Future Fabrics Expo is Leading the Way

on 13th Nov 2012

From the 7th to 9th of November the Future Fabrics Expo organised by the Sustainable Angle took place at the London College of Fashion. Doing our very best to keep up with all the innovations that are constantly happening in the textile industry, Urban Times went to see what sustainable novelties and eco-friendly classics were on show.

©futurefabricsexpo.org. Photography www.mykabaum.com

The exhibition aimed on inspiring and educating fashion designers and brands to enrich their collections with sustainable materials as well as ending the cliché of sustainable textiles being boring, low quality or solely artisanal. The fabrics were not only high-tech, luxurious and beautiful but can also compete on the international textile market.

In a relatively small space, the exposition showcased a broad range of fabric samples from international textile producers and mills. They were sourced according to environmental criteria developed in collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, highlighting aspects such as water use, waste and carbon reduction as well as preservation of biodiversity. Traceable supply chains and local production were also some of the points considered when choosing fabrics. The exhibition was enriched by visual material provided by LCF students and banners that gave background info on sustainable production methods such as recycling fibres and vegetable dyeing or materials such as organic cotton, linen and different types of wool.

©futurefabricsexpo.org. Photography www.mykabaum.com

One section of fabrics on show was the Club Masters of Linen, a club of European textile companies that have committed to a 100% traceable supply chain and produce linen, which is, by nature, a quite sustainable fibre. The Swiss Organics Fabrics corner featured a broad range of high quality organic cotton fabrics, produced according to the highest ecological standards in Switzerland. One of the rather exceptional fabrics in the exposition was the S.Café®. Practically a polyester, this fabric’s raw material are used coffee grounds that Taiwanese company Singtex managed to turn into a yarn that possesses great odour- and moisture-management qualities and is ideally suited for outer- and sportswear. More back to the roots but stunningly beautiful was German company Seidentraum‘s range of GOTS-certified and non-violent silks produced in a biodynamic project in China. Other fabrics to be seen and felt were British wool tweeds, Indian hand-loomed cottons, mechanically recycled fishnet fabrics and enzyme-washed denims.

©futurefabricsexpo.org. Photography www.mykabaum.com

And with designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Stella Mc Cartney and Ada Zanditon as well as mass market chains Tesco and H&M having visited the exhibition, this is certainly a valuable source of information for everyone interested and working in fashion, so we are looking forward to next year’s expo!

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