Heimtextil-trend 2024
Transformative Textile innovations
At Heimtextil – a major event for all players in (technical) textiles – the latest trends are presented every year. In 2024, there is a significant focus on material developments within the context of a more sustainable, circular world that we are moving towards.
Pioneering themes and spectacular presentations cater to all textile professionals who continually seek to expand their knowledge: that’s what Heimtextil Trends represent.
After last year’s emphasis on “recycling,” Heimtextil Trends 24/25 sheds light on transformative textile innovations: innovative producers showcase the ways in which the transformation of the home textile industry is progressing. They thereby constitute the inspiring heart of the trade fair, translating global megatrends into textile visions under the overarching name New Sensitivity.
Technology can support the transformation of textiles through the use of various methods: upcycling and recycling of textiles, textile construction, and textile design. Due to decades of production, textiles are now a material abundantly available. Developing technologies for recycling textile waste and methods for upcycling textiles enhances the circular use of existing textiles.
Furthermore, traditional textile construction techniques also offer opportunities for sustainable solutions: using knitting techniques for furniture upholstery, for example, results in less fabric waste; weaving techniques can create various colors with just a few colored yarns. Textile Design Thinking is another method that focuses on critical issues such as energy consumption and sustainability of natural fibers, improving them through technological textile development.
Plant-based: textiles made from plant crops or plant by-products
Plant-based textiles mean that the fibers come from something that grows instead of being synthetically produced.
The sustainable advantage of plant-based textiles is that they have a natural origin and can therefore be better recirculated in existing ecosystems. They can be divided into two groups.
The first group of textiles is made from plant crops. New resilient crops such as cactus, hemp, abaca, seaweed, and rubber offer new sustainable textile solutions. Through mechanical extraction, they can thrive despite climate changes and require fewer chemicals in their development.
The second group consists of textiles made from plant byproducts, residues from production such as banana, olive, persimmon, and hemp.
Technological: technology and technical solutions transforming textiles
Technology can support the transformation of textiles through the use of various methods: upcycling and recycling of textiles, textile construction, and textile design.
Due to decades of production, textiles are now a material abundantly available. Developing technologies for recycling textile waste and methods for upcycling textiles enhances the circular use of existing textiles.
Furthermore, traditional textile construction techniques also offer opportunities for sustainable solutions: using knitting techniques for furniture upholstery, for example, results in less fabric waste; with weaving techniques, various colors can be created using only a few colored yarns.
Textile Design Thinking is another method that focuses on critical issues such as energy consumption and sustainability of natural fibers, improving them through technological textile development.
Bio-engineered: engineered to enhance bio-degrading
To some extent, biotextile represents a fusion of plant-based and technological textiles.
Bioengineering bridges the gap between nature and technology, transforming the way textiles are produced.
They can be divided into two directions: fully bio-engineered and biodegradable textiles. In the production of fully biotechnological textiles, nature-inspired strategies are applied.
Instead of cultivating plants and extracting their fibers, textiles are made from the proteins, carbohydrates, or bacteria found in corn, grass, and sugarcane. The manufacturing involves a biomolecular process that creates filaments, which are then turned into yarn.
The sustainable advantage of biotechnological textiles is that they can exhibit some of the same functionalities as synthetically produced textiles while still being biodegradable due to their natural origin. Biodegradable fibers can be added to conventional textiles like polyester to enhance their ability to biodegrade in natural environments such as water or soil.
While not entirely biodegradable, this biologically enhanced textile will be up to 93% biodegradable compared to conventional textiles.