From the Sector

A lot of waste is generated in the trade fair and event industry. It makes sense to have furniture that can quickly be dismantled and stored to save space - or simply disposed of and recycled. Paper is the ideal raw material here: locally available and renewable. It also has an established recycling process. The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research (DITF) and their project partners have jointly developed a recycling-friendly modular system for trade fair furniture. The "PapierEvents" project was funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU).

Once the paper has been brought into yarn form, it can be processed into a wide variety of basic elements using the structure winding process, creating a completely new design language.

The unusual look is created in the structure winding process. In this technology developed at the DITF, the yarn is deposited precisely on a rotating mandrel. This enables high process speeds and a high degree of automation. After the winding process, the individual yarns are fixed, creating a self-supporting component. A starch-based adhesive, which is also made from renewable and degradable raw materials, was used in the project for the fixation.

The recyclability of all the basic elements developed in the project was investigated and confirmed. For this purpose the research colleagues at the project partner from the Department of Paper Production and Mechanical Process Engineering at TU Darmstadt (PMV) used the CEPI method, a new standard test procedure from the Confederation of European Paper Industries.

Sensor and lighting functions were also implemented in a recycling-friendly manner. The paper sensor yarns are integrated into the components and detect contact.

Also, a modular system for trade fair and event furniture was developed. The furniture is lightweight and modular. For example, the total weight of the counter shown is well under ten kilograms and individual parts can easily be shipped in standard packages. All parts can be used several times, making them suitable for campaigns lasting several weeks.

A counter, a customer stopper in DIN A1 format and a pyramid-shaped stand were used as demonstrators. The research work of the DITF (textile technology) and PMV (paper processing) was supplemented by other partners: GarnTec GmbH developed the paper yarns used, the industrial designers from quintessence design provided important suggestions for the visual and functional design of the elements and connectors and the event agency Rödig GmbH evaluated the ideas and concepts in terms of usability in practical use.

Freudenberg Performance Materials (Freudenberg) will be presenting new applications for its European environmentally-friendly Evolon® microfiber technology for Fall/Winter 24/25 fashion and leather goods collections at Lineapelle, from September 19-21. These include solutions for artificial leather applications suitable for the shoe, furniture and automotive industries.

Evolon® sustainable microfiber coating substrates
Evolon® microfiber fabrics are ideal coating substrates for artificial leather applications in the shoe, furniture and car industries. They are particularly suitable as a carrier material for PU and PVC coatings. Evolon® microfiber materials have non-fraying edges, which makes converting easier and quicker. They contain 80% recycled PET from Freudenberg’s in-house bottle recycling plant. Furthermore, they are manufactured with no solvent and no chemical binder in the company’s Evolon® plant located in Colmar, France. The plant is accredited according to OEKO-TEX STeP sustainability manufacturing certification and the DETOX TO ZERO criteria. European manufacturing offers logistic benefits to European customers through shorter supply chain and transport routes.

Reinforcement material for leather goods
Manufacturers of leather goods also benefit from Evolon® microfiber when they use it as a reinforcement material for original leather. It is drapable and soft and provides optimal shaping support for leather. In addition, Evolon® materials offer important sustainability advantages for the manufacturing of luxury leather bags, such as being 100% made in Europe, eco-friendly and socially-responsible production, and the use of recycled raw materials.

Trevira CS is exhibiting for the first time at CSI Miami (Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo Americas). Taking place on 6 – 7 June, 2023 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, CSI will bring together buyers and suppliers involved in cruise ship interiors, including interior designers, architects, outfitters, shipyards and suppliers.
 
On the Trevira CS stand, visitors can get an idea of the wide range of flame retardant fabrics suitable for use on board cruise ships. 53 fabrics from 20 Trevira CS customers will be on display that either have IMO certification and/or have been tested to the fire safety standards (FTP Code) required in the marine sector. Trevira CS fabrics are inherently flame retardant, meaning that their flame retardant properties cannot be washed out or lost through aging or use. This is due to the chemical structure of the polyester fiber: the flame retardant properties are firmly anchored in the fiber and cannot be altered by external influences. A surface-applied flame retardant finish is therefore not necessary.

In the marine sector, the demands placed on textiles are not only high in terms of fire protection, but also with regards to light resistance and durability. This is particularly true for textiles used in outdoor applications. These must be extremely robust, as they are exposed to moisture and sunlight. To meet these requirements, Trevira CS has launched a range of 30 new spun-dyed, UV-stable filament yarns. Besides color depth and durability, spun-dyed yarns offer another advantage: They are more sustainable because the fabrics made from them can be produced in a more environmentally friendly way than textiles that are dyed in one piece or consist of brightly colored yarns. In fabric production, a large share of resource consumption goes to the dyeing and finishing of fabrics as well as the use of chemicals and water. However, with spun-dyed yarns, these processing steps are unnecessary – the yarn immediately comes out of the spinneret in the desired color, reducing the products’ environmental impact.

The topic of sustainability is also taken up in other Trevira CS products. For example, Trevira CS fabrics are available in recycled versions. They consist of fiber and filament yarns obtained in different recycling processes. Filament yarns are produced using recycled PET bottles, they contain 50% post-consumer recycled material. Recycled fibers are obtained using an agglomeration plant and in further processing steps from residual pre-consumer waste from production. They consist of 100% recycled material (pre-consumer recycling). All flame retardant recycled Trevira® products are GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certified.
Fabrics made from these yarns are marked with the Trevira CS eco trademark. The prerequisite for this is a recycled content of at least 50%. Among the fabrics presented at the Trevira CS trade fair stand are 8 fabrics bearing the Trevira CS eco brand.

The long-term goal in developing sustainable products is undoubtedly to enter a circular economy. For this new path, an innovative Trevira CS product development was launched, producing flame retardant fibers and filament yarns from chemically recycled raw material. In this case, the basic raw material for the chemical recycling was PET bottles, but essentially it could be most any other PET recyclables, such as packaging material or even textiles. Chemical recycling involves depolymerization, a sequence of chemical reactions in which the polymer chains are broken down again into their original components, i. e. the monomers. In a further processing step, impurities are removed. Before the polymerization process is initiated, a small amount of MEG (mono ethylene glycol) is added.

The same technology used to produce the original (virgin) raw material for Trevira CS is also used here. The flame retardant modification is added during polymerization. In this way, the flame retardant properties are indelibly anchored in the polymer.

By recycling valuable materials such as packaging material, waste can be avoided. The raw material obtained from the recycling process is comparable to the original material can be used again in high-quality products.

At Heimtextil Frankfurt 2022, Devan, will launch novel technologies to the Home Textiles market. The first innovation is a range of bio-based and biodegradable microcapsules. With increased sustainability and circularity requirements in Europe and beyond, Devan is pushing the limits further of its encapsulation methods, also in terms of wash durability. The capsules are biodegradable and hence no harm for risk of microplastics. The new R-Vital NTL range includes evergreen Aloe Vera, waste-material based avocado seed oil with very high hydration abilities! and Vitamine E.

Devan, as part of the Pulcra Chemicals Group, co-launches the new Pulcra TEC-SU, a new biobased C0 DWR. This hydrophobic agent has a bio-content above 60% and contains no APEO or formaldehyde. It keeps performing very good after multiple washings.

The Devan bio-based thermoregulation range, like Tones of Cool Bio which is already several years on the market, is having a positive effect on carbon footprint. Devan is now expanding its cooling range with a specific foam-solution. In the Home Textile industry new (bio)foam types are introduced the last 1,5 years to comply with the EU GreenDeal and circularity / recycling requirements. A good enough reason for Devan to develop a foam-specific cooling system. After all, research shows that our bedroom interiors get warmer every year, partly due to better insulation but also due to global warming. On top of that Devan thermoregulation solutions can save Energy and Water during application: low curing solutions are available next to cooling products to that can be applied, using less water.

• FILO, 29th-30th September 2021, booth C5

Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei has been invited to showcase at Filo fair, the international exhibition of orthogonal weaving yarns for clothing and furnishings, circular knitwear and technical textiles, in a new special area, a dedicated open space reserved to sustainable fibers that will allow visitors to discover all their production cycle and performances, in full relax and transparency.

Bemberg™, an exceptional fiber made from the smart-tech transformation of cotton linters pre-consumer materials and converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process, will brings to Filo its history, experience, know-how and market partnerships to prove its versatility and design-driven look and touch Last but not least we are talking about a true circular economy-oriented ingredient, with certified sustainable performance: Bemberg™ is biodegradable and compostable material as verified by the INNOVHUB 3rd party test and it has GRS (Global Reycled Standard) certification from Textile Exchange proving recycling authenticity.

Bemberg™ application history starts with high-quality suit lining, but today we can find it in many other applications such as fashion couture, outerwear, innerwear, bedding, and sportswear where its amazing unique touch and quality is offering a distinctive performance.

And to prove all of this, Bemberg™ will be at Filo showing some selected fabric innovation, and three responsible-driven designers representing different and complementary part of contemporary consumer wardrobe: ZEROBARRACENTO, Maurizio Miri and WAXEWUL - who have all chosen Bemberg™ fiber to create special collections. Three different ways to see and represent how sustainability and style – even if completely different ones – together can be highly successful, performing and interesting to the new consumer.

ZEROBARRACENTO, a gender-neutral emerging outerwear brand focusing on zero-waste product development, selects Bemberg™ for two fundamental reasons: firstly, from a stylistic point of view for its extreme versatility: in the various collections we have adopted it to create Kimonos, padded jackets, wrap dresses as well as for the interiors of our garments, which are intended to be soft embraces for total physical and mental comfort. The second but no less important reason is that this fibre has circular values in line with their zero-waste commitment.

The concept of the brand "Maurizio Miri" has a strong personality and a clear intent: to create a product that stimulates the wearer towards beauty. A garment should not simply be worn, but it has also to create a perfect symbiosis with the person wearing it and generate an exchange of positive energies. The purpose is to make the individual feel in perfect harmony with their own image. With this aim in mind, the designer selects extremely precious Bemberg™ linings for their sophisticated tailor jackets. 

Finally, WAXEWUL, a brand of sartorial clothing and artisan accessories with an urban-afro soul that has environmental and social sustainability as its basic ethics. WAXEWUL will bring to Filo its brand-new product, the J_Hood Bag: a doubleface jacket with a comfortably removable hood that can be transformed into a finely hidden doubleface bag. An exclusive, innovative and sustainable garment with minimal impact on the environment made of BemBAZIN™ - a new generation of bazin created, patented and produced by Brunello which is composed by the high-tech and responsible fibers of Bemberg™ - on one side and of wax on the other, traceable and certified, guaranteeing a reduction in waste (two jackets in one) and a long-life cycle.

• PrimaLoft and Origin Materials have launched a program to develop high-performance, carbon-negative insulating fibers for diverse apparel applications, including for leading outdoor, fashion, and lifestyle brands, as well as home goods applications such as hypoallergenic insulated bedding.
• PrimaLoft, an advanced material technology company and a world leader in the development of high-performance insulations and fabrics, will develop the fibers with Origin Materials to address demand for sustainable, high-performance materials from its over 900 global brand partners. PrimaLoft iconic brand partners include Patagonia, Stone Island, L.L. Bean, Lululemon, adidas and Nike.
• The program will focus on carbon-negative PET and next-generation polymers produced by the Origin Materials patented technology platform, which turns sustainable wood residue into cost-advantaged, carbon-negative materials that reduce the need for fossil resources.

Origin Materials, Inc. (“Origin Materials”), a leading carbon negative materials company, and PrimaLoft, an advanced material technology company and a leader in the development of high-performance insulations and fabrics, announced a new program to develop carbon-negative, insulating, high-performance fibers. The fibers will be used across a diverse array of end products, including insulating fiber for leading outdoor, fashion, and lifestyle brands, as well as home goods applications such as hypoallergenic insulated bedding.

The companies will work to rapidly develop and commercialize new products derived from Origin Materials’ platform. The collaboration will leverage the leadership position of PrimaLoft as a specialty producer of insulating fibers and filaments with over 900 global brand partners, as well as a large global network of manufacturers that employ a wide array of textile processes to make its products, including extrusion, carding, spinning, finishing, weaving, knitting, dyeing, airlaid, meltblown, and other technologies.

The collaboration builds on PrimaLoft’s “Relentlessly Responsible™” mission to elevate both performance and sustainability, through innovation. The platform includes PrimaLoft® Bio™, which was developed and launched into the market in late 2018 as an effort to battle microplastics in the ocean; PrimaLoft® P.U.R.E.™, which provides materials manufactured with greater than 50% CO2 savings; and PrimaLoft’s post-consumer recycling initiative. The next frontier for the company is non-petroleum based raw materials, including products that biodegrade and other circular economy solutions.

• "Dibella up" records its first big success

Aalten, "Dibella up" is bearing its first fruits. Since the launch of the recycling concept initiated in August 2020, six tons of sorted laundry items have already been returned to Dibella and converted into new ones by the company in farsighted reuse projects. The customer who has been involved in the project from the very beginning is Lamme Textielbeheer from Nederhorst den Berg. The Dutch textile service provider sees the initiative as an important measure for more appreciation of resources.

Dibella has taken the closed-loop approach of the textile service as a model and has taken a step towards a completely closed cycle with the "Dibella up" project. The system includes unlimited reuse and recycling of the fibre raw materials bound in the textiles. To this end, the company's own textile qualities, which are selected from laundries, are taken back and passed on to selected upcycling projects. Polyester-cotton blended fabrics are processed there into high-quality bags. Pure natural fibre textiles as well as blended fabrics with at least 50 percent cotton are chemically converted into an important raw material for cellulose fibre production, while the remaining polyester is still being thermally recycled for technical reasons.

Six tons of laundry from the Netherlands

Lamme Textielbeheer was immediately enthusiastic about the "Dibella up" initiative. The committed company has been involved in various Dibella sustainability projects for many years and recognises the future-oriented character of the new project. "Our will to cooperate was immediately clear after Dibella's managing director Ralf Hellmann presented the upcycling project, because we see it as an important measure for the prudent use of resources," reports Jan Lamme, managing director of the company of the same name. "Within a very short period of time, we therefore jointly started to take back our discarded, no longer usable old textiles. In this way, we have already been able to return six tonnes of laundry for a new product cycle. This corresponds exactly to our idea of upcycling!". "Dibella provides stable, reusable cartons for shipping," says a delighted Frank David, Lamme's Assistant Operations Manager. "This makes collection much easier for us and we don't have to take any means of transport out of our laundry".

Prepared for the mega-trend of recycling management

Dibella would like to build on the initial joint success and further expand the initiative for a closed textile cycle in the industry. "The awareness of sustainability is high in the textile rental service. But the next mega-trend is already emerging. The future lies in closed-loop recycling. With "Dibella up", we are offering our customers the opportunity to get involved now and make resources usable in the long term. We are happy about every new cooperation partner who appreciates the value of textiles as much as we do".

The international home textiles industry has enjoyed a promising start at Heimtextil in Frankfurt am Main, which finished Friday, 11 January. The challenging economic situation and uncertainty in the retail sector were countered by a positive and confident mood at the world’s leading trade fair.

3025 exhibitors from 65 countries* took the international trade fair for home and contract textiles to a 15-year high: ‘Exhibitors and visitors accepted the new trade fair concept with great enthusiasm and confirmed the trade fair’s position as the world’s most important meeting place for the industry. The quality of the decision-makers impressed the exhibitors, as did the number of new business contacts from 156 countries, especially international ones – thus enabling Heimtextil to set a new benchmark’, says Detlef Braun, Member of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt. ‘Around 67,500 visitors* ensured that there was a busy atmosphere in the halls, despite a slight decline due to various reasons, such as difficult travel conditions on account of the storms in the alpine region and airport strikes in Germany’. [*For comparison, 2018: 2,975 exhibitors from 64 countries; 68,584 visitors from 135 countries, FKM-tested)]

3025 exhibitors from 65 countries* took the international trade fair for home and contract textiles to a 15-year high: ‘Exhibitors and visitors accepted the new trade fair concept with great enthusiasm and confirmed the trade fair’s position as the world’s most important meeting place for the industry. The quality of the decision-makers impressed the exhibitors, as did the number of new business contacts from 156 countries, especially international ones – thus enabling Heimtextil to set a new benchmark’, says Detlef Braun, Member of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt. ‘Around 67,500 visitors* ensured that there was a busy atmosphere in the halls, despite a slight decline due to various reasons, such as difficult travel conditions on account of the storms in the alpine region and airport strikes in Germany’.

One topic that occupied both exhibitors and visitors was the current and future economic situation. A further challenge is the increasingly evident changes that are happening in trade. Increasing revenues and revenue shares in online retailing stand in the way of the efforts made by the stationary retail trade to maintain their inner-city businesses. ‘The small business specialist trade, but also department stores and multibrand stores, and thus the heart of our visitor target groups, are under pressure from the constantly increasing levels of e-commerce. With Heimtextil and our consumer goods fairs in general, we offer these retailers in particular clear perspectives and diverse inspiration in an ambiguous world’, continues Braun.

Heimtextil made it easier for its visitors to access valuable inspiration and business momentum thanks to an optimised trade fair concept and the associated new hall structure. ‘The new concept brought more visitors to the stand’, was the feedback from Andreas Klenk, Managing Director of Saum & Viebahn from Kulmbach in Franconia about hall 8.0 which offered textiles editeurs and manufacturers of curtain and sun protection systems a common platform for the first time. ‘It was the right decision to merge the different segments. We had high quality discussions with respect to both export and domestic business, and are satisfied with the trade fair’.

As part of the new concept, Heimtextil expanded its unique product range across the entire exhibition site and also included the new hall 12, which has been an additional architectural highlight on the Frankfurt exhibition grounds since September.

Top international companies from the Bed & Bath Fashion segment presented their wares here. For the company Curt Bauer from Aue in Saxony, the première of the new hall was a successful one. ‘We're very enthusiastic about the new hall 12. The product range there was very well received. We are very satisfied with the quality of visitors to our stand. In addition to a good frequency of German visitors, we are particularly pleased about growth from China and Russia’, says Managing Director Michael Bauer.

Natural materials, PET and ocean plastics 
Heimtextil set a standard in terms of sustainability: after the first global climate protection agreement for the textile industry was signed by 40 leading fashion companies, organisations and associations at the World Climate Conference in Katowice last December, the focus in Frankfurt was also on environmental progress in the textile industry. Numerous exhibitors presented progressive solutions, for example in the recycling of PET bottles and ocean plastic as well as in the use of certified natural materials. ‘Sustainability was the theme for us at this year’s Heimtextil. Major media players visited us and the 'Green Tour’ guided tour stopped by. We presented many things, including our first vegan duvet and fair silk products, all 100 per cent produced in Austria’, says Denise Hartmann, Marketing Manager at Hefel Textil. The topics of water consumption in the textile industry and microplastics also increasingly came to the fore. The exhibitor directory ‘Green Directory’ alone contained around 150 progressive companies listing sustainably produced textiles. The offer was supplemented by its own lecture series as well as theme-specific tours, which provided valuable impetus and
underpinned the pioneering green position of the trade fair.

Sleep becomes new lifestyle theme
Heimtextil also focused on sleep as one of the upcoming lifestyle trends. While a balanced diet and sufficient exercise are now a natural part of a healthy lifestyle, restorative sleep is still neglected* although it is one of the most important building blocks for long-term physical and mental well-being. At Heimtextil, a number of new products and aspects came to the fore that help people become sensitised to and analyse their sleep behaviour and promote healthy sleep. Around the redesigned hall 11.0 and in the adjoining lecture area ‘Sleep! The Future Forum’, representatives from the national and international bed industry enjoyed attractive product presentations and superb speeches on the topics of sustainability, hospitality, sport and digital.

In addition to the renowned trend show, the trade fair also focused on contract business, particularly in the hotel and hospitality sector, as well as decorative and upholstery fabrics, digital printing solutions and wallpapers.

The next Heimtextil in Frankfurt am Main – its 50th edition – will take place from 7 to 10 January 2020.

*According to a forsa investigation commissioned by the Techniker Krankenkasse