Hürth, 19 March 2024: Cellulose fibres are the only bio-based and biodegradable fibres that cover a wide range of properties and applications and can rapidly increase their capacity. The raw materials can be virgin wood as well as all types of cellulosic waste streams from forestry, agriculture, cotton processing, textile and paper. Increasing the share of cellulose fibres will therefore play a crucial role in solving the sustainability challenges of the textile industry.
The “Cellulose Fibres Conference 2024” held in Cologne on 13-14 March demonstrated the innovative power of the cellulose fibre industry. Several projects and scale-ups for textiles, hygiene products, construction and packaging showed the growth and bright future of this industry, supported by the policy framework to reduce single-use plastic products, such as the Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) in Europe.
40 international speakers presented the latest market trends in their industry and illustrated the innovation potential of cellulose fibres. Leading experts introduced new technologies for the recycling of cellulose-rich raw materials and gave insights into circular economy practices in the fields of textiles, hygiene, construction and packaging. All presentations were followed by exciting panel discussions with active audience participation including numerous questions and comments from the audience in Cologne and online. Once again, the Cellulose Fibres Conference proved to be an excellent networking opportunity to the 214 participants and 23 exhibitors from 27 countries. The annual conference is a unique meeting point for the global cellulose fibre industry. Asta Partanen from the nova-Institute, responsible for the content of the conference: “We received very positive feedback from the participants for the focus on cellulose fibres, the in-depth content and the good atmosphere as well as the many new contacts along the entire value chain.”
For the fourth time, nova-Institute has awarded the “Cellulose Fibre Innovation of the Year” Award at the Cellulose Fibres Conference. The Innovation Award recognises applications and innovations that will lead the way in the industry’s transition to sustainable fibres. Close race between the nominees – “The Straw Flexi-Dress” by DITF & VRETENA (Germany), cellulose textile fibre from unbleached straw pulp, is the winning cellulose fibre innovation 2024, followed by HONEXT (Spain) with the “HONEXT® Board FR-B (B-s1, d0)” from fibre waste from the paper industry, while TreeToTextile (Sweden) with their “New Generation of Bio-based and Resource-efficient Fibre” won third place.
Prior to the event, the conference advisory board had nominated six remarkable innovations for the award. The nominees were neck and neck, when the winners were elected in a live vote by the audience on the first day of the conference. The Innovation Award “Cellulose Fibre Innovation of the Year 2024” was kindly sponsored by GIG Karasek.
