Sustainable Textile Innovations at Dorbirn GFC 2023
On 13-15 September, Textile ETP Secretary General Lutz Walter participated in the 62nd Global Fibre Congress in Dornbirn, Austria.
In Dornbirn, Austria, the 62nd Global Fibre Congress brough together industry leaders and innovators to discuss the latest advancements in fibre and textile technology. Among them was our Secretary General, Lutz Walter. The central topics this year were sustainability and circular economy, fibre innovation & bio materials, nonwovens & technical textiles, as well as clothing and sports. In this context, collaborations are a necessity, and Dorbirn GFC acted as a network generator.
One of the key takeaways from the congress is the remarkably stable growth in global fibre production. Reports suggest that production is set to approach 130 million tons by 2024, with a further increase of over 20 million tons by 2030. Most of this is due to general consumption growth in emerging economies and steady expansion of fibre usage for technical applications incl. nonwovens and composites. Part of the fibre consumption increase towards the end of the decade may be contributed by fibre-to-fibre recycling.
During the event, Lutz Walter also had the opportunity to meet with various industry leaders, including Textile ETP President Marina Crnoja-Cosic (Director New Business Development at Kelheim Fibres), and previous and current Dornbirn Global Fibre Congress Managing Directors Andreas Dorner and Friedrich Weninger, Annabelle Georgina Hutter and Stefan Hutter from Säntis Textiles, and Dirk Vantyghem from EURATEX.
The Dornbirn Global Fiber Congress is the lead event and communication platform for fiber innovations and its downstream manufacturing stages. The Dornbirn-GFC takes place in the Kulturhaus Dornbirn/Vorarlberg, Austria every year in September to enable the networking between the industry, universities, technical colleges and trade associations.
