Innovation and sustainability are not disparate elements — they go hand in hand at Munich Fabric Start. The Sustainable Innovations forum at the event is a stepping stone towards big things for startups and design entrepreneurs. Simon Angel, the Curator of Sustainable Innovations, talks about newcomers and industry. Brought to you in association with and being presented at Munich Fabric Start. 

When design is used as a tool to optimise natural materials by using existing resources, a new product is born. The test is whether it can be used for the greater good of the planet. A bunch of designers are doing just that. texfash.com profiles some. These are brought to you in association with and being presented at Munich Fabric Start. 

When yarns of art meld and intertwine with threads of science, there must emerge an innovative new weave. texfash.com brings to you three designers and their craft. The three-day event gets under way on 24 January. These profiles are brought to you in association with and being presented at Munich Fabric Start. 

Inspiring new products, innovative content and future-oriented themes is what Munich Fabric Start promises, even in these times of uncertainty. Frank Junker, Creative Director & Partner, Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions GmbH elaborates in this one-on-one with texfash.com.

It's show time. It's the curtain-raiser for Spring-Summer ‘24. And it's the three-day international fabric trade show: Munich Fabric Start (MFS), beginning 24 January. It's the right occasion, the right time, the right place. A texfash.com preview. 

Each stakeholder in the leather industry, be it the tanner, trader, supplier or customer must get involved to get leather to a safe place in the mind of new younger consumers, and throughout the supply network involved. There are no impossible hurdles for a determined leather industry to make great strides quickly and set an achievable target date with milestones.

Blackwashed much, leather is standing up as a material which is irrefutably a by-product of food production and could well be a waste on a huge scale of a natural material which instead is turned into something useful for society.

The Leather Manifesto was a call to action not just for the COP27 delegates themselves, but for all in the space of sustainable materials production.  As a natural material that is long-lasting, can be repaired or repurposed and at end of life will biodegrade, leather needs to be part of wider discussions towards a circular economy. This industry will continue to push the point that it can be part of the climate solution.

As the leather industry grapples with the question of how it can sustainably play its part to meet ambitious climate and other targets set at a global scale, it is imperative that individual companies in the supply chain focus their efforts in a way that is highly localised to their specific circumstances.

Textile Exchange (TE) has accepted the official ISO 15115 definition of leather, and manufacturers, brands and retailers must make it incumbent on themselves to educate consumers the difference between genuine leather and faux leather, PU leather, mushroom leather, pineapple leather, or any other plant-based leather which cannot be categorised as 'leather'. So, what does industry think?