Heimtextil to Highlight Sustainability and ‘New Sensitivity’ in January
When Messe Frankfurt’s home textiles trade show Heimtextil returns this January, it will introduce new exhibition halls and a revamped sustainability section.
Held in Frankfurt, Germany, Heimtextil offers both finished home textile products and raw materials and fabrics for manufacturing home goods. The fair draws a global crowd of exhibitors and buyers; 90 percent of exhibitors are international, and attendees hail from 130 countries. As of early September, the show had booked 2,600 exhibitors, already surpassing the 2,400 exhibitors from the 2023 edition. “We are very pleased about the exhibitor increase from almost every nation and across all product segments,” said Bettina Bär, director of Heimtextil, during a press event in New York.
More from Sourcing Journal
Lenzing Indonesia Plant Recognized for Environmental Excellence With EU Ecolabel
Lenzing Collaborates on Footwear and Real-Time Supply Chain Tracking
The 2024 edition of Heimtextil, being held from Jan. 9-12, will introduce two new halls: one for carpets and rugs and another titled Asian Selection. Previously, rugs were showcased across the fair floors, but Heimtextil is bringing these together in one place. The products range from handwoven and knotted rugs to machine-made carpets. To-date, about 75 exhibitors have signed up—many of whom are first-time participants—with particular interest from Greece, China, India, Egypt, Turkey, Italy and Bangladesh.
Asian Selection joins Asian Excellence as a new exhibitor area. These halls, which focus on volume orders from manufacturing hubs in China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong, filled up within weeks. Asian Selection will also contain country pavilions. “We have an independent panel of experts who has picked high-quality producers to exhibit in these halls,” said Bär.
In addition to new product halls, Heimtextil is revamping its sustainability hub. Previously referred to as Green Village, the area has been rebranded to Econogy, a portmanteau of “economy” and “ecology.”
Econogy is the new format for sustainability activities and content across Messe Frankfurt’s textile shows, including talks, educational outreach and networking. Econogy also standardizes the process of vetting companies for sustainability directories at the shows. Together with independent experts, the show organizers will check prospective sustainable exhibitors’ seals, certifications and their actions around the Sustainable Development Goals. Since 2019, Messe Frankfurt’s textile shows have been highlighting the SDGs in partnership with the United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network and United Nations Office for Partnerships.
At Heimtextil, there will be Econogy Tours that take attendees to sustainable exhibitor booths, and Econogy Talks will go deeper into eco-friendly education.
Another content focus will be the science of sleep. A Smart Bedding product hall will feature solutions from exhibitors including Lenzing and Wendre, as well as a Sleep & More conference featuring expert speakers weighing in on myths, technologies, best practices and bedding materials and design to get the best shuteye.
For the last edition in 2023, Heimtextil introduced a Fibres & Yarns segment, with raw material providers who specialize in inputs for decorative and furniture fabrics. This hall will return in 2024 on a bigger scale. Another three halls will be dedicated to Decorative & Furniture Fabrics, with over 300 weavers.
There will also be a focus on functional textiles in the Interior.Architecture.Hospitality section, which is geared toward contract textiles. This hall includes the Library, a display of fabrics selected by a jury. Visitors can take guided tours through this area to discover textiles with features such as flame retardancy, absorbance and light resistance.
Home textile trends
As part of the show’s educational and inspirational content, Heimtextil will have a Trend Space and programming such as workshops and lectures. Heimtextil’s trends for 2024 and 2025 are themed “New Sensitivity,” speaking to how textiles are being transformed and created with thought to their environmental impact. This “sensitivity” includes maintaining ecological balance as well as responding to the interconnectivity of people, nature and technology with textiles that support biodiversity, mental health, digitalization and more.
“It’s about showing consideration and…respect for what we do,” said Anja Bisgaard Gaede, founder of Spott trends & business, which is creating the trend content and Trend Space for the January show. “And in our context, really showing consideration about the impact we were making when creating a product or making a decision.”
As an example of this intersection, Kvadrat’s Clearview by Alfredo Häberli window treatment is constructed to allow for visibility outside while simultaneously reflecting sunlight, making heating and cooling systems more efficient.
Innovation is creating textiles that are more sustainable, and Heimtextil is highlighting three categories of developments: plant-based textiles, bioengineered textiles and technological textiles. In plant-based materials, some examples are cactus, banana fibers and seaweed. Bioengineering features textiles made from bacteria, protein, mycelium, as well as re-engineered fibers like biodegradable polyester. Technological textiles include upcycled and recycled materials. All of the solutions spotlighted were chosen not only for their sustainability credentials, but also for their potential to scale and have a significant impact.
The natural world also influenced the color trends for 24/25, with hues taken from avocado seeds, algae and bacteria as well as bioengineered pigments like indigo. “We wanted both to have and create colors that evoke emotions, but also respecting our values and protecting the environment,” said Bisgaard Gaede.
The aim of the trend section is to expand visitors’ textile expertise. “At the upcoming event, Heimtextil Trends will again show ways in which the transformation of the home textiles industry is continuing,” Olaf Schmidt, vice president textiles & textile technologies at Messe Frankfurt, said in a statement. “They thus form the inspirational heart of our trade fair and translate global megatrends into textile visions.”
