The ‘Source it’ area will offer detailed insights into new channels and technologies during Texprocess from 4 to 7 May 2015.
International demand for production capacity is growing. Fashion labels and garment manufacturers are looking for new outward processing channels to outsource production fully or partially. At the same time, rising production costs in China and India are bringing about a reconsideration of priorities: transparency in the textile supply chain, optimum technical integration and corporate social responsibility are replacing price as the most important production criterion. Against this background, the ‘Source it’ area will offer detailed insights into new channels and technologies during Texprocess.
Combination of production companies and machinery suppliers
Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies of Messe Frankfurt, says, “Within the framework of our Texpertise Network with over 40 textile fairs worldwide, we also organise events for garment production. At Apparel Sourcing in Paris and New York, garment manufacturers target the design-oriented visitors of the concurrent Texworld. ‘Source it’ also presents companies from the outward-processing sector. Additionally, the ‘Source it’ area is distinguished by its highly technological orientation and, therefore, is of particular interest to Texprocess visitors, most of whom come to see machinery. This combination of production companies and suppliers of machinery and technology is unique in Europe and future-oriented.”
‘Source it’ offers both production companies and fashion enterprises supplementary benefits: the former can take new orders and find out about the latest technologies at Texprocess, e.g. new solutions for sewing, joining, embroidering and cutting. For their part, fashion labels can find not only innovative production machines but also interesting companies for outward processing. ‘Source it’ is also aimed at export-promotion companies, national associations or institutions of the textile and garment industry.
‘Source it 2015’: focusing on Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Africa and sustainability
The ‘Source it’ will once again be centrally located in Hall 5.0, in the vicinity of the sewing and joining product segment. Close by, the Texprocess Forum will also provide information about topical sourcing questions. At present, great interest in Texprocess is being shown by companies from South and East Europe, Central Asia and Africa. In 2013, over 50 companies and associations from 16 nations took part, inter alia, from Bolivia, Kenya, Lithuania, Peru, Romania, Tunisia and Vietnam. “At the same time, the production of fashions and garments is being shifted back to Europe. Thus, much better represented in 2013 compared to 2011 were, for example, companies from Egypt, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Poland, Portugal and Serbia. Countries from East and South Europe, and the Maghreb score through flexibility and short transport distances”, says Schmidt.
Given the demand for environmentally friendly and socially fair production in the garment sector, ‘Source it’ will focus on social standards and textile labels in 2015. Well-known testing and certification systems, such as GOTS and OEKO-TEX with STeP, have found their way into production facilities in Eastern Europe and Asia. “For the first time this year, we have awarded our ‘STeP by Oeko-Tex Certification’ label to companies from China, India and Egypt. Sustainable production processes and social working conditions are developing within the industry into an increasingly important quality feature”, says David Pircher of the OEKO-TEX Community in Zurich.
