Reflecting on the Future Fabrics Expo | NYC Edition 2023
The Sustainable Angle recently staged a successful NYC Edition of the Future Fabrics Expo at White Space Chelsea from 14-15 November 2023. We’re grateful to everyone who joined us in exploring sustainably and responsibly produced textiles and who engaged with our many pioneering mill exhibitors.
This FFE NYC edition provided best-practice sourcing solutions and valuable insights into the latest textile developments, fostering a vibrant space for sharing knowledge and inspiring positive industry change. It offered the NYC industry an unparalleled opportunity for fashion professionals, large and small brands, designers, and creatives to discover, source and connect with pioneering exhibitors.
Highlights included over 5000 sustainably and responsibly-produced fabrics and materials, an Innovation Hub edit showcasing cutting-edge innovations, and a focus on nature-positive materials and regenerative practices.
Staying true to our “Learning by Sourcing” platform, Future Fabrics Expo NYC was complete with our signature educational posters and resources shown throughout the Expo.
NYC Premium Exhibitors
Säntis Textiles (@saentistextiles): Their 100% recycled fibers are a testament to the possibilities of circular fashion.
OnceMore® (@sodragroup): Pioneering in the recycling of blended fabrics, offering a glimpse into the future of textile sustainability.
Spiber (@spiber_inc): Showcasing plant-based, biodegradable textiles, they redefine what it means to be environmentally conscious in material production.
Thermore®: Known for their advanced thermal insulation, they brought an innovative edge to sustainable fabric technologies.
Positive Materials (@positivematerials): With groundbreaking textiles, they’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in eco-conscious fabric design.
Lenzing Group (@tencel_global, @tencel_luxe, @ecovero_global): Their extensive range of luxurious fibers highlighted the blend of sustainability and quality.
Recyctex (@recyctex): Demonstrating innovative advancements in textile recycling, they are changing perceptions of what recycled fabrics can be.
Bananatex (@bananatex): Offering a technical fabric made from Abacá, they showcased the versatility and environmental benefits of this material.
Parley for the Oceans(@parley.tv): This global network of creators and thinkers is collaborating to protect our oceans, bringing a unique perspective to sustainable materials.
Elyaf Tekstil (@elyaftekstilofficial): Their commitment to combining low impact with high-quality fabrics is a model for sustainable fabric production.
Papillon Bleu (@papillonbleufabrics): Focusing on regenerative agriculture cotton, they’re at the forefront of sustainable farming practices.
Ettitude (@ettitudestore): Their signature Clean Bamboo® lyocell textiles represent a shift towards more sustainable, plant-based materials.
In a world of monotony and slim pickings, the Future Fabrics Expo has put together a curated collection of extraordinary textiles and fibres. There is so much innovation and newness, it makes you want to jump out of your skin and get it right away. The surfaces and colours have an incredible effect on the audience and the amount of enthusiasm is palpable. You would have to travel to the end of the earth and back to find even one or two of some of the extraordinary textiles that are on display at FFE.
Invite-only industry private views including panel discussions added depth by highlighting exhibitors’ latest sustainability developments and achievements, furthering connections between industry leaders and exhibitors, deepening the conversation around responsible sourcing.
On our opening night reception, we had the privilege of hosting the panel ‘Circular Approaches to Sustainability’ featuring our mill exhibitors at NYC such as Steven Chueng from RECYCTEX CO., LTD. Callie Clayton of Spiber Inc., Angeline Elfström from OnceMore®, and Annabelle Georgina Hutter from Säntis Textiles and moderated by Alice Roche-Naude of Futerra.
The conversation centred around the diversity of approaches to circularity using different material feedstocks. Recyctex’s ReTraze innovation confronts the most immediate industry problem regarding the oversupply of virgin petrochemical sources, creating fibres and yarns from traceable PET waste streams. Spiber’s biofabricated brewed protein fibres explores a future thinking material category grown outside of natural systems using plant based waste cellulose feedstock. Oncemore® by Södra captures the value locked into post-consumer textile waste by recycling blended fabrics and combining it with renewable wood from Södra’s 52,000 members. Säntis Textiles takes a mechanical engineering perspective with precision to create RCO100, a machine that produces the world’s first 100% mechanically recycled cotton fibre.
While each company brings a fresh and ingenious solution to the insurmountable waste problem in the fashion industry, a common mindset between these best-practice approaches emerge: redefining perspectives on waste, identifying the creative solutions, and recapturing the value.
We look forward to another Future Fabrics Expo NYC Edition soon…
Thank you to our mill exhibitors at NYC, as well as the mills and suppliers of our greater FFE showcase, Talisker Whiskey, White Space Chelsea, and to our team of volunteers.
