Since Fashion Revolution started, consumers, activists, brands and businesses have used their voices to demand change from the fashion industry to ensure fashion is made in a safe, clean and fair way. In our position as an industry platform we are able to convey the significance of this movement to our community of fashion professionals but also to our global network of manufacturers and suppliers operating in the textile and fashion industry.

At previous editions of our shows we reached out to our exhibitors to get involved in the viral movement #WHOMADEMYCLOTHES and send us photographs of their team responding to the question ‘Who Made My Fabrics, Trims, Prints and Denim?’. Displaying these in our busy trend and entrance areas helps send a powerful message to our audience and communities that these businesses are prepared and willing to support this Fashion Revolution movement leading to greater transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain, from fiber all the way to the end consumer.

SPORTSWEAR INTERNATIONAL TALK

DON’T BE AFRAID OF ROBOTS – HOW AUTOMATION WILL CHANGE THE FASHION INDUSTRY

In the February edition of Keyhouse at MUNICH FABRIC START, Sabine Kühnl, Editor-in-Chief at Sportswear International, hosted a panel about “Don’t be afraid of robots! How automation will change the fashion industry”. Five leading experts offered their unique insights into automation, digitalization and localization – which are currently some of the key trends driving the global fashion market.

With Ebru Ozaydin (Artistic Milliners), Jon Zornow (founder of Sewbo), Dr David Schmelzeisen (Research Associate of ITA, RWTH Aachen), Dr. Thomas Fischer (Head of Research at ITF Denkendorf) and Benjamin Baumann (Project Manager at Kuka).

With increasing importance placed on sustainability, the need to guarantee truly sustainable standards is in greater demand by buyers and brands. Ahead of their showcase at ReSOURCE at the next edition of MUNICH FABRIC START, we interviewed representatives Heike Hess of the International Association of Natural Textiles (IVN) and Franziska Dormann of Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).

Briefly, IVN awards two quality seals for ecologically produced products: NATURTEXTIL and NATURLEDER. For both seals, the association has defined parameters that have become a standard in the industry. The association is co-owner of GOTS, the worldwide standard for the production of sustainable textiles on an industrial scale.

What is the most frequently asked question at the beginning of a consultation?

GOTS: Often it begins with a general introduction to the Global Organic Textile Standard, i.e. What is covered by the standard? How is this ensured? By reviewing the strict social and environmental criteria throughout the entire textile supply chain – from the fields to the wardrobe – GOTS guarantees safety and transparency for the consumer. The independent certification ensures credibility compared to mere self-explanatory statements.
IVN: Most visitors ask us for certifications and seals. How to get certified, which fabrics and accessories must be sourced to reach IVN BEST or GOTS requirements or how do our seals differ from others founds in ReSOURCE, register here.

What changes do you want brands to make in the next 5 – 10 years to bring about and anchor sustainable aspects of the textile industry?

GOTS: I think most people have recognized the importance and urgency of this because no one can fly under the radar for long. Sustainability interests those who have to justify themselves the most. For us, these are the brands that sell. Everyone involved is interested, the question is which actions follow? In industry, the spectrum ranges from greenwashing to genuinely practiced sustainability. Consumers range from lip service to showing a real willingness to spend more on sustainable products.
IVN: Many buyers, especially brands, are looking for certified fabrics. The selection of certified fabrics made with natural fibres in ReSOURCE is quite large, but for synthetic and regenerated fibres there is a lack of products that have been awarded truly sustainable seals. I would like to see more interest from the brands here, which would result in a stronger commitment on the part of the fabric suppliers.

How has the brands’ approach to research and purchasing changed over the last seasons?

GOTS: The trade fairs, as well as specific enquiries by e-mail, have resulted in more and more brands wanting to find out which suppliers are already GOTS-certified. Here I refer to the public database with almost 6,000 certified companies. Many companies that are interested in GOTS want to continue working with their existing suppliers and therefore jointly go the way of gaining certification of their entire supply chain.
IVN: You can clearly see that the topic of sustainability is becoming increasingly important for brands. Visitors at ReSOURCE are better prepared and ask more concrete questions. Many are looking for specific products and have clear expectations about what a fabric should be like. The typical length of time brands exhibit in the ReSOURCE area has definitely increased. More and more buyers who do not explicitly belong to sustainable companies are also showing interest in the products exhibited at ReSOURCE.

What are the specific challenges facing a future-oriented fashion industry?

IVN: The challenges vary depending on the size and orientation of the fashion companies. Smaller brands – especially in the sustainable segment – have problems finding certified suppliers who also supply small quantities. Larger companies use many different materials and accordingly many different suppliers. It is difficult to have an overview of the entire supply chain up to your own company, especially if you attach importance to a certain level of sustainability held by suppliers and sub-suppliers. It is still a challenge to reconcile certification and sustainability with the profitability of products. For particularly fashionable brands, it is still challenging to find exclusive or unique fabrics and additionals in sustainable qualities. There are certainly some other challenges, but overall it is more important that today means making sustainable fashion easier and more profitable than it was a few seasons ago.

Answering to the theme of innovation driven by THRIVABILITY, MUNICH FABRIC START has developed a new icon guidance system with which all material highlights presented in the trend forums are marked according to their sustainable as well as technical functions. In this way, trade fair visitors can quickly and clearly see what additional product features and functions the shown fabrics and ingredients have.

Each of the 44 icons indicates a specific characteristic related to the sustainability or performance of the respective product. With the help of these icons, manufacturers can highlight the added value of their products and at the same time make it easier for interested buyers to navigate through the increasingly vast range of products on offer.

“With our new icon guidance system, we are highlighting the interface between contemporary aesthetics and invisible but important advanced product features. In doing so, we see MUNICH FABRIC START neither as a certification body nor an audit agency – for the given classification, we rely on the information and honesty of the respective supplier of the corresponding samples. We are thus taking an important step towards information, transparency and responsible action in the interest of the industry.

Jo Baumgartner, Fabrics & Trends MUNICH FABRIC START

In this sense, all specific properties such as eco-labels, social standards, performance indicators, limit values, chemical ingredients, etc. must be verified again with the respective provider. In the trend forums at MUNICH FABRIC START, you will find the icon legend with the corresponding explanations and meanings behind all of the icons.