With around eight months still to go before the first editions since the corona pandemic of Techtextil, the leading international trade fair for textiles and nonwovens, and Texprocess, the leading international trade fair for processing textile and flexible materials, around 900 exhibitors from currently 45 countries have already registered to take part in Frankfurt am Main.

The registration status is over 85% for Techtextil and over 70% for Texprocess based on the last events in 2019.

• Both trade fairs will be held as hybrid events with many supplementary digital services for exhibitors and visitors in addition to the live exhibition and programme of events.

Sustainability as a key theme

From the UN Decade of Action, which calls for the implementation of sustainable development targets on a global level by 2030, to the EU Green Deal, which aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, or the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (‘Lieferkettengesetz’) recently passed by the German government, which makes companies responsible for human-rights infringements in their supply chains, sustainability is a vital subject that is also driving the textile industry and to which, given its size and impact on people and nature, the sector can make a substantial contribution.

With Sustainability@Techtextil and Sustainability@Texprocess, the two leading fairs will put the spotlight in June 2022 on the sustainability concepts of the companies and organisations taking part. Expert discussions will supplement the subject. Moreover, a special category of the Techtextil and Texprocess Innovation Awards will honour outstanding achievements relating to sustainability in the sector.

From cotton growing, via dyeing processes that conserve water, to finishing: the timelessness of denim fashion has not only given rise to a host of myths and facts revolving around sustainability but also to a multitude of innovations in the sector. With the Denim Future Factory (DFF), the denim industry will be a thematic focal point at Texprocess 2022.

New: area for international textile start-ups

The textile sector is in motion and textile start?ups are active in numerous future-oriented fields, such as 3D design, blockchain, e-commerce and sustainability. For the first time, Techtextil and Texprocess will introduce international start-ups for technical textiles and textile processing on a special area supplementing the popular ‘Young Innovative Companies from Germany’ area supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, which spotlights companies based in Germany that have been on the market for a maximum of 10 years. Additionally, young people in the textile sector can benefit from the Texprocess Campus with its presentations by universities and other institutes of higher education.

New layout and hygiene regulations

In 2022, Techtextil and Texprocess will be held for the first time in the western section of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre with Halls 8, 9, 11 and 12. With regard to the applicable hygiene regulations, Messe Frankfurt maintains close contact with the relevant authorities in order to ensure the best possible protection of exhibitors and visitors at all times.

With the postponement of the two fairs until 2022, both will change their cycle of events and shift permanently to even years. The new dates for the subsequent edition have also been set: 23 to 26 April 2024.