From the Sector

Exhibitor registration for the Autumn Edition of Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles has been strong since applications opened in December last year. Renowned global players such as D Décor Home Fabrics (India), G.M. Syntex Pvt (India), Naturtex (Hungary) and SIC Global Textiles (Poland) are amongst those to have already confirmed their participation. Held from 24 – 26 August 2020, the fair is the largest trade platform in China for international buyers to meet potential supply partners in the second half of the year. The fair’s early bird discount will be extended until 30 March. Interested companies can register online to enjoy a 10% discount.

Discover abundant new products and design trends
As the leading business platform for the home and contract textile industry in the Asia Pacific region, participants of Intertextile can always discover the latest innovations and trends of the textile and interior design industry. This year, the fair continues to cover the entire spectrum of home and contract textile products including:

• Decorative Fabrics (Upholstery & Curtains)
• Bedding, Bath, Kitchen & Table
• Carpets & Rugs
• Sun-Protection
• Wallcoverings
• Textile Editors
• Whole Home Products
• Digital Print & Technics
• Fibres, Yarns & Chemicals
• Textile Designs

In addition, Intertextile is pleased to cooperate with the renowned international forecasting agency NellyRodi™ from France again in presenting the hottest international home furnishing trends. A trend committee led by NellyRodi and formed by top forecasters including Carlotta Montaldo, Juliette Lamarca, Shen Lei and Studio NOCC will be responsible for determining the major design trends which will be demonstrated in the three-day fair via a series of events and displays. More details about the trends will be announced soon.

Technology transfer that is creating waves

For more than a decade now, the Manmade Fibers segment of the Swiss Oerlikon Group has been hosting a comprehensive technology symposium at the beginning of each year in the Indian region around Silvassa/Daman. Numerous Indian manmade fiber producers have settled in this area, around a four-hour drive north of Mumbai. Fed from Oerlikon polycondensation and extrusion systems, these companies manufacture polyester, nylon and polypropylene on large-scale installations with Oerlikon Barmag WINGS POY, WINGS FDY, IDY and DTY product lines and using Oerlikon Neumag’s staple fiber and BCF technologies. Reason enough for the Manmade Fibers segment’s experts to regularly provide their clientèle with detailed specialist presentations in India on the latest developments of the product and service portfolio.

And this was once again the case at the event held at the beginning of 2020, where around 450 managers and employees from local businesses took the opportunity to exchange ideas and information. For the third time in succession, Oerlikon also entered into dialog with the next generation of managers at major Indian polyester and nylon manufacturers in a separate event hosted in Mumbai beforehand. The technology symposium was again held – for the very first time – just a few days later and in a slightly modified form at a second venue: in Kolkata in West Bengal, a potential second future key location for manufacturing manmade fibers in India according to plans revealed by the Indian government. Here, the discussions held by the Oerlikon experts focused above all on the transfer of technologies for manufacturing polyester, nylon and polypropylene. Oerlikon is able to offer the entire process chain – from the melt to the textured yarn or the fibers and including the necessary semi- and fullyautomated logistics process – from a single source. This is of interest above all for potential new customers and investors in West Bengal and neighboring Bangladesh, as some do not have decades of expertise in manufacturing manmade fibers, as is the case for most companies in the region around Silvassa/Daman.

Today’s consumers demand versatility in their apparel, whether they’re shopping for work, sports or leisure wear. Work wear is no longer just about style, and sports and leisure wear is no longer just about stretch, while the demands for high-performance textiles in every category continue to increase. More and more consumer brands are looking to Schoeller’s established technologies to deliver not only beautiful fabrics that offer comfort and style but also breathability and the best in water and dirt repellence to their customers.

3XDRY® finishing technology from schoeller® allows the exterior of a textile to be water repellent, while the inside absorbs moisture and quickly distributes it over the surface. As a result, textiles with 3XDRY® dry much faster in comparison to conventional textiles. Since the launch of 3XDRY® in 2001, the technology has proven performance focused mostly on sportswear. Now that demands within the fashion industry are also trending toward performance textiles, more of its apparel brands are also turning to the patented 3XDRY® technology’s reliability and versatility for functional jackets, pants and shirts.

Focus on Sustainability and Climate Change

Passion for Cotton: The 35th International Cotton Conference Bremen starts on 25 March in the Hanseatic city’s historic Town Hall. But before subject-specific questions are discussed in depth in the individual sessions, the concise and inspiring keynotes by leading business experts from science and industry will draw attention to the current trends and challenges in the industry at the start of the conference. A large part of the presentations is shaped by the current discussion on environmental and sustainability issues and the resulting consequences for the global economy.

Climate Change and Sustainability

“Climate change - a storm in a teacup?” asks Kai Hughes, Executive Director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee, Washington D.C., USA, in a provocative speech. The aim of his presentation is to work out the challenges of climate change especially for agriculture and cotton production. This should form the basis for later discussion on concrete approaches and solutions within the cotton community.

With his lecture “The HUGO BOSS sustainability programme ... and what our customer has to do with it” Andreas Streubig, Director of Global Sustainability at Hugo Boss AG, Metzingen, Germany, rolls up the textile value chain from a different angle, starting at the consumer level. As a representative of a premium brand for women's and men's clothing, Streubig discusses sustainability as a strategic element of the corporate strategy and provides information on how elements of the strategy are being implemented at Hugo Boss.

Rüdiger Senft, Head of Sustainability at Commerzbank, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, looks at the changing role of banks in financing the cotton market. In addition to a general introduction to the topic of sustainability and banking regulation, Senft's presentation deals with the financing of the cotton trade from a social and ecological point of view.
The opening session on 25 March is hosted by Bill Ballenden, founder and owner of Dragontree, Swindon, UK, an online auction platform for the cotton trade. As a former cotton manager for Louis Dreyfus in Europe and Asia, Bill Ballenden has many years of experience in the industry.

Cross-Cutting Issues: Digitalisation, Gender, Value Chains

The subsequent session in the conference programme with the headline “A Wider View” is devoted to currently defining trends and important cross-cutting issues in the industry. This goes far beyond classic cotton themes.

A lecture by Mark Messura, Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain Marketing for Cotton Incorporated, Cary, North Carolina, deals with the role of cotton in an increasingly digitally controlled supply chain. Significant keywords here are faster delivery times, vertical integration, transparency and traceability.

The presentation by Roger Gilmartin, Managing Director of Tri-Blend Consulting, Charlotte, USA, entitled “The secret recipe for timely, cost-optimised and high-quality cotton clothing” promises exciting and enlightening insights. Tri-Blend Consulting conducts studies on the performance of different cotton varieties during the entire consumption process to the finished yarn and evaluates them from an economic point of view.

Amy Jackson, from the Better Cotton Initiative, London, UK, presents ICA Liverpool's “Women in Cotton” initiative. With this commitment, the initiative aims to increase the influence of women in the cotton industry and give them a stronger voice, for example by building networks in cooperation.

Navdeep Singh Sodhi, International Strategic Management Consultant at the Gherzi Textile Organisation, Switzerland, gives an insight into the current development of the value chain for cotton, textiles and clothing in Africa. Looking ahead to the coming decades, also in view of population growth, Africa is seen as having a high potential for building economic structures to improve income and prosperity.

Thomas Schneider, Professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin and active in the field of production planning and control, textile materials and materials testing will host the session. A leading light in his field, Thomas Schneider has more than 30 years of experience in scientific and application-oriented research in the textile and fibre sector, including at the Fibre Institute Bremen e.V.

The Trevira CS joint booth at Heimtextil 2020 was once again a success.

Trevira looks back on a successful trade fair appearance at Heimtexil 2020. The concept of a joint booth together with customers along with the presentation of product innovations and a special exhibition dedicated to the contract sector has once again proved its worth. Trevira hosted 31 co-exhibitors thus increasing the number of participants again compared to last year. Members of the entire textile value chain were present at the Trevira stand: from the fibre production and yarn manufacture, to the colouring, weaving and warp and weft knitting stages, to the textile editor.

Klaus Holz, CEO Trevira GmbH: „We are pleased about the very positive feedback we got on our joint booth at Heimtextil 2020 from our customers and the visitors to our stand. It shows that our concept is successful and that the booth works well as a market place for Trevira CS.”

Product novelties were presented in an Innovation Park. Under the headline “Recycling at Trevira” the fibre producer presented its sustainable product range and diversified approaches to recycling: flame retardant fibres are produced from residual materials, which are reprocessed in an agglomeration plant. The recyclates are then deployed in the spinning facility to make new, high-quality products consisting of 100 % pre-consumer recycled material. Recycled, flame retardant filaments are produced from PET bottles and have a recycled content of 50 %. Standard polyester spun-dyed filament yarns are also available in a recycled version. Produced from PET bottles these yarns have a recycled content of 100 %.

In order to produce flame retardant fabrics which are also high-performing  in outdoor applications, Trevira now offers six more colours in addition to the existing colour range of 24 UV-stable, spun-dyed filament yarns. Trevira had been awarded the „Brandenburger Innovationspreis Kunststoffe und Chemie 2019“ for this innovation.

Cationic dyeable fibres and filament yarns enhance the Trevira portfolio of flame retardant specialties. They are used to create melange designs in fabrics, which still represents a strong trend in the home textile sector.

To meet the ever more complex demands of the market for more flexibility in design and additional functions as well as for sustainable products Trevira has introduced an enhanced Trevira CS branding concept, consisting of the three brands Trevira CS, Trevira CS flex und Trevira CS eco. Assigned according to product features, all of them stand for tested safety.

Market leader Oerlikon Neumag has its finger firmly on the pulse of their customers with the new Color Pop Compacting unit (CPC-T) for the BCF S8 carpet yarn plant, which is now available for the Polyamide 6 process. The new solution, which was on show from 10-13 January 2020 at the Domotex 2020 in Hannover, attracted great interest from many trade visitors.

Following the trend for multicolored carpets, BCF S8 sets new standards in regards to color separation. The plant, launched as a tricolor solution at last year’s ITMA in Barcelona, makes anything possible – from mélange to strongly separated. It promises carpet yarn producers even more flexible color mixing variants for product differentiation. The core component in this process, the Color Pop Compacting unit (CPC-T), offers more than 200,000 different color shades from three colors. The innovation, which has been filed for patent, is available for polypropylene and polyester polymers as well as for the polyamide 6 process.

Polyester, recycling polyester and fine titers are on trend
During numerous conversations with customers, Martin Rademacher, Head of Sales Oerlikon Neumag, observed a noticeable trend for polyester in the carpet industry even outside the USA. Sustainable solutions are equally sought after: “Our customers increasingly demand plants that can process recycled polyester,” explains Martin Rademacher.

The Manmade Fibers segment presented an additional solution by Oerlikon Barmag for polyester applications that need fine single filament titers from 0.5 dpf and high filament counts: Puffy, soft polyester filament yarns with BCF-similiar properties are produced on the basis of a POY and texturing process. Core components of the processes are the POY take-up unit WINGS HD as well as the new texturing machine eAFK Big-V.

In Florence, Bemberg™ presents an 8-pieces tailoring collection commissioned to and developed with students of the renowned Scuola Triennale di Alta Sartoria Maschile dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Sartori in Rome as well as with prominent lining manufacturers as Brunello S.p.A., Gianni Crespi Foderami S.p.A., Tessitura Marco Pastorelli S.p.A. and Manifattura Pezzetti Srl.

“We couldn’t have started the new year in a better and most promising way!” Says TAKESHI IITAKA, president of Asahi Kasei fibers Italia. The Japanese brand of regenerated cellulose fibers has tasked students at the Accademia Nazionale dei Sartori excellences. The designers of tomorrow created 8 contemporary clothing teaming up with prominent lining manufacturers that offered premium jacquard, striped and dotted materials in vivid colors that follow the seasonal trends. Yarn dyed options made unique by impactful contemporary designs that create interesting contrasts with the tailoring proposals.

In occasion of the fair Bemberg™ team will present “The Bemberg™ book”, a unique resource able to present the versatility of the precious fiber through partner’s material developments.

Bemberg™ supports the new generation of Italian sartorial style

In Florence, Bemberg™ presents an 8-pieces tailoring collection commissioned to and developed with students of the renowned Scuola Triennale di Alta Sartoria Maschile dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Sartori in Rome as well as with prominent lining manufacturers as Brunello S.p.A., Gianni Crespi Foderami S.p.A., Tessitura Marco Pastorelli S.p.A. and Manifattura Pezzetti Srl.

“We couldn’t have started the new year in a better and most promising way!” Says TAKESHI IITAKA, president of Asahi Kasei fibers Italia. The Japanese brand of regenerated cellulose fibers has tasked students at the Accademia Nazionale dei Sartori excellences. The designers of tomorrow created 8 contemporary clothing teaming up with prominent lining manufacturers that offered premium jacquard, striped and dotted materials in vivid colors that follow the seasonal trends. Yarn dyed options made unique by impactful contemporary designs that create interesting contrasts with the tailoring proposals.

The participation at Pitti is the first of a global tour pointing to some of the most cutting edge design innovations on planet Fashion. The next appointments include ISPO in Munich and Première Vision New York.

At each appointment the company will showcase a different aspect of its multitasking and sustainable imprint.

EuroShop, the World’s no.1 Retail Trade Fair, is a must-see fixture for the retail world. From 16 to 20 February it will bring together to the tune of 2,300 exhibitors from over 60 countries with 114,000 trade visitors expected from throughout the world in Düsseldorf. And it is not only an indispensable information platform, trend hotspot and network for retail professionals but it also intensely impacts many other areas and sectors, delivers innovative blue-prints and addresses urgent themes of relevance to the future such as digitalisation, robotics, sustainability or climate neutrality.

The Side Events at EuroShop 2020:
The USPs of EuroShop include not only the extensive ranges of its exhibitors from throughout the world but also the quality and cross-section of its unrivalled line-up of side events.

8 Stages – 600 Speakers – 500 Lectures
The centrepiece of EuroShop are a total of eight Stages. They are lecture and discussion forums with high-calibre speakers addressing the latest developments, innovative trends and best practices amidst the hustle and bustle of the trade fair and accessible for EuroShop visitors free of charge and without prior registration (simultaneously interpreted in German-English or in English only). Boasting a total of 600 speakers and well over 500 expert talks delivered over five trade fair days this accompanying programme offers each trade fair visitor invaluable and right-on-target value added. All Stages at a glance: Retail Technology Stage, Omnichannel Stage, Start-up Stage, Store Design Stage, Retail Designers Stage, Energy Management Stage, Retail Marketing Stage and Expo + Event Stage.

DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR (March 24-26) – the leading trade show for carpets and floor coverings in the Asia Pacific region - expands the design and conference area and welcomes new and returning brands.

Shanghai - For the 22nd edition, each flooring sector will have a theme. The highlighted product category in wood is solid wood for ground heating systems. The category is taking over the entire hall showing new technologies, new designs and new products in floor heating. Solid wood for ground heating systems is growing in China – according to China National Forest Products Industry Association, around 80% of China's wood flooring brands have developed the product.

At the same time the market share is increasing by more than 30% annually. It is expected that by 2025, the market size of solid wood for ground heating systems will reach RMB 10 billion (approx. 1.4 billion USD). The international and local market leaders, such as Junckers, Foglie d’Oro, Edelholz, IBF, Teclic, Nature, Fudeli, Bloor, Jinyi, Licher, Nuogao and Moganshan have already confirmed their participation at the show. Also in this hall we see the latest developments in the market in the dedicated InnovAction campaign.

The resilient flooring section will be spread out to 69,500 sqm gross, featuring Stone Plastic Composite (SPC) flooring. Among the resilient halls, there will be an “Inspiration Hall”, housing InnovAction campaign and design forum, where famous interior designers will educate the audience on using resilient flooring in interior. The InnovAction will be upgraded by showcasing the new products within matching interior spaces. This new way of presenting the InnovAction products is ideal for both manufacturers to share the ideas and for visitors to keep up to date with the market trends.

Carpet section will promote carpet as a driving force for interior design, with a dedicated hall being the epicenter of home and design carpets and the host hall for the Luxury Brands Carpet Show – a showcase of the most sought-after international high-end carpet design brands. After the successful first edition in 2019, Chinese Original Carpet Design Show comes back to promote the works of young Chinese carpet designers. Country pavilions from Germany, Belgium, Iran and Turkey will also showcase their products among the carpet halls. Traditionally DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR has been focused on B2B, however due to the market changes, the end users are more and more welcome to the show. In order to give the oriental carpets and rugs the spotlight and follow the trends, Indian and Afghanistan pavilions will be creating a new area - “Treasure of Orient”.

In 2020, DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR will cover more than 185,000 sqm of gross space, taking up 16 halls at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. Five of the exhibition halls will be dedicated to carpets and rugs, four to wood, bamboo and other hard floors, 2 to FLOORTECH asia and 5 halls to resilient floor coverings. In 2019, the show gathered 1,579 exhibitors from 36 countries and attracted 66,875 trade visitors, of which 15,092 international, coming from 107 nations.