"The upcoming Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics which opens on October 11, will be the perfect platform for sustainable paradigms and companies. The centre of sustainability at the three-day fair will be the All About Sustainability zone (hall 5.2), but eco-friendly products and companies will also abound in Beyond Denim (7.2), Functional Lab (5.2), SalonEurope (6.2) and Accessories Vision (4.2) to name just a few. At Beyond Denim, Orta Anadolu, Kipas Denim and Soorty Enterprises will introduce their eco-friendly denim production processes."

The upcoming Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics which opens on October 11, will be the perfect platform for sustainable paradigms and companies. The centre of sustainability at the three-day fair will be the All About Sustainability zone (hall 5.2), but eco-friendly products and companies will also abound in Beyond Denim (7.2), Functional Lab (5.2), SalonEurope (6.2) and Accessories Vision (4.2) to name just a few. At Beyond Denim, Orta Anadolu, Kipas Denim and Soorty Enterprises will introduce their eco-friendly denim production processes. In the Functional Lab, exhibitors will offer innovative and sustainable products. For example, The Chemours Company’s durable water repellent, which contains 63 per cent renewably sourced content, and Singtex with their insulation foam and membrane made from coffee oil extracted from used coffee grounds.

New products and technology

As a hub of innovation for the global apparel fabrics and accessories industry, buyers will witness numerous fine examples of sustainable products. For instance, Japanese firm Yagi & Co will showcase new Recycolor-branded, GRS-certified recycled cotton. Recycolor cotton is made from old clothing and scraps from garment factories, which are sorted by colour and fed into stripping machines that break the fabric down into their original fibres. As these fibres are usually too short to spin, they are then mixed with virgin cotton and undergo a special spinning technique to create a yarn up to commercial standards.

Debut exhibitors

A debutant to the fair, Chinese company Newtech Textile, will showcase its patented Cooltrans transfer printing and dyeing technology, an eco-friendly alternative to digital inkjet printing. Compared to conventional printing technologies, Cooltrans reduces water and dye consumption by 40 per cent and 67 per cent respectively, while 92 per cent of water can be reused. It also reduces energy usage by up to 65 per cent thanks to a cooler transfer temperature, and features rates of 95 per cent for dye transfer and 95 per cent for dye-fixing. In addition to the environmental aspects of the technology, it also offers higher colour yields and more delicate printing on the transfer paper or file than direct textile inkjet printing.

Oeko-Tex by Testex Pavilion will feature 10 Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex-certified companies and customers of Testex. The pavilion’s product range includes knitted and woven fabrics made of natural fibres, chemical fibres, and mixed and microfibre functional fabrics, as well as accessories such as embroidery thread, labels, RFID tags and more. There are some new members such as Sateri, who is a global leader in viscose rayon, as well as Malaysia’s Penfabric, a member of the Toray Group, which is also Step certified, while its semi-finished products are Made in Green by Oeko-Tex labelled. Furthermore, the Made in Green/Step by Oeko-Tex Shop will feature 17 Step-certified companies showcasing their textiles made in environmentally friendly facilities and safe and socially responsible workplaces.

Debut Ecocert Pavilion

The Ecocert Pavilion will debut at this year’s edition. Two members of the pavilion include Shaoxing Ecou Textile which specialises in organic cotton & linen, bamboo, Tencel, Modal and hemp fabrics, while Chifeng Dongrong Cashmere Development will showcase a wide range of sustainable cashmere products.

Panel discussions

This three-day event will also host panel discussions on Sustainable Fast Fashion (Forum Space, hall 5.2) – moderated by Redress, and panellists include the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and DuPont; Sustainable Denim – a holistic approach (Beyond Denim Forum, hall 7.2): moderated by Archroma, and panellists include Advance Denim and others; and Organic Cotton Trends & Certification (Forum Space, hall 5.2) – moderated by Beijing Ecocert Certification, and panellist include GOTS, Chifeng Dongrong Cashmere Development and Shaoxing Ecou Textile.