In round table sessions, industry leaders such as Lenzing, Perpetual Global and Procalçado S.A. will be encouraging an interdisciplinary discussion about future-proof solutions for the industry.

The Fashionsustain conference brings together pioneers of sustainable textile innovations, initiating a dialogue between them and using the synergies of the industry to revolutionise processes and production workflows. The overarching question of “Is sustainability the key to textile innovations?” will be discussed in round table sessions. A keynote will highlight the economic necessity of sustainable business models and provide specific ideas for action.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

“In the textile industry, new technologies and interdisciplinary collaborations are important drivers towards a more environmentally conscious creation of value. Fashionsustain is presenting itself at Texprocess in a flourishing sourcing environment at the interface of high-tech and textiles – the ideal breeding ground for new, revolutionary ideas,” says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President of Textiles and Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt.

Fashionsustain, which made its debut in January 2018 at Neonyt in Berlin, combines the creative thinking of its birthplace with an international speaker line-up. The first keynote “Sustainable innovation –

a matter of survival” will be by Micke Magnusson, founder of the Swedish start-up We are Spindye, and serves as a wake-up call for the industry.

After that, the round table will focus on the influence of trends on new business practices: “Trendsetting change makers – Is fashion leading the way for sustainable innovation?”. The panel will be moderated by Max Gilgenmann, Content Director of Neonyt.

Chemical fibres and best practices

From the reprocessing of PET bottles to yarns down to regenerated fibres made of cellulose – the panel entitled “Synthetic change makers – What does the future of man-made fibres look like?” will be exploring alternative fibre production and recycling methods. Taking part in the discussion panel are industry pioneers such as Austrian fibre manufacturer Lenzing, British recycling company Perpetual Global, Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant and Thai chemical company Indorama.

During the conference, fibre producer Lenzing, knitting machine manufacturer Santoni and producer of footwear components Procalçado S.A. will be presenting the innovation roadshow entitled “The future of eco-conscious footwear manufacturing”, which is supported by Messe Frankfurt’s Texpertise Network. It will present the sustainable production process of a shoe, showing how a sustainability transformation of the fashion and textile industry can already become a reality today. The panel will be moderated by Marte Hentschel, founder of Sourcebook, the B2B network for the fashion industry.

Fashionsustain at the Texprocess

14 May 2019, 11:00 am until 2:00 pm