Heimtextil 2024 in Figures

In spite of heavy traffic disruptions due to the ongoing transportation sector strikes, participation and attendance at Heimtextil 2024 reached record levels.  According to official statistics released, in the four days it was held, Heimtextil 2024 welcomed 46,000 visitors from 130 countries and there were more than 2,800 exhibitors from 60 nations, a 25% increase compared to Heimtextil 2023.

For ODAYA Home, participating in Heimtextil 2024 was an opportunity to catch up live with our valued partners from Portugal and Italy who supply us with the high-grade cotton and linen fabrics we use for the ODAYA bedlinen and kitchen collections and discussing with them new projects we can engage in together.  We also met with potential new partners who share our focus on quality and ethical supply chain management.  All of these exciting meetings happened in the space of 12 large halls at Messe Frankfurt, bedecked with bold and impressive textile art installations.

Taking Care of Our Home

And while trending textures and colours were an absolute delight to take in, Heimtextil 2024 had a very pronounced focus on the theme of sustainable textile production and responsible consumption – topics very dear to our ODAYA heart.

The textile market worldwide is vast. Spinning and dying yarn and weaving fabrics on a scale to meet the immense demand fuels a consistently growing traditional industry, reaching levels the human mind can barely fathom.  Servicing this need and keeping up with the pace of seasonally releasing new, different products comes with a cost and that is the pollution that the textile industry generates when producing and then discarding used textiles.

It is reassuring that while previous editions of Heimtextil focused on highlighting the extent to which the textile industry contributes to environmental pollution and building momentum for action, this year the debate was focused on sharing best practices by businesses that have already taken steps to minimize their own or the larger industry’s environmental footprint.  By now, environmental pollution is an acknowledged fact and there is consensus that decisions to develop and incorporate more sustainable production practices are the rational thing to do.

The textile industry is moving in the direction of water and energy conservation, away from toxic chemicals, replacing them with active agents of natural origin and organic dyes.  Products are also about to experience a core transformation as more and more plant-based fibers are processed through newly engineered techniques.

Plant-Based Fibers

Cotton and linen have been in heavy demand worldwide for centuries but the recent spike in the cost of the linen plant’s cultivation, together with the complexity of its weaving process, have encouraged companies to explore the processing of other plant-based fibers.  While bamboo and hemp have been a preferred diversifaction strategy in the past, we saw this year the growing popularity of banana and seaweed fibers.

There have also been considerable efforts to enhance the biodegradability of technical textiles, such as those made of polyester.  Companies have allocated funding for R&D projects that aim to introduce fibers of natural origin to technical textile, thus making it biodegradable in natural environments, such as water and soil.

Exploring, investing in such research and making informed decisions to purchase such textile later is not only rational to ensure our life and well-being as a species.  There is a sense of spirituality in living in harmony with our environment.

Guilt-Free Textiles

Sense and sensitivity, empathy and respect, go hand in hand.  Going back to the environment of Heimtextil 2024 when showing up was contingent on the functioning of a transportation network troubled too long with too many problems, it is reassuring that the international textile industry identifies solutions to swelling environmental problems before they become so acute that we simply cannot move forward.

At ODAYA Home we are confident that just as handcrafted lace coming out of the hands and hearts of women artisans helps one sleep better, so can sustainable production practices and organic raw materials and dyes contribute to a guilt-free experience with premium textile.  And when the time comes to select those sustainably produced, biodegradable, fine fibers, we will be ready to place orders.  Just as we have done so far.

* Pictures in this article are from the Heimtextil 2024 installations of Adalberto Studio, L’Appartement, Kohinoor Textile Mills, and the general Heimtextil exhibitions.