From the Sector

The 2019 World Textile Forum closes its doors after two successful and exciting days.

On September 9 and 10 renowned speakers and experts from the textile business gathered in Zurich to discuss opportunities in the changing textile world. Exciting talks and keynotes illustrated new possibilities for a more sustainable and digital textile industry. While one part of the versatile program focussed on “Sustainable Sourcing” with speakers such as Robert van de Kerkhof (Lenzing AG), Heinz Zeller (Hugo Boss), Daniel Gemperle (Calida) and Anna Maria Rugarli (VF), the topic of “Digital Production” became the centre of attention later thanks to experts like Torbjörn Netland (ETH), Maximilian Kürig (Karl Mayer), Maria Neidhold (Spoonflower) and Holger Max-Lang (Lectra). They offered new perspectives on the sustainable future of the textile industry, presenting innovative sustainable production and business models. The subsequent panels furthered the knowledge exchange between both attendees and speakers and led to lively discussions.

Swiss Textile Federation, Swiss Textile & Fashion Institute STF and Gherzi Textil Organisation would like to thank all attendees and look forward to the next World Textile Forum!

After an intense dialogue and a series of meetings during the past year between the ZDHC Board of Directors and the GCIRT, an alignment was gained on ZDHC organisational commitments and a mutual understanding of the role of chemical suppliers within the ZDHC Programme. This opens the doors for broader, more active distribution of chemistry expertise and implementation support of textile dye and leather chemical manufacturing industry in the ZDHC Programme.

The Global Chemical Industry Round Table (GCIRT), sent an open letter to ZDHC in May 2018 and is a group of the leading chemical solution providers in the textile and leather industry with the collective aim of driving the industry further to become more sustainable. GCIRT’s signatory’s engagement into the ZDHC Programme will support a faster transformation of the industry by taking complexity out of the supply chain and to find appropriate solutions for the industries’ requirements.

The GCIRT members are: ARCHROMA (Switzerland); CHT Germany GmbH (Germany); Colourtex Industries Private Limited (India); DyStar Singapore Pte Ltd (Singapore); Huntsman Textile Effects (Singapore); KISCO (Korea); Pulcra Chemicals Group (Germany); RUDOLF GmbH (Germany); TANATEX Chemicals B.V. (Netherlands).

Pedex GmbH, the Wald Michelbach based Perlon Group company was named as a finalist of the ‘Großer Preis des Mittelstandes 2018’ (award for small and medium sized companies) at the gala dinner on 15th September 2018. Together with 21 other finalists from the four competing regions Baden Wurtemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia came out on top against 2436 nominated businesses.

The motto for this year’s competition -‘Building for the future’ – is the foundation of the unity within our society.
On 24th May, the Oskar-Patzelt-Stiftung, the founder of this award for small and medium sized companies asked for nominations of excellent medium sized companies for the competition, (nominations cannot come from the company itself.) Only 1 in every 1000 German companies make it onto the list of nominations – this year Pedex GmbH made it! The prize winners meet 12 regional juries and a final jury. The focus of the jury (made up of representatives from business and education) is on the company as a whole and its multifaceted role within society. To aid evaluation, the jury asked about the establishment and safeguarding of jobs and apprenticeships, innovation and modernisation, involvement in the local area as well as service and proximity to customers.

Germany’s most sought after business accolade.
In 2018, more than 7400 institutions from the 16 counties (12 competing regions) throughout Germany nominated a total of 4,917 small and medium sized companies as well as banks and local authorities for the competition, from which a short list of 742 was selected. No other business award in Germany carries such weight (and has now for more than two decades) as the one that the Leipzig based Oskar-Patzelt-Stiftung has been awarding since 1994. The prize doesn’t offer any monetary reward. For the businesses involved, it’s simply about honour, public recognition and approval of their performance, without financial incentive.

• Italian expertise, research and green innovation.
• METALBOTTONI ups the stakes with one-of-a-kind interpretations, to enhance its market presence.

At Première Vision Accessories (Paris, 19-21 September) the company presents the new collection VÀNITA, a mix of leatherwear and sportswear, based on Made in Italy craft, with an increasingly wide and coordinated range.

Based on product experience, combining new trends in accessories. The METALBOTTONI strategy is enriched with product novelties which aim at exploring new existing market segments. A strategy which increasingly leads great artisan production skills to meet constant research and expansion of the range, with the world of sportswear becoming more and more pivotal; without forgetting the important sustainable innovations of the NO IMPACT protocol.

No Impact becomes “Committed Accessories”

The guideline for restyling the METALBOTTONI range over the past two years has been the recent implementation of the NO IMPACT corporate sustainability protocol, which has just acquired a new “dress”, associated with the following pay-off: “Committed Accessories”. It is a way of underscoring the constant green development of the company over the past few years, in terms of process and product: use of recycled raw materials, development of finishing without chemicals, implementation of processes which today have allowed to reduce electricity and water consumption to almost zero.

Moreover the range of NO IMPACT proposals for this season has expanded to include not only new metal finishing but also leather label completely made from processing scrap, thus establishing Metalbottoni as “partner for branding elements” also in terms of sustainability. Pure Made in Italy and constant expansion of collections towards sportswear The great skill in metal processing, which for sixty years now has characterised the top-of-the-range quality of METALBOTTONI products, is now combined with constant research work conducted by our in-house Style Office, resulting in new collections which are more and more in line with the trends emerging from major trade fairs. Maintaining a presence on strong markets (central Europe, Northern Europe and United States), increasing the depth of segments and intercepting new ones. This is the main goal also chosen for the Première Vision Accessories Exhibition where, alongside the autumn-winter 2019/2020 collections, there will be a preview of VÀNITA, the new collection dedicated to leatherwear and more.

METALBOTTONI is proving to be one of the most dynamic companies in the accessory industry.

Over the past two years, in fact, it has introduced numerous product and process innovations, aiming at increasing its range especially as regards sportswear accessories. This trend was driven by a substantial increase in demand by read-to-wear and luxury brands in the past two seasons, and today it means new proposals which account for 35% of the range for METALBOTTONI. New collections have been presented in the past two seasons expressly dedicated to the sportswear world, namely GRAVITA, the first line designed by the company for pressure buttons, and MÀRYA, the new beachwear collection. Also the line called LABORA, the classic collection of accessories for fashion and ready-to-wear has been constantly enhanced with proposals combining style and technical performance. This mix of fashion and sport elements is increasingly evident in the company’s product range, for example in the combination of different materials, using metal with nylon or other resins to create new and unique accessories.

Vànita: beyond leatherwear, a world of accessories

The meeting between fashion, luxury and sportswear has produced VÀNITA, the brand new collection which presents a new approach to accessories dedicated to leatherwear, from an allround perspective from luxury to sportswear. Developed starting from solid product research by the company’s in-house Style Office, VÀNITA is a true meeting of styles and elements, a combination of high product standards with unique elegance. This line introduces one-of-a-kind visions for accessories, exploring highly original pathways dedicated to the world of leather. The VÀNITA proposal ranges from accessories for leatherwear and small leatherwear, to those for shoes, bags and the sportswear worlds. There are two main lines within this collection: one is expressly designed for the world of luxury, the other has a more technical and sporty approach. A true mix between artisan metal processing, based on the great METALBOTTONI expertise in this sector, and “ingredients” such as nylon, rubber finishes or innovative 3D processing, which are often combined together.

“Our goal is to offer an increasingly comprehensive range which allows us to explore new segments on the markets where we are present” - says Gregorio Valli, CEO and President of METALBOTTONI S.P.A – “a ‘recipe’ which should be able to integrate our unmatched product expertise with a constant expansion of our range and continuous implementation of our pathway towards corporate responsibility and sustainability”.

• Deep Insights into the Multifaceted World of Cotton
• Quality, Innovation and Digitalisation are Crucial

From the 21st to the 23rd of March, the international cotton industry came together in the historic Bremen Town Hall, under the motto "Cotton Insights". More than 500 participants from almost 40 countries came to exchange views on the latest trends in the natural raw material as part of the conference organised by the Bremen Cotton Exchange in cooperation with the Fibre Institute Bremen. The 34th International Cotton Conference provided a varied, in-depth programme which addressed the current and burning issues within the industry.

Summarising his visit to the conference, Kai Hughes, Executive Director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) in Washington said “The Bremen Cotton Conference is unique because it brings the diverse world of cotton together in one place. It is always a great opportunity to learn about the latest innovations, talk to cotton merchants and get an overview of the industry".

Sustainability and Cotton
This year, the conference developed into a whole week of diverse events around the entire cotton supply chain. With the “SUSTAIN” event, which was organised in cooperation with the Weser-Kurier newspaper, it was possible to build a bridge between the issue of sustainability and the end consumer.
With the focus on Africa, the emerging continent, which also has a special significance for cotton, became the centre of attention.

In his opening speech, Henning Hammer, President of the Bremen Cotton Exchange, made it clear that sustainability is also of great importance during the Cotton Conference: "The three pillars of sustainability – the environment, the economy and social issues – were already playing a role in the cotton industry when the word sustainability was far from being on everyone's lips.
Many changes that are being demanded in the sense of responsible agriculture and responsible trade take their time, many are already in the starting blocks and a lot already exists. We have a very alert, active agricultural research worldwide."

The Keynotes
The keynote session, moderated by the journalist Lisa Boekhoff from the newspaper Weser-Kurier, gave participants an overview, with an informative analysis of the current cotton situation. Kai Hughes, executive director of ICAC, emphasised in his keynote address the need to provide credible facts and figures which should be the basis for the entire supply chain. The marketing of cotton and changing consumer habits in a globalised and digitalised world were the subject of lectures by Mark Messura, Cotton Incorporated and Robert Antoshak, Olah Inc. Eugen Weinberg and Michael Alt from Commerzbank took a look at the raw material from a stock market perspective.

Traceability and Digitalisation
Digitalisation is also a cross-cutting issue that runs through the entire supply chain of the cotton industry. In his opening speech, Prof. Axel S. Hermann, Head of the Fibre Institute Bremen, emphasised the importance of digitalisation for the industry. “It enables new approaches in cotton cultivation and textile processing, but also influences consumer behaviour and thus the necessary changes in the textile industry.” The focus is on the status quo of the implementation, as well as the opportunities and risks of digitally controlled, vertically integrated procurement and sales processes and the associated challenges at retail level.

Another current topic is traceability, which is also closely linked to sustainability. More and more buyers want to know whether their suppliers are meeting the promised sustainability criteria for their products, also textile products. Consequently, the conference presented various techniques for testing the authenticity of a cotton provided in the finished textile, such as DNA testing, fingerprint analysis technique, marker methods and block-chain processes.

Cotton Quality
In addition to current subjects such as digitalisation and traceability, questions of cotton quality have traditionally been an essential element of the Cotton Conference, which was further reinforced this year with the "Spinners Seminar". The spinning mill seminar, which was carried out by the Cotton Exchange and the Fibre Institute in cooperation with the ITMF and IVGT associations, far exceeded expectations.

More than 70 participants discussed the handling of impurities in supplied cotton in the manufacturing process.
In addition, in a high-level expert session, there was an exchange of the latest research results which determine the future of cotton production and the processing of cotton into innovative products.