The Sustainable Angle is thrilled to announce the success of FUTURE FABRICS EXPO 2024, which took place on the 25-26th June at Magazine London, a state-of-the-art 3200 square metres space overlooking the river Thames and Canary Wharf.
Future Fabrics Expo 2024 (FFE 2024) welcomed professionals in the fashion, home & interiors, and investment sectors from around the world. Since its inception in 2011, the annual Future Fabrics Expo (FFE) has become the largest dedicated sourcing destination for certified, sustainably and responsibly produced materials in fashion, home and interiors.
The Expo is distinctively an educational platform for understanding the impacts of our raw material and fossil fuel dependencies, and for sourcing responsibly to operate within planetary boundaries.
Future Fabrics Expo also provides a platform for cutting edge innovators who are developing solutions for the fashion industry of tomorrow. Our popular Seminar Series ran alongside the showcase to amplify key Expo themes, gathering global thought leaders and industry pioneers throughout the value chain to discuss insights, opportunities and action plans for the industry to tackle the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, while building resilient supply chains.
Future Fabrics Expo 2024 was the Flagship Event for Fashion & Textiles at London Climate Action Week 2024.
10,000+ materials and solutions on display for sourcing: thousands of globally-sourced, commercially-available, and certified best practice textiles. Materials are contextualised with educational information and each material is labelled with detailed sustainability information, environmental certifications and supplier details.
Thousands of materials that contribute to the diversification of the fibre basket, to accelerate the transition away from synthetics and conventionally grown and produced fibres. This included textiles from regenerative agricultural farming systems, agricultural waste innovations and next-gen regenerated cellulosics.
75 best-practice mills and suppliers from around the world exhibited their latest material collections in their own dedicated booths.
More than 50 innovations were curated in the Innovation Hub, a space which platforms the next generation of sustainable materials solutions and advanced technologies poised to transform our materials landscape.
Over 70 speakers took to the stage as part of our Seminar Series, which serves to amplify the messaging and information displayed throughout the showcase of materials solutions at FFE. The topics discussed went beyond lowering environmental impacts, to seeking eco-innovative solutions that can lead to positive impacts for people and the planet.
Future Fabrics Expo 2024 was proud to have the support of leading brands and organisations within the industry. As a Principle Partner of The Sustainable Angle, the Laudes Foundation continued to support the FFE and the curated area spotlighting Next Gen Materials, powered by Canopy and Fashion for Good.
LVMH, Principal Partner of Future Fabrics Expo 2024, also continued their partnership with the FFE to present the curated area “The Future of Luxury”, while Parley for the Oceans continued as a partner to showcase their creative cross-sector collaborations in fashion to raise awareness for the oceans.
Drawing upon the voices of the world’s leading industry experts, innovators and thought-leaders, our popular Seminar Series returned to the stage. The Seminar Series served as a conduit to explore the most defining issues of our time, deepen understanding and urge our listeners to take action, building on the solutions presented. These thought-provoking discussions spanned a wide variety of topics mirroring the exhibitions displayed throughout Future Fabrics Expo, including regenerative design, circular-systems approaches, material innovations, and upcoming policies and regulations.
Spotlighting groundbreaking concepts, material developments and prototypes that are poised to positively change our materials landscape, the Innovation Hub showcased cutting-edge sustainable solutions that are yet to be scaled. This hub has become a dynamic platform for innovators, researchers and students to showcase their ingenious solutions to some of our most pressing resource issues.
This year, the Innovation Hub also highlighted findings from a report by Christine Goulay’s consultancy Sustainabelle, titled “Next Gen to This Gen: Scaling Material Innovations in the Fashion Sector,” which highlights the inevitability and urgency of adopting Next Gen materials in fashion, driven by regulatory pressures, supply chain risks, consumer demand, and ambitious impact targets, drawing parallels to the growth seen in climate tech sectors. Read the report here.
Future Fabrics Expo 2024 expanded the Home & Interiors area to include materials solutions, furniture, lighting, and product design. The area also featured alternative innovative methods of upholstery without synthetics and toxic flame retardants. The lessons learned in the fashion space can provide guidance to the home and interiors sector, paving the way for cross-collaboration, exemplified by projects and installations displayed at FFE.
Media Partner of the Home & Interiors Area:
New to Future Fabrics Expo 2024, the Outdoor Pavilion Area hosted Impact Investors Sessions on Day 1, supported by Laudes Foundation, Canopy and Fashion for Good, and an industry discussion with lunch on Day 2 supported by Quantis – a BCG Company.
Regenerative Agriculture Area
Since 2019, the Future Fabrics Expo has been showcasing advancements in regenerative agriculture solutions for fashion and amplifying its critical role in delivering positive impacts. This year, the Regenerative Agriculture Area continued to communicate how the fashion supply chain can create positive impacts in biodiversity, climate change and soil health through regenerative outcomes.
Focus on clothing’s plastic impacts on human health
Despite increasing awareness of its negative effects on the environment, plastic remains deeply ingrained in the fashion and textiles industry. Scientific evidence is mounting about the detrimental health impacts, too: The Plastic Soup Foundation’s latest report Is Clothing Making Us Sick? proves this. Future Fabrics Expo 2024 showcased data from this report, and highlighted solutions and companies working on the problem — reinforcing the urgency for brands to adopt alternative fibres and material solutions as shown throughout the Expo.
Water scarcity and pollution
Depletion of freshwater sources is one of the most significant challenges we face, and one of the critical planetary boundaries which are in the ‘red zone’. This year, the Solutions Area also featured the Water Footprint Tool that assesses the sustainability, efficiency and equitability of water use in the textiles industry.
Discarded Materials Mapping
Future Fabrics Expo provided learning about circular business models, product design innovations in recycling and material reuse, material choice and diversification, safe chemicals and additive use – all crucial to ensure that valuable materials do not contribute to the industry’s growing waste problem.
Footwear Innovation Hub
New to Future Fabrics Expo 2024, the Footwear Innovation Hub mapped the materials and waste issues in this impactful product category. A showcase of forward-thinking exhibits featuring ingenious design strategies and approaches to materiality and manufacture were shown, exemplified by exhibits ranging from experimental speculative prototypes to commercial brands creating inspirational new design journeys.
