Buyers show interest in eco-friendly fabrics at Texworld

The curtain falls on this great anniversary session of Texworld and the third session of apparelsourcing Paris, which has asserted its relevance! Fifteen years serving the fashion sector, a preeminent exhibition for the entire branch as regards the shrewd selection of products, its ability to keep abreast of the times and its good responsiveness to the expectations of professionals. An excellent business hub buzzing with creativity.

This 31st session: a success, marked by the striking backdrop of the dominant trends for winter 2013/14 and by the exhibition of vintage silk panels from the house of Bucol. A rich source of inspiration for weavers, buyers and designers!

Exhibitors satisfied with the quality of visitors

The breakdown of the numbers is distorted by industrial action that took place on the first day, which had an impact on visitors’arrivals. Nonetheless the show welcomed 14 400 visitors from 104 countries over the course of the 4 days, a drop of -6% compared with last September’s show. A reflection of the global market climate and the situation in Europe.

The sales figures for the majority of businesses were very satisfactory. Texworld’s positioning as an exhibition where you can find the whole spectrum of qualities at the best prices has been confirmed and has contributed to these positive results.

We noted good attendance by the British (+3.33%) and renewed interest from Eastern Europe. With a plus of 20%, Brazil stands out from other countries from the Americas. A noticeable presence of visitors from the Middle East with strong buying power.

"We received some substantial orders from our regular customers and we’ve been able to establish some interesting new contacts. Texworld continues to represent an excellent platform for firms to expand their markets,”says Hussain Sajid, Marketing Director at the Pakistani denim producer Faisal.

Growing interest on the part of buyers in organic and eco-friendly fabrics　　

Texworld dedicated the whole of Tuesday, 18 September to sustainable development, calling it“Sustainability Day”. A host of visitors attended the lectures on vegetable dyes by Betty de Paris and on certification of organic fabrics by Ecocert.

Betty de Paris reports:“Some weavers who want to start out on vegetable dyeing contacted me after the lecture with a view to collaboration.”

83 weavers, in the 3 sections, showed organic and eco-friendly fabrics, out of a total of 811 exhibitors at Texworld. For example Armstrong Knitting Mill, Bordo Tekstil, Hantex, Northern Linen, The Core, Toray Sakai Weaving&Dyeing…

In ApparelSourcing, a number of manufacturers offered products with organic materials like Craft Aid from Mauritius or eco-friendly materials like the Indian belt maker RNG Exports India, whose metal buckles contain no nitrogen.

An ever-increasing number of buyers are on the lookout for these products even if organic and eco-friendly materials are between 15 and 25% more expensive than conventional fabrics.

Nick Papadopoulos, Director of Ja.Ni.Tex, agent for all of Greece and other Mediterranean countries agrees:“The interest and the demand from firms and designers for organic and eco-friendly textiles are growing continually. I believe that fabrics with added ecological value will become a strong trend.”

Weavers are involved in developing their sustainable product ranges and the majority say they are satisfied with the number of customers who are returning, like Philip Ong d’Armstrong Knitting Mill, back again after an absence at the last two shows:“We have met some American customers who are very interesting. Scandinavia remains our biggest customer. We are working with some major brands but also with niche firms like Nudie.”

"Despite keen interest on the part of buyers, the market is slow to develop. Efforts to make end consumers more aware are needed so that firms and the major brands incorporate more organic and ecological fabrics in their collections, not just in one-off collections”, emphasises Philip Langer, agent for the weaver Hemp Fortex Industries, which has a large collection with 100% organic cotton needlecord, organic cotton/organic hemp blends or fleece in 55% organic cotton/45% recycled polyester. These were a hit with labels like Patagonia and designers like Studio Jux!

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