Messe Frankfurt’s Trade Shows See Renewed Sustainability Purpose
The shows prioritize sustainability and partnership, per a new report in partnership with the U.N.
Trade shows are already a fulcrum for global sourcing, but more so as sustainability becomes an imperative for lawmakers.
For more than 15 years, sustainability has been topical at Messe Frankfurt's 100plus trade shows, per Olaf Schmidt, vice president textiles and textile technologies at Messe Frankfurt.
“In order to operate more sustainably as one of the world's largest trade fair organizers, we are taking extensive measures at our Frankfurt exhibition grounds, from switching to 100 percent green electricity to offering free local transport tickets for participants at our events,” Schmidt told WWD.
The trade fair recently collaborated with the United Nations Office for Partnerships, releasing an impact report supported by the Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network, to create awareness for the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, under its Texpertise Network, which is a strategic sustainability partnership.
With its SDG actions in eight countries, the Texpertise Network has already reached more than 21,000 exhibitors, around 508,000 trade visitors, around 6,250 accredited media representatives and more than 945,000 followers on social media worldwide by 2023, Messe Frankfurt said.
“The textile industry is experiencing a major swing toward sustainability,”
Schmidt continued. “The technical development of new sustainable fibers is also progressing rapidly. In processing technologies, water- saving dyeing processes, cutting technologies with minimal waste or recycling technologies are developing. We are pleased to be able to offer an attention- grabbing platform for sustainable innovations in the textile industry with our worldwide trade fairs.”
To Schmidt, the overall value is in creating “visibility,” inspiring new “unconventional ideas” and approaches to sustainability “always in close cooperation with our partners from business, science, politics and NGOs,” he said.
A collaborator in the joint report,
Kerry Bannigan, executive director of Fashion Impact Fund, added that the Texpertise Network has a “unique opportunity,” given its global reach, to drive meaningful progress toward the SDGs, which are critical to achieving fashion's 2030 agenda.
Messe Frankfurt's upcoming shows include Techtextil, an International trade fair for technical textiles, and Texprocess Americas for sewn equipment and technology, both happening May 10 to 12 in Atlanta. Others on the show calendar include Texprocess Americas (May 10 to 12), DS Printech in China (May 16 to 18) and Apparel Sourcing in Paris ( July 3 to 5), among others.