Germany’s Heimtextil 2024 to launch Econogy for sustainable textiles

INSIGHTS

  • Heimtextil 2024 will feature several new initiatives.
  • First is the launch of Econogy, a framework to standardise sustainability criteria across all Messe Frankfurt textile events, aiming for transparency in resource-saving products.
  • Heimtextil will also have offerings extending from bed and bath textiles to decorative and furniture fabrics.

The upcoming global trade fair for home and contract textiles in Germany, Heimtextil 2024, also forms the launch of Econogy, a realignment of sustainable formats in the global Texpertise Network. Econogy standardises the evaluation criteria of all Messe Frankfurt textile events and creates cross-fair transparency for resource-saving products and exhibitors.

New international contacts, inspiring business encounters, and intensive networking—Heimtextil 2024, which is set to take place in Frankfurt am Main from January 9–12, 2024, records strong registration figures across all product segments. With over 2,600 exhibitors participating, demand exceeds the number of exhibitors at the previous event, organiser Messe Frankfurt said in a press release.

“Heimtextil provides a bundled and therefore efficient market overview of all global trends in the home and contract textiles industry on a central platform over four days. In 2024, we are pleased to be able to intensify this experience with the launch of the new Carpets & Rugs product segment and an increased number of exhibitors,” said Olaf Schmidt, vice president, textiles and textile technologies.

Heimtextil 2024 will be expanded by two new halls—Hall 5.1 for the new Carpets & Rugs product segment and Hall 10.4 for Asian Selection exhibitors in the home textiles segment. Hall 3, which will serve as a creative hub for the Heimtextil Trends 24/25 and exhibitors from the wall decoration, textile design, and textile technology segments will also be reopened. In addition, the new Carpets & Rugs product segment, the realignment of the sustainable event formats under the title Econogy and the expanded range in the Fibers & Yarns section will provide fresh business impulses.

Heimtextil 2024 is expanding its portfolio with the new Carpets & Rugs product segment. Located exclusively in the new Hall 5.1, it showcases fitted, handmade, and custom-made carpets, machine-made woven carpets, mats and dirt-absorbing carpets, as well as rugs and runners. Carpets are traditionally an integral part of Heimtextil, presented in various halls. Starting in 2024, this offering will be permanently bundled at the request of the industry. The segment is aimed at international wholesalers, furniture and home furnishing stores, consumer markets, DIY and home improvement stores, specialist retailers, and garden centres. More than 90 exhibitors will participate in Carpets & Rugs, including many first-time exhibitors. The positive resonance comes from a variety of nations. Commitments have been received among others from Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Egypt, Greece, India, Italy, and Turkiye. Exhibitors include Carpet Export Promotion Council, Fini Coop, Heritage Overseas, Merinos Hali San, Nikotex, Oriental Weavers Group, Ragolle, Royaltex, Rug Republic, and Rugs in Style.

For the Asian Excellence and Asian Selection, both the house textiles (10.0-10.4) and home textiles (6.0, 5.0, 6.1) segments have a strong presence at Heimtextil 2024. Quality in all quantities meets private label excellence here. To exhibit in the Asian Excellence halls on levels 6.1 and 10.2, an independent panel of experts selects high-quality producers. The evaluation includes questions about workmanship, colour concept, stand construction, quality and materials.

The top four exhibiting nations of Asian Excellence and Asian Selection are China/Hong Kong, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Among others, D Decor, GM Fabrics, GM Syntex, Grasim Jana Seva Trust from India, and Karupannya Rangpur from Bangladesh will be present in Hall 6. In addition, key market players such as Adamjee Textile Mills, AlKaram Textile Mills, Export Promotion Council of Handicrafts, Gul Ahmed Textile Mills, Handloom Export Promotion Council, Indo Count Industries, Kamal, Kanodia Global, Mittal International, Premiere Fine Linens, Sadaqat, Towellers Limited, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, and Trident and Union Fabrics are also participating.

At Heimtextil 2024, a realignment of all sustainable formats of the worldwide Texpertise Network will be launched with Econogy. Econogy standardises the evaluation criteria of all Messe Frankfurt textile events for sustainability and clarifies the holistic connection between economy and ecology.

The Econogy offering at Heimtextil includes the Econogy Finder. The directory helps visitors find certified suppliers. Since many years, Heimtextil exhibitors have the opportunity to have sustainability checks carried out in order to be listed in special directories. In the future, these checks will be harmonised across all textile fairs of Messe Frankfurt. Econogy thus creates transparency and comparability across trade fairs with regard to criteria used to select resource-saving products and exhibitors. In cooperation with independent external sustainability experts, the current status of recognised seals and certificates are included and the SDGs are also integrated into the checks.

Other components of the Econogy offering are the Econogy Hub—the platform for seal providers and certifiers—and the one-hour Econogy Tours. The tours are led by an independent consultant and offer an intensive exchange between visitors, exhibitors, and experts. And the Econogy Talks enable advanced training and knowledge transfer in numerous conference and lecture formats on the latest green textile innovations.

In close cooperation with the UN Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network, Messe Frankfurt’s Texpertise Network has been promoting the visibility of the Sustainable Development Goals at all Messe Frankfurt textile fairs worldwide since 2019. The very first Texpertise SDG Report, published this summer, summarises all milestones of the SDG actions so far.

The Heimtextil Trends have been forming the heart of Heimtextil for many years. They translate megatrends into textile visions. A visit to the Heimtextil Trends is a must for all textile professionals who are constantly expanding their knowledge of textile materials.

Under the overarching theme of New Sensitivity, textile transformation is the focus of the Heimtextil Trends 24/25, with three approaches showing ways to a more sensitive world of textiles—plant-based production of textiles, supporting textile circularity through technology, and the bio-engineered use of natural ingredients. In addition, the Future Materials curate regenerative materials and designs.

Building on the Materials Manifesto, the Heimtextil Trends are carefully designed to be low-waste and environmentally conscious. Only local, eco-friendly, or borrowed materials are used in each stand design.

Under the title Interior.Architecture.Hospitality, Heimtextil covers the global range of functional contract textiles. International manufacturers and suppliers of special furnishing solutions meet interior designers, architects, planners, and interior decorators from all over the world.

The offering extends over the entire trade fair. The centerpiece is Hall 4.0, where the Interior.Architecture.Hospitality Library presents functional textiles curated and selected by a jury. In addition, interested visitors will gain deeper insights during the Library tours offered by the Library curators.

Back in Hall 3, Heimtextil offers the largest and most international range of wallpaper manufacturers, from decorative over paintable and technical wallpapers to fiberglass and digital print wallpapers. Together with the Textile Design product area, the hall forms a hub for textile creativity with renowned international exhibitors such as AS Création, ICH, Kinland Décor, Komar Products, Marburger Tapetenfabrik, Masureel, Muraspec, Parato, Taubert/Hohenberger, KT Exclusive, and Ugépa.

A large number of top brands and companies have also confirmed their participation in the Smart Bedding product area in Hall 11.0, including Advansa Marketing, Badenia Bettcomfort, Brinkhaus, Heinrich Häussling & Centa Star & Frankenstolz Schlafkomfort, John Cotton, Lenzing, Sasa Polyester, Sanders-Kauffmann, Traumina, Velamen, and Wendre.

In addition to order and inspiration, the focus is as well on valuable knowledge content for the bedding trade at the Heimtextil Conference Sleep & More in Hall 11.0. Renowned international sleep experts will provide insights and best practices—from sleep myths to tracking technologies and sustainable materials to bedding that improves sleep quality at home and in hotels.

In the Bed & Bath area in Hall 12, visitors find the latest bedding designs from suppliers such as Felpinter, Lameirinho, and Nile Linen Group, as well as premium terry products among others from Mundotextil Industrias Texteis or Ozanteks on hall level 12.1. These companies for quality international private label services—with strong participation from Portugal, Turkiye, and Egypt—emphasise short supply chains as well as flexibility in quantities and serve the European market in particular. Hall 12.0 will also feature well-known brands such as Bedding House, Corn. van Dijk, Klaus Herding, Sorema, Veritas, Welspun, Wülfing, and Zorlu.

In the Decorative & Furniture Fabrics segment, Heimtextil will showcase the largest range of the world’s upholstery fabric suppliers and weavers on three hall levels. These include renowned suppliers such as Francisco Jover, Gebr. Munzert, Global Textile Alliance (Symphony Mills), Luilor, Manuel Revert, Martinelli Ginetto, Para, and Vanelli Tekstil. More than 300 weavers of decorative and upholstery fabrics have registered for Heimtextil 2024.

Following its successful launch in 2023, the separate Fibres & Yarns area for decorative and upholstery fabrics is returning to Hall 4.0 this time on a larger scale. There, fabric and curtain manufacturers, weavers, product developers, and designers can expect a bundled offering with companies such as Antex (Angles Textil), Indorama Ventures Fibers Germany GmbH (Trevira), Korteks or Reliance.

Source: https://www.fibre2fashion.com/