The 50th Innatex, the international trade fair for sustainable textiles, took place from July 29th to 31st, 2022. Even if the number of orders and audiences were still below those of the pre-pandemic times, the trend is upwards and the mood was positive. The majority of the labels and institutions present reported increasing reach and an increasing relevance of sustainability in the industry.
For many exhibitors, this meant the first physical trade fair after a break of two and a half years and they enjoyed the direct contact and having innovations right in front of their eyes. “It’s just something different to be able to directly compare collections from different suppliers at a trade fair. In addition to labels that we have had for a long time, we have also ordered new ones”, confirmed the exhibitors Laura and Uli Ott from Marlowe Nature.
The current topics and challenges of the industry, which were discussed in panel discussions, included the forthcoming EU measures such as the Product Environmental Footprint, but also overcoming procurement bottlenecks, the circular economy, natural fibers such as linen and hemp, pastel colors and transparency along the supply chains.
“The shortage of smaller, consistent natural textiles is getting worse because large corporations are jumping on the sustainability bandwagon and have priority with their order quantities. We are currently discussing solutions for the resulting planning uncertainty, including strategic network building, securing organic fibers and opening up new markets through global cultivation projects,” commented Heike Hess from the International Association for Natural Textiles (IVN).
The insider knowledge special area was also well attended. Here, Startup Retraced offered blockchain-based solutions for traceability down to the resource. Also present were Sabine Kaldonek from Femnet eV, Juliane Ziegler from the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Rosa Buchacher from Fairtrade Germany, Heike Hess from IVN, Susanne Dienst-Lang and René Lang from the Network of German Fashion and Textile Designers VDMD and Mirjam Smend ( Greenstyle Munich) and Heike Littger, who jointly publish the new fashion magazine Pureviu.
“Pandemic, procurement, inflation, rising energy prices – there’s just no telling what’s in store for the sustainable fashion industry and other industries over the next few months, to be honest. But this 50th Innatex gives us confidence that green fashion is back on the road to success,” summarized Innatex project manager AlexanderWärmel.
The next Innatex will take place from 21 to 23 January 2023.