the value chain and focusing on the recycling of natural and synthetic fibres, as well as fibre blends. With the support of technical partners and research institutes, clothing brands Decathlon, Petit Bateau, Bel & Bo, HNST and Xandres, will develop, prototype and produce six different representative types of apparel using post-consumer recycled fibres. These include formal and casual wear, sportswear, underwear and uniforms. Through this endeavour, SCIRT will prioritise quality and cost-effectiveness in order to ensure market confidence and encourage the broad uptake of post-consumer recycled fibres.

From a non-technological perspective, SCIRT will develop supporting policy measures and tools to facilitate the transition towards a circular system for apparel. This includes a framework for an eco-modulated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system and a True Cost Model to quantify circularity and increase value chain transparency. Special attention will also be given to the consumer perspective. To this end, Citizen Labs engaging consumers in various European locations, as well as a wider online engagement platform, will be developed to engage citizens throughout the project in order to understand the perceptions, motivations and emotions shaping their behaviour regarding the purchase, use, and disposal of textiles.

Over the next three years, SCIRT project partners will work to overcome current technological, economic, socio-economic and regulatory barriers faced in textiles recycling to achieve a real, lasting circular fashion economy.

2021:
The SCIRT project kicks off and partners identify the current state-of-the-art in apparel design, production and recycling, challenges and market trends, and stakeholder needs.

2022:
Designing and testing a fibre-to-fibre system by producing recycled yarns and filaments, free from harmful substances.

2023:
Formal wear, casual wear, sportswear, underwear and uniforms will be designed and produced using the optimized yarns developed.

Partners

• Fashion companies: Bel&Bo, HNST, Decathlon, Xandres, Petit Bateau
• Research organisations: VITO, CETI, Prospex Institute
• Universities: BOKU, TU Wien, ESTIA
• Industry players: Altex, AVS Spinning - A European Spinning Group (ESG) Company, Valvan
• SMEs: Circular.fashion, FFact
• Non-profit organisations: Flanders DC, IID-SII

ALTEX
ALTEX is a textile recycling company based in Germany that employs state-of-the-art machinery to recycle textile waste into new high-quality products. Its products include teared fibres, natural fibres, synthetic fibres and fibre blends among others.

Bel & Bo
Bel&Bo is a family-owned Belgian business with about 95 retail stores located throughout Belgium. Its mission is to offer colourful, fashionable and sustainably produced clothing for men, women and children at an affordable price.

CETI
The European Center for Innovative Textiles (CETI) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to conceiving, experimenting with and prototyping innovative textile materials and products through both private and collaborative R&D projects.

circular.fashion
circular.fashion offers software for circular design, intelligent textile sorting and closed-loop recycling, including the Circular Design Software and the circularity.ID®, as well as training and hands-on support to fashion brands in their transitions.

Decathlon
With over 315 stores in France, and 1,511 around the world, Decathlon has been innovating since 1976 to become the main player for athletic people. It has been engaged in reducing its environmental impact through a number of actions.

ESG
The European Spinning Group (ESG) is a textile group based in Belgium that offers a range of yarns produced with a highly technological open-end spinning mill for different applications, such as for interiors, fashion and technical textiles.

ESTIA
ESTIA is a French institute that has provided education and training in the areas of industrial technologies for 20 years. Since 2017, ESTIA has had a program focused on new materials and disruptive process in the fashion and textile industry.

FFACT
FFact is a unique group of management consultants that facilitates the implementation of sustainability from a business perspective, and translates facts into useful management information. FFact is based in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Flanders DC
The Flanders District of Creativity, a non-profit organisation based in Belgium, informs, coaches, promotes and inspires creative entrepreneurs in various sectors, including the fashion industry, who want to build or grow their business.

HNST
HNST is a Belgian circular denim brand that recovers post-consumer denim and recycles it into new fabric in the EU, creating durable and 100% recyclable jeans that use 82% less water and emit 76% less carbon dioxide than conventional jeans.

Petit Bateau
Petit Bateau is a French apparel brand that specialises in knit products. As a vertical company, Petit Bateau carries out its own knitting, dyeing, making up and store management with the support of its 3,000 employees.

Prospex Institute
The Prospex Institute aims to promote the participation of citizens and stakeholders in socially relevant decision-making dialogue and development by engaging with theorists and practitioners both in Belgium and abroad.

IID-SII
The Sustainable Innovation Institute is a French non-profit association based in Paris. Initiated by LGI, a French SME, the purpose of IID-SII is to act as a think and do tank on sustainable innovation to support the adoption of novel solutions.

TU Wien
TU Wien is an open academic institution where research, teaching and learning have taken place under the motto “Technology for people” for the past 200 years. One of its key areas of research is on recycling technology and fibre innovation.

BOKU
Research at the Institute for Environmental Biotechnology of BOKU based in Vienna, Austria focus on the exploitation of enzymes as powerful biocatalysts for biomaterials processing within recycling applications.

Valvan
Valvan Baling Systems has 30 years of experience in designing and constructing custom-made machinery, specialising in Baling Machines and Sorting Facilities for fibre producers, collectors, sorters and recyclers of textiles.

VITO
VITO, a leading independent European research and technology organisation in the cleantech and sustainable development sectors, aims to accelerate the transition towards a sustainable society by developing sustainable technologies.

Xandres
Xandres is a brand inspired by and for women. It is rooted in a highly respected tradition of fashion, driven by quality and created for the life women lead today. Xandres offers innovative designs with respect for luxury and the environment.

FESPA has kick-started business recovery in the speciality print and signage communities with the successful return of FESPA Global Print Expo and European Sign Expo 2021 (12 – 15 October 2021) after a two-year gap.

The first live FESPA events in Europe since Spring 2019 attracted a strong audience dominated by business leaders, who came with an appetite to update their industry knowledge with a view to short- and medium-term investment.

International audience of senior decision-makers
Visitors came from more than 100 countries, with a strong emphasis on the Benelux region and Germany which accounted for 49% of the audience, in line with expectations given the location in Amsterdam. Other strongly represented countries were Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Poland. As anticipated, the challenges for long-haul travellers due to COVID-related restrictions resulted in fewer visitors from outside Europe than usual for a Global Print Expo event. In total, the events attracted 7,850 unique visitors, 42% of whom attended for more than one day, bringing total visits to 11,130.

Close to half of all visitors (44%) were owners or managing directors, reinforcing the significance of the event as a springboard for business recovery and forward planning. Two in three visitors influence or make final purchasing decisions in their business.

54% of visitors stated that they were visiting FESPA for the first time, indicating a thirst for market knowledge, insight and inspiration following the commercial challenges of the pandemic.

Sources of inspiration
Printeriors was once again a popular attraction for visitors. Inspired by nature and curated by FESPA’s Textile Ambassador, Debbie McKeegan, the feature highlighted digitally printed applications targeted at printers operating in or looking to expand into interior décor. In collaboration with industry suppliers including Imageco, Kornit Digital, PONGS, swissQprint and TTS, the products displayed were produced using a series of high-end technologies, print processes and materials.

The World Wrap Masters Europe 2021 competition was also a key area of interest. In addition to a series of demonstrations and workshops from wrap experts, visitors saw competitors battle it out for the title of the “World Wrap Master of Europe 2021”. On day four, Norman Brübach from Germany was crowned the winner and will go on to compete against regional champions in the World Wrap Masters Final 2022 at FESPA Global Print Expo 2022 in Berlin.

For members of the community unable to attend the event in person, FESPA and its exhibitors provided an array of live-streamed and virtual content. The FESPA Live sessions involved conversations with key exhibitors, printers and print experts on the latest trends and innovations and these attracted 5,125 views throughout the four-day event. The recordings of the sessions are also still available to watch on demand.

Neil Felton, FESPA CEO comments: “Feedback from exhibitors was effusive, with many commenting on the upbeat mood among visitors, the unmatched value of face-to-face conversations with senior decision-makers, the enthusiasm for the new technologies and consumables on display, and the overriding sense of optimism for the future. The buzz in the halls was energising and the impression was that delegates felt very confident and happy to be in a live event environment again after such a long time.”

Neil Felton concludes: “The past two years have undoubtedly been challenging for everyone in our community. To move forward, printers and signmakers need to unearth new opportunities, explore the latest technologies and meet with peers to share ideas. This year’s events were an important milestone in our collective recovery and we hope that our next Global Print Expo and European Sign Expo, which will return to Messe Berlin, Germany, from 31 May – 3 June 2022, will finally put our whole global community back in motion.”

Meeting business partners, discovering new products and gaining inspiration – all will be possible again when Heimtextil 2022 opens its doors in Frankfurt am Main from 11 to 14 January. With registrations from around 1,600 exhibitors from 50 countries, the Trade Fair for Home and Contract Textiles anticipates a highly promising return to the international stage. The Heimtextil Team has begun the decisive preparatory phase for this international meeting place for the sector with great commitment and enthusiasm.

“With four months still to go, there has been a tremendous response to Heimtextil 2022, especially from the international side. The yearning for personal encounters and the chance to examine the latest products in reality is greater than ever before. We are looking forward very much to welcoming the sector back to our fair and exhibition centre and have complete confidence that Heimtextil 2022 will be a safe and successful event for all concerned”, says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies, Messe Frankfurt.

Trendsetting themes and a multifaceted product spectrum
In addition to the extensive spectrum of products to be seen, Heimtextil 2022 will offer inspiration and an attractive range of information services and events to help visitors discover the latest market developments in the sector. In particular, the presentation of the Heimtextil Trends provides in-depth insights into tomorrow’s furnishing themes. Also at Heimtextil, Interior.Architecture.Hospitality will spotlight offers for (interior) architects and hospitality experts. Moreover, particular emphasis will be given to the on-trend subject of healthy sleep, including numerous advisory services and products for the specialist bed trade. In this connection, the Heimtextil Sleep & More Conference will be a meeting place for representatives of the specialist bed trade with a high-grade programme of lectures, discussions and product presentations to choose from. Another important focal point at Heimtextil 2022 will be far‑reaching aspects for greater sustainability. Naturally, detailed information will also be available about this topic. Other highlights include presentations by Trevira and DecoTeam.

Digital services to supplement the trade fair
The range of products and information at Heimtextil 2022 will be rounded off by a blend of digital services. For example, the complete spectrum of Heimtextil Trends will be available for the first time in digital form – richly illustrated and visualised with the latest colours, designer features and short films. The Future Materials Library is also online with a first-class selection of sustainable material innovations. Also in planning are videos on demand about many of the items on the programme and tours of the fair via audio guides.

Another digital service provided by Messe Frankfurt is the order and data-management portal Nextrade, which offers a digital 24/7 business relationship between dealers and suppliers. The first digital B2B marketplace for the home and living, Nextrade brings together the demand and supply sides of the whole sector online and thus generates substantial value added for both sides.

The CHT Group is a globally operating company group for specialty chemicals. It has been in business for more than 65 years in a wide variety of industrial sectors and markets. Innovative and high-quality specialty chemicals alongside convincing services are just as much part of the portfolio as chemical auxiliaries and additives.

Textination spoke with Kurt Speckle [Head of Technical Service Dyestuffs] and Ursula Häberli [Head of Human Resources] specifically for the Textile Solutions division about the challenges of a successful human resources policy in such special times as a pandemic and the shortage of skilled workers.

The Technical Service Dyestuff department, headed by Kurt Speckle, who has worked for CHT for 32 years, currently comprises 16 people. It consists of a technical staff, which supports customers worldwide in the form of technical advice, on-site trials, lectures and in the creation of presentations, as well as a laboratory team, which handles inquiries regarding color settings, problem solutions, fastness, etc. Depending on the customer inquiry, both departments work hand in hand together.

The know-how and the heart of the technical staff consists of six people, all 50+, whom Kurt Speckle - with a grin - also calls "textile dinosaurs". In addition, young technicians with operational experience are being trained in order to be introduced to larger tasks. The apprenticeship training for textile laboratory technicians at CHT SWITZERLAND AG has a supporting effect.

As a globally operating company group for specialty chemicals, the CHT Group has been active in numerous industrial sectors and markets of 20 countries for more than 65 years. CHT Switzerland AG turns 50 this year and is the world's competence center for dyes. How has it been possible to establish and maintain such a good market position in dyes?

Kurt Speckle: In addition to the quality level of our products and the wide range of more than 700 products covering the various quality requirements of today's customers, CHT Switzerland also offers an excellent technical service for the product application. This globally known additional service makes us interesting for customers and generates inquiries worldwide. Transferring customer-specific problem solutions from our laboratory to production is one of the keys to our success.

In the Textile Solutions division, you have a wide range of specialty chemicals and dyes for textile production in your portfolio. In your opinion, in which direction is the textile industry currently moving in terms of dye chemistry - what trends do you see? What does this mean for your product range?

Kurt Speckle: One of the challenges today is to find the right dye gamma for the desired application. In recent years, we have constantly adapted the range to the new needs and requirements. In addition to these technical specifications, the entire textile finishing industry is also constantly confronted with new ecological and toxicological legal requirements. Textiles and also technical textiles not only have to meet certain fastness requirements, but also have to comply with countless label requirements. REACH and many labels lead to constant adjustments in the dye finishing to ensure that the products are up-to-date with the latest technology.

How does optimal teamwork work in the dyestuff team, and how can you ensure that the knowledge and experience gained over many years is passed on?

Kurt Speckle: Exchange of experience works with people who have practical experience. Only this can be built upon and new information can be stored accordingly. We operate and communicate on a common drive. Lively verbal communication is also essential for this. Our own tests in the laboratory and also in the production at customers' sites form the actual wealth of experience of our employees.

We are observing various megatrends that have taken a new turn as a result of the pandemic and that also directly affect your customers in the textile industry: Neo-ecology, connectivity and digitalization, health - to name just a few. To what extent does this challenge you as a service provider for your customers and as an employer? Is there a changed requirements profile for your employees?

Kurt Speckle: Due to the omission of traveling and direct customer contact, the working picture has of course changed. Due to the experience potential, however, many problem inquiries can be processed and solved via a wide variety of communication options. However, this cannot be seen as a sustainable and permanently established system. Experience and further development can only take place through practical trials on the most varied machines under the most varied conditions and with our dyes.

In which areas of training - whether at university or in apprenticeships - do you see a need for improvement in the curricula? Do career starters have the necessary skills for your company, or do you need to provide additional training in fundamental required areas?

Ursula Häberli: We train our future pool of specialists internally. In addition, we have several apprentices every year as textile and chemical laboratory technicians, whom we offer a permanent position afterwards. The training at the vocational school and in the advanced courses is excellent. The apprentices are challenged in many different areas. Textile laboratory assistants complete exactly the same training as chemical laboratory assistants, but have additional 240 lessons of textile training and textile courses. Textile laboratory assistants now require very extensive, in-depth and broad specialist knowledge. The textile industry is developing rapidly and new, complex content is constantly being added to the already very broad basic knowledge. We also actively support further education, for example the BSc Design & Technology at the Swiss Textile College. This training is broadly based and provides employees with good specialist knowledge and various additional essential skills.

What do you think about the personnel situation at CHT in general? Can you fill all positions? Who are you currently looking for most urgently?

Ursula Häberli: Our long-standing market presence and the good reputation we have built up over 50 years with our "customer first" approach always help us to attract talent. We are currently looking for a person as a textile technician for the Dyestuffs BU. Here we are planning early for the succession of a textile dinosaur who may retire in 2022. And for the Garment Team we are also looking for a textile technician.

The garment sector is a textile specialty that has been increasingly relocated to eastern countries in the last 10 years. Therefore, the search will certainly be a challenge.

You have built a career portal for CHT at https://career-switzerland.cht.com. With this website, you directly address different target groups: Apprentices, students, young professionals and experienced professionals. What role do the "old stagers" play in the company group?

Ursula Häberli: The old stagers are sometimes called "dinosaurs" by us - textile workers like them, with an often lifelong career in the textile world, are rare, pessimistically speaking: dying out. But all joking aside, the old stagers are enormously important. It is up to them to actively pass on their knowledge to future generations. This is already working very well on a day-to-day basis. The dyestuff team - including the boss - deliberately sits together in one large room so that a lot can be overheard and discussed. The team recently launched the "Textile Lunches". These are short concise learning nuggets to share knowledge and experience.

Employer branding seems to have been the magic word for some time now. Create an attractive employer brand, focus on strengths such as open corporate culture, transparent communication, responsibility for one's own area and employee benefits - and all positions are filled very quickly. What does CHT think of employer branding, what experience have you had with it, and what special offers do you provide to prospective employees?

Ursula Häberli: With the career site https://career-switzerland.cht.com, we have deliberately chosen a modern, outward-looking tool to strengthen our employer brand. CHT ambassadors tell their stories and make job seekers want to join us and help shaping the future. Another big plus is that the workplace is located in a wonderful landscape with a high recreational value, close to Lake Constance and an impressive mountain landscape, where our employees like to spend their time.

For some time now, the CHT company group has been operating under a new claim: Chemistry with Character. This statement was created for marketing purposes, but it certainly also says something about the company. What does this claim mean in particular for your personnel policy? Who is already on your team? Who are you looking for? And how many rough edges are employees allowed to have?

Ursula Häberli: We are looking for doers with high team player qualities. That's what sets us apart and makes us prepared for the future. We offer an extremely exciting field of work that demands a high degree of personal responsibility, initiative and creativity. We are proud to be the competence center for dyes at the Montlingen site - one of the few companies in the geographic area of Eastern Switzerland / Vorarlberg / Southern Germany that still exists and will continue to exist for a long time.

The interview was conducted by Ines Chucholowius, Managing partner Textination GmbH

• Sustainable fashion through highly automated just-in-time production on customer demand

The Befeni Group, based in Langenfeld (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Bangkok (Thailand), is one of the world's leading fashion tech companies with over 200 employees and around 200,000 customised shirts and blouses sold.

Thanks to highly automated processes and just-in-time production, the fashion start-up, which has been on the market for four years, is able to offer individually designed and custom-made fashion of high quality within a very short time. In addition to shirts and blouses, the range also includes jumpers, underwear and accessories.

At Befeni, customers are measured personally and their data is then recorded in an online system. On this basis, a pattern is created in the in-house production in Bangkok and the garment is produced as an individual one-off. The customised order is then handed over personally by trained Befeni fashion consultants.

By deliberately avoiding middlemen, the company relies on a global value chain and offers fashion from in-house production at convincing conditions: The employees in Bangkok receive above-average pay. The individually made-to-measure shirt is available at a fixed price of 39.90 EUR. And the products are sold exclusively through 5,000 qualified fashion consultants in direct sales.

Sustainable Fashion as a future market

Constant new trends, quickly produced seasonal items in quantities and the disposal of surplus items are part of everyday life in today's fashion world. In the wake of the Corona crisis, this situation has become even more acute.

„We believe that the fast fashion trend is finite and that a rethink will take place among customers, the fashion industry and producers," says Maik Ernst, founder and CEO of Befeni. "Through our highly automated business model, we are able to sell directly from our fair, in-house production, excluding any middlemen. This way, we deliver the high-quality and handmade product a maximum of 3 weeks after receiving the customer's order - with personal advice from over 5,000 qualified, independent fashion consultants."

Jan Fennel, founder of Befeni and managing director of the in-house production in Bangkok, adds: "We also want our employees in Asia to benefit from the direct connection between production and customers. We are proud to give them pleasure not only through a monetary contribution, but also through direct feedback and appreciation - for example via video directly from the customers. With our working conditions, we also want to show that health, fun and care are a central part of the work in our team.“

Rethinking: How fashion is produced and offered

The Befeni tipping principle
The company has developed a system where satisfied customers can give a tip to "their" personal tailors. This goes directly to the tailors in the company's own production without deduction. The company wants to set an example and sees this approach as proof that an international fashion company can actively work for better working conditions in the manufacturing countries.

Facts and figures four years after the company was founded

• Production
  Befeni produced 30% more blouses and shirts in 2020 compared to the previous year.
  No fast fashion, sustainable, demand-oriented production: production only starts after customer order, made to measure according to the individual measurements of the customers.
• Increase in turnover
  Turnover generated in 2020: around EUR 6 million, +155% compared to the previous year
• Number of customers
  +100% compared to the previous year: the number of customers rose from 40,000 to over 80,000, of which almost 10,000 are in Austria
• Personnel policy
  Permanent employment of employees, above-average salaries and tip principle
• Customizing: fashion according to individual customer wishes
  Customers can choose from more than 80 fabrics, different collar and cuff shapes and designs for each fashion piece.

Circular instead of throwaway economy - from fast fashion to zero-waste philosophy. The key elements of the circular economy in the fashion business are: Avoiding waste and pollution through new processes, continuous recycling of products and materials, and regeneration of natural systems. Textination talked with Olaf Schmidt, Vice President of Textiles & Textile Technologies, and Thimo Schwenzfeier, Show Director of Neonyt, from Messe Frankfurt about the Neonyt trade show as a business and communication platform for circularity & fashion.
 
It has been about 10 years since Messe Frankfurt ventured onto the "sustainable" fashion trade show stage. Initially with the Ethical Fashion Show, then with the Greenshowroom, there were two trade show formats in Berlin dedicated to the topic of green fashion. What prompted you as a trade show organizer to launch such a special format in Germany at that time?

Olaf Schmidt: Messe Frankfurt's Texpertise Network brings together the world's most important textile trade shows - at around 60 events worldwide, we show what drives the textile and fashion industry. We present the current topics and trends and set impulses for the entire textile value chain. Messe Frankfurt recognized the need for a suitable platform for the future topic of sustainability at an early stage. It was therefore obvious to expand our expertise in the field of fashion and to meet the demand from this segment. To achieve this, we have adapted and realigned existing formats: After launching the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris in 2004, Messe Frankfurt France took over the event in 2010. Two years later, Messe Frankfurt founded the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin in Germany and found, with the moving of the event to the polarizing capital, the ideal location for the coming years. Messe Frankfurt merged the already existing Greenshowroom with the Ethical Fashion Show, and from January 2015 the two shows took place in one venue. For Messe Frankfurt, hosting these events was the next logical step on our way to a sustainable fashion future - the concept is now established in the sustainable fashion market and has a continuous growth potential. The merging of the trade show duo in 2019, with the current name Neonyt, allowed us, our exhibitors and visitors a new content orientation and a holistic approach to the topic of sustainability as well as a more direct access to the conventional fashion market, especially with regard to retail. In summer 2021, Neonyt will take place for the first time in the new fashion hotspot Frankfurt as part of the new Frankfurt Fashion Week.

 
In 2019, both event formats were merged, the new trade show Neonyt was born and 1 + 1 became what? What components does Neonyt offer in addition to the previous trade show concepts, what is so "new-new" and how did you actually come up with the name?

Thimo Schwenzfeier: One plus one, as you so nicely put it, did not simply add up to two with Neonyt. One plus one equals unique, neo-new, internationally relevant: Among other things, the trade show business was supplemented by the international conference format Fashionsustain and a showcase to gradually bring
together the topic of sustainability with the topics of technology, innovation and prepress. Our content creator format Prepeek ensures the necessary lifestyle and the fashion show provides the glamour of the fashion world. Neonyt combines the most important elements of the international textile and fashion industry - style, business, inspiration, innovation, knowledge, fun and community. And that is exactly what makes Neonyt so "new-new". Progressive and polarizing - the artificial word Neonyt is derived from the ancient Greek word "neo" (eng. new, revolutionary) and the Scandinavian word "nytt" (eng. new). "The renewed new" - Neonyt is our synonym for the fundamental transformation process of the textile and fashion industry, a reinterpretation of what has already been there and our commitment not to stand still and to promote positive change together.

 
For the Neonyt trade show format, you have teamed up with partners - for example, for conferencing components and in the design area. What expertise do they provide, and what is the added value for exhibitors and visitors?

Thimo Schwenzfeier: We know which future topics our brands and the community are currently dealing with and therefore create the right platform - for personal encounters and exchange, for networking and successful business deals. To put it simply: we organize trade shows, we organize events, we provide the right setting, we connect people and business. Neonyt therefore forms the global interface between the various players in the textile and fashion industry - between industry, trade, politics, services and consumption. And so that a lively, transparent and, above all, authentic dialog can develop between all counterparts, we naturally draw on the knowledge of industry experts and form strong partnerships to push fashion and sustainability forward. Only together can we achieve real change and guarantee that our community is provided with sufficient and, above all, the right information to make self-determined decisions.
 

In recent years, the keyword circularity - or rather closing the loop - has been encountered everywhere in the fashion industry. Whether Stella McCartney, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, or large retail groups - many players and decision-makers are of the opinion that the future of the fashion world lies only in a circular economy and not in downcycling of any kind. What is Neonyt's view on this?
         
Thimo Schwenzfeier: That's right, the concept of circular economy is not new, nor is it limited to the textile and fashion industry. Circularity - actually the ultimate for every product, every industry, for our global society. The concept is supposedly simple: All materials and products are kept in a closed loop, the useful life is increased and at the end of the product life cycle everything is recycled. Many sustainable fashion labels are already showing how it's done. Neonyt brands are right at the forefront and are already implementing practices that should become the norm as soon as possible: starting with T-shirts or shoes made from recycled materials and take-back systems for collection items. As well as compostable clothing that "dissolves" at the end of the product life cycle and breaks down into its natural components, and on to repair services and leasing models for denim and co. - thinking holistically, acting in a sustainable manner and producing in a circular way are definitely the trends of the coming fashion seasons and at least one important, if not the most important, component of the future fashion world.

 
For the idea of a circular economy to be implemented successfully, there needs to be an interplay between technology, production, design and sales. What presentation options and forms of communication does Neonyt have in store for the various components?  

Thimo Schwenzfeier: The combined innovative power of technology, sustainability and digitization is an important driver of the current developments in the textile and fashion industry - including the topic of circularity. Processes and production sequences are changing along the entire value chain - the industry has to reinvent itself for the most part. Neonyt shows how this can work successfully in the long term, with the internationally established Fashionsustain conference format - including spin-offs in China, Europe and the USA - and the supplementary Showcase. Together, these two formats offer the ideal mix of orientation and inspiration to prepare the industry for the future. Virtual fashion, authentic brands and textile value chains, science and innovation as well as retail, business models and impact investment - at Fashionsustain, top-class experts will exchange ideas with an interested professional audience and discuss the change and new solutions in the textile and fashion industry. The Neonyt Showcase takes a deeper look at the topics and innovations presented and discussed on the Fashionsustain stage. Expert knowledge on-demand, so to speak: whether microfactories or installations - Neonyt brands as well as brands from the rest of the Texpertise Network of Messe Frankfurt, such as exhibitors at Texprocess, get the chance to present sustainable innovations, new technologies and materials, initiatives, change-maker campaigns or research projects. Here they interact directly and practically with Neonyt's international cross-sector community.
 

Last year was an unprecedented challenge for trade show companies due to the pandemic situation. Neonyt was also affected by this - and physical events had to be canceled. With a digital format "Neonyt on Air" you have tried to offer exhibitors and visitors an alternative platform. What has been your experience: Did the focus of the trade show and its community perhaps even help to make such a virtual event easier to launch? 

Olaf Schmidt: Corona has already changed a lot and will certainly continue to do so in one way or another. Nevertheless, it will continue to be our task as trade show organizers to offer the industry the best possible meeting platforms for presenting their new products worldwide. We are convinced that people will continue to want to meet in person and discuss new products as well as services in the future. This is particularly the case in the textile sector, where haptics plays a very crucial role. We expect that there will even be a certain catch-up effect after the crisis. Because what the last two very successful digital seasons of Neonyt on Air, for example, have nevertheless shown clearly: Fashion lives from personalities, presentation and inspiration. Digital formats can support this, but they cannot fully replace it.
 
Thimo Schwenzfeier: The digital Neonyt on Air was far from being a total replacement for the original physical seasons, but nevertheless a huge success. For one week, fashion, lifestyle and digital experts were discussing about more authenticity, immediacy and transparency in the textile and fashion industry in numerous keynotes, interviews and panel discussions. With more than 24,000 international followers on Instagram, we generated around 50,000 impressions and more than 4,700 content interactions with our presenting partners Grüner Knopf, Hessnatur and Oeko-Tex in just five days. These figures show, that the topic of sustainability has arrived in the middle of society and is being discussed across all industries. I think that the polarization and, above all, the prevailing restrictions, as far as trade and commerce are concerned, have certainly contributed to holding a successful digital format. Digitization was truly the booster for the fashion industry in this case: Instead of replacing personal exchange, it helps to maintain and expand the business activities of brands, especially in the current times. And quite clearly, the need for exchange in the fashion industry and the motivation to initiate together a change are still enormous. Neonyt on Air has once again shown us that clearly. However, we are already looking forward to the next physical edition of Neonyt.
 

The COVID-19 pandemic has also left its mark on the textile and clothing industry. When you look back on just under a year of "state of emergency" - what positive experiences do you take with you, where do you see a need for improvement, for what support are you grateful for and where did you feel you were left on your own? 

Olaf Schmidt: A year like no other - that can clearly be said about the last one. The Corona pandemic caught everyone off guard - us as trade show organizers, but of course also our exhibitors, visitors and partners. Especially in the near future, we must continue to expect, that trade shows can only be held under stricter health and safety regulations at first. Messe Frankfurt reacted quickly and developed a comprehensive safety and hygiene concept. One thing was clear: we all had to adjust and deal with a new situation. And so far, we've done a great job together, the team understanding among each other, the close contact - although physically at a distance, but globally networked - between all those involved, makes me feel positive about the future. For me, an important realization of this global pandemic, a credo almost, is to be open to new ways and opportunities and to find ways to combine things rather than separate them: Hybrid solutions, so to speak.    

Thimo Schwenzfeier: There was no master plan for Neonyt, and in places there was also the impression that we now had to "reinvent the wheel": How does collaboration work when face-to-face meetings cannot take place? Can digitized contact compensate for the social distancing that is currently being imposed and still make it possible to work closely together? How can business relationships be maintained when stores are closed? How can priorities be set when well-tested solutions and established annual plans lose their validity? Who am I, who are 'the others' and what defines community? Never have questions about our creation and existence, about what makes us who we are and what we want to be, been more relevant than right now. One thing that I take away from the current situation and that allows me to continue to look forward positively despite difficult circumstances is the fact, that cohesion and solidarity with one another - both privately and professionally - have become increasingly important. Like a magnifying glass, the crisis has magnified existing opportunities, but also challenges, and brought the essentials into focus. I think that if we continue to try to experience things more consciously and not take them for granted, we will manage together to create a " new normal " and leave this crisis with more strength.
 

As in the past in Berlin, Neonyt is currently also located in Frankfurt in the environment of the Fashion Week and conventional trade shows. Can you imagine that a special event concept like Neonyt will be unnecessary in a few years, because the circularity concept will have established itself in the clothing industry worldwide?

Olaf Schmidt: A clear no. Sustainability per se is already no longer a unique selling point. The important thing is to keep up with the times, to follow trends or, even better, to track down new trends yourself and develop them further. Things, strategies, concepts will always change - if last year showed us one thing, it was certainly that. It is more than desirable that we all learn from this crisis and reflect on the really important values, on solidarity between partners, on climate protection and sustainability. It may be exactly for this reason, that companies that place particular emphasis on sustainability will emerge even stronger from this crisis. So you can be sure that we, as a leading international trade show organizer for the textile industry, will continue to focus on sustainability and support future-oriented companies and solutions. However, this will not make our formats obsolete due to the establishment and normalization of holistic business practices in the textile industry. But it is impossible to make an exact forecast for the coming decades. Over the last few months, we have all noticed ourselves in our personal everyday lives or in our professional lives, how uncertain and volatile the future is. What is clear, however, is that the fashion industry - the world in general - will change even faster than before. And therein lies the opportunity for formats like Neonyt. The ten-year history shows in how many directions Neonyt has already developed, content focal points have been shifted and it has reinvented itself - this will also be the case in the future.
 

Mr. Schwenzfeier, in addition to your role as Director of Marketing Communications for Messe Frankfurt's textile exhibitions, you have also been Show Director of Neonyt since 2018. You have spoken to many exhibitors and visitors - which ideas or creations have particularly impressed you?

Thimo Schwenzfeier: I think it's not so much the individual innovations or creations of the exhibitors at our trade shows. And I deliberately choose the plural here. Because in my function as Director of Marketing Communications in the Textiles & Textile Technologies division of Messe Frankfurt, Neonyt is just one of "my" events. I think it's more the variety of fashion, technical and professional innovations that brands, labels, companies, start-ups and designers present every year. But if I really had to choose one innovation, it would probably be the vegan "Currywurst" sneakers made of red pepper and recycled PET bottles - the same label also offers shoes made of wood, stone, coffee and mushrooms or now even meteorite particles. It is impressive to experience every season anew of how creative the textile and fashion industry is.
 

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, about which entrepreneurial decision by Messe Frankfurt are you particularly glad, that you made?
 
Olaf Schmidt: Clearly the decision to create Neonyt. To establish our own trade show format for fashion, sustainability and innovation and to integrate the freedom and lifestyle, which entail this topic, into our event. After more than a decade, we may be saying goodbye to Berlin in 2021, but not to our community and our spirit. Together we look back on many fashionable seasons and great locations in the capital: starting in the Hotel Adlon Kempinski to the Ewerk, the Postbahnhof, the Kronprinzenpalais, the Funkhaus and the Kraftwerk to the last physical event in Tempelhof. With the turn of the year and in the setting of Frankfurt Fashion Week, Neonyt is about to move to the metropolis by the Main. In Frankfurt, worlds collide: Skyscrapers and 19th-century villas. Architectural sins and masterpieces. Business and middle class. Red-light district and luxury boulevard. Frankfurt Fashion Week sets new impulses in this area of conflict. And in the middle of all this is Neonyt. The signs are pointing to a new beginning - a restart for the entire fashion industry, together we are taking sustainability to the next level - the focus topics Applied Sustainability and Applied Digitization are creating a completely new Fashion Week ecosystem in the metropolis by the Main.
 

If everything works out, Neonyt can be held again as a face-to-face event for the first time in July 2021. What are your plans? What and who can visitors look forward to? And what backup is there for a worst-case scenario?

Thimo Schwenzfeier: Of course, due to the currently ongoing tense situation around Covid-19, it is difficult to make binding statements about the next physical event. However, we are cur rently expecting the situation to ease into the summer summer 2021 is therefore on the health of everyone - exhibitors, visitors, partners and employees of Neonyt. Messe Frankfurt has developed a concept that includes detailed hygienic measures: Hygiene, distance and fresh air supply are important factors, which we coordinate with the responsible authorities in Frankfurt and those in charge of Frankfurt Fashion Week. In due course, the Neonyt community will receive advice and recommendations for the trade show attendance and participation, that comply with current regulations. We have not yet thought about a concrete backup for a worst-case scenario, as we are currently anticipating a physical B2B event - but the last two seasons have shown, should it not be possible to hold the Neonyt face-to-face, that we are quite well positioned with the digital Neonyt on Air and could certainly adapt the format for another summer event. We regularly exchange ideas with all market participants and try to get a sense of opinions and wishes from our community through surveys. Wait and see, one might say - in the end, we also have to act according to what the current health situation allows and what decisions are made by politicians.

The Interview was conducted by Ines Chucholowius,
Managing Partner, Textination GmbH

Design & Development GmbH Textile Consult, founder and trade fair organiser of PERFORMANCE DAYS in Munich, is eyeing the new year with a lot of hope. After the launch of Functional Fabric Fair by PERFORMANCE DAYS in New York City and Portland together with Reed Exhibitions, PERFORMANCE DAYS is further expanding its portfolio. In cooperation with Tengda Exhibition, the foundations have been laid for a new trade fair for functional textiles in Shanghai. On the 28th and 29th of September 2021, the FUNCTIONAL TEXTILES SHANGHAI by PERFORMANCE DAYS will premiere at the renowned Shanghaimart Exhibition Center, offering ample space for future trends displayed by more than 100 exhibitors.

As the new year is entered, the PERFORMANCE DAYS team looks forward with great optimism and confidence to the launch of the new fair for functional textiles - the FUNCTIONAL TEXTILES SHANGHAI by PERFORMANCE DAYS - in Shanghai. China counts as one of the fastest growing and more important future markets worldwide, especially when it comes to functional apparel. The oriental gateway is proving to be innovative, trendsetting, and more recently, increasingly sustainable.

This development is also reflected in the activities of yarn and fabric producers, with local sportswear brands enjoying significant growth. One can be particularly proud of the cooperation with Tengda Exhibition, which is renowned for providing professional services for manufacturers and trading companies in the textile, fibre and various apparel segments. Their services range from fairs to sourcing events in China, Japan, Spain, Great Britain and Turkey.

The premiere of FUNCTIONAL TEXTILES SHANGHAI by PERFORMANCE DAYS will be held at Shanghaimart Exhibition Center on the 28th and 29th of September. Here too, a conscious decision was made for specifically choosing it as an influential trade fair and trading centre. At present, almost 1.000 companies from more than 20 countries and regions have set up offices and showrooms on site, most of them renowned industry experts from the textile and fabric branches.

Qualitative, informative & innovative: Shanghai fair borrows from the Look & Feel of PERFORMANCE DAYS
The FUNCTIONAL TEXTILES SHANGHAI by PERFORMANCE DAYS event team will transfer the already established concept of PERFORMANCE DAYS from Munich to Shanghai. This will lend the fair in China not only the Look & Feel of a familiar concept, but above all the same aspirations in terms of quality. And indeed with a total of 5.300 square metres, more than 100 Chinese and international exhibitors will have sufficient exhibition space. In line with this, the fair organisers wish to guarantee industry visitors to the fair a balanced assortment of top brands from the world of functional textiles.

The fair will focus on the latest trends and innovations from the world of textiles, yarns, membrane technologies and accessories for functional sportswear, workwear, performances wear and lifestyle wear. Demand is accordingly high, with top manufacturers such as Romrol, Sanchuan and Winsun confirming their participation along with other well-known brands such as Anta, Bosideng, Decathlon, Descente, Eral, Fila Hotwind, Icicle, Jeep, Kailas, Kappa, Li-Ning, Peace Bird, Peak, Semir, Skechers, Toread, Uniqulo, Zuczug and 361°, to name a few.

As is usual at the trade fair in Munich, there will also be an informative supporting program with exciting expert talks and discussion panels on sustainable and industry-relevant topics. The centrepiece of the fair, the PERFORMANCE FORUM, rounds off the comprehensive package. Materials from exhibitors curated on-site will be displayed on this specially designed platform. Trade fair general manager Marco Weichert had this to say: “We are thrilled to be starting the new year with such inspiring new projects. The launch of FUNCTIONAL TEXTILES SHANGHAI by PERFORMANCE DAYS in September is the result of many years of monitoring of the Asian market and its increasing demand for curated and high quality sustainable offerings. We are especially pleased about the partnership with Tengda Exhibition, who are real professionals in this field. We are absolutely convinced that the PERFORMANCE DAYS concept, which we will adopt in Shanghai, will be very well received by local trade fair visitors and exhibitors.”

Noel Tian, Managing Director, Tengda Exhibition, adds: “The functional apparel market in China is growing so fast, the brands here need one professional, focused and high class platform for functional textiles just like PERFORMANCE DAYS. We are really excited to launch FUNCTIONAL TEXTILES SHANGHAI by PERFORMANCE DAYS while adopting 100% the PERFORMANCE DAYS concept in the special new year 2021. It is a great honour to have this partnership with Design & Development GbmH Textile Consult and their world famous trade fair brand.“

FUNCTIONAL TEXTILES SHANGHAI by PERFORMANCE DAYS
September 28-29th, 2021
Shanghaimart Exhibition Center No.99 Xingyi Road,Chang Ning District,Shanghai China
Contact:
info@functionaltextilesshanghai.com or +86-21-60493344.

Ethical consumption seems to have arrived at the center of society. 70 percent of respondents in the current trend study state that ethical criteria have become a fixed component of their purchasing decisions. 82 percent are in favor of a longer product life and greater material efficiency. And 63 percent are now even willing to bear the additional costs for climate-neutral products. The Otto Group's fifth Trend Study 2020 on ethical consumption formulates provocative theses that encourage rethinking and a new fresh view on the post-Corona world. 

The trend towards ethical consumption has been observed for many years. Meanwhile, the focus of consumers has changed significantly. They no longer just want to do something good for themselves, they increasingly want to make a difference for others with their consumption. This has noticeable consequences for companies now, because those whose business activities demonstrably harm the environment and nature are finding it increasingly difficult to compete. Companies that do not share the values of their customers, which they believe in and hold on to, quickly lose the trust of their customers. And those who evade their responsibility for the common welfare, are sometimes even boycotted.

"The demands for sustainable changes in our economic system to politics and companies, and the willingness to take responsibility have reached the center of society," says the head of the study, Prof. Peter Wippermann of Trendbuero.

Key results of the current 2020 trend study include:

Ethical consumption becomes mainstream
For 70 percent of Germans, ethical criteria have become an essential part of their purchasing decisions. 20 percent of the respondents even say that they buy more consciously according to ethical criteria since the Corona crisis. Corona has led many people to rethink; purchasing decisions better thought-out, check whether they are necessary they seem to be taking on a different significance in the lives of individuals.
 
The throwaway society is becoming a discontinued model
82 percent of those surveyed are prepared to join the path from a throwaway society to a circular economy, and they are in favor of longer product lives and greater material efficiency. In addition, 63 percent would bear the additional costs for climate-neutral products. Here, too, is a change in the attitude of consumers, who appear to be increasingly willing to pay for the emissions they cause.
     
Sharing and second-hand are trending among consumers
The study shows that 73 percent of respondents think it is good to buy or sell used things such as worn fashion or old furniture. 54 percent of respondents even plan to borrow more in the future. While in 2013 52 percent of respondents were willing to share, swap, borrow or buy used things, by 2020 this figure had already risen to 64 percent.

Consumers increasingly recognize the limits of unbridled growth
70 percent of those surveyed foresee serious difficulties for people and the environment if we continue to consume without restraint. 77 percent of Germans are in favor of industrialized countries taking on more responsibility in the fight against climate change and providing more support for poorer countries. 60 percent can now imagine paying the true costs of environmental pollution and climate change when making purchases. These results suggest that the importance of ethical consumption has not only been established in the people’s minds, but there is also an increasing willingness to dig deeper into their pockets for it.

Politics should set the framework for more ethical consumption
There is also a turnaround in the question of who should ensure more ethical consumption. 41 percent of Germans consider politics to be the driving force behind ethical consumption, 23 percent the economy and 22 percent each individual. In 2011 and 2013, only 27 percent of respondents thought that politicians should be held more accountable for this.

It is also interesting to note that the issue of consumer responsibility continues to grow: 70 percent of all respondents say that ethical criteria are now an essential part of their purchasing considerations. In 2013, the figure was only by 63 percent. Baby boomers (born up to 1964) in particular are pushing the purchase of ethical products. While in 2013 it was 65 percent who bought ethical products more often, by 2020 79 percent were already purchasing according to ethical criteria more frequently. Also interesting: 68 percent of those surveyed would boycott a supplier that behaves unfairly toward its employees and creates poor working conditions.

Alexander Birken, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Otto Group: "The question of whether our way of living and doing business needs to be adjusted is being asked more and more loudly. At least, this is confirmed by the results of this fifth trend study. We in the Otto Group want to make a difference, because it has been our belief for generations that, in the end, the economy must serve the people, not the other way around. However, to achieve this, we all have to change. Away from the throwaway society, toward sustainable and recyclable products, and a resource-friendly production method in which human rights are regarded higher and in which respect and mindfulness toward nature take on a new significance."

For the study, the results of a survey of 1,149 Germans between the ages of 14 and 74 from October 2020 were combined with perspectives based on trend research.
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