Performance fabric expert and member of the Advisory Board for Performance Days, Charles Ross, brings us a final look at what’s on offer at Performance Days in Munich this October, as well as one step visitors can take to help them get the most out of the show.
Get a window into Corporate Social Responsibility
In the performance brand and outdoor industry world, there sometimes exists a “right-hand and left-hand” gap. Design and Fabric Development teams may want to source lower impact materials, however few of the members of these teams have had specific training in this skill. A brand’s CSR people may also want to use this easy win to improve their brand’s footprint, but are rarely material engineers.
Fibrant, the sustainable chemical products and services partner, has also identified this difficulty. In order to explore the subject more, they have worked with Performance Days to create a questionnaire. The results of this survey will be discussed by a panel on day two of Performance Days.
The questionnaire is still open for industry members to submit their views. And for every virtual completed survey, Performance Days will plant a tree.
This edition sees an expanded Performance Days
In other news, the ingredient sourcing show has expanded into a second hall to accommodate additional stands and some extra features alongside the Performance Forum: The Sustainability Lounge, and the Media Lounge. The Sustainability Zone now has a selection of mini stands showcasing the best innovation from new and existing brands, whilst the Media area has a free coffee machine.
In the adjoining hall is the Footwear Forum, as well as a special exhibition from Utah State University (long term partners of the Functional Fabric Fair – the sister fair in the US) on the “History of waterproofing and membranes.”
Marco Weichert, Exhibition Founder, says: “There has always been a bigger demand from exhibitors and visitors for more at the event, but we have curated it tightly so that every stand adds to the conversation around better practice materials. Nobody wants to walk endless aisles where everything is just more of the same. Now we have gone into a second hall to accommodate the extra. Welcome to Footwear!”
What to expect from the Expert Talks at Performance Days
The final schedule for the presentation stage schedule has now been published. Regular contributors like Head Fabric Forum Judge Alexa Dehmel will give an overview of the best fabrics identified and also distribute the prizes to the very best submissions; Nora Kuhner will update on trends.
A keynote speaker from The University of Leeds keynote will report on its investigation into garment selling price versus physical durability; the EOG’s Sustainability lead, Katy Stevens, will reveal more about the SDEX project; and a panel on footwear issues will be chaired by Rucky Zambrano (starting with the subject of pleather).
Day two is also the SAZsport conference. This will see panels chaired by Sophie Bramel and Anna Rodewald as well as Fibrant’s survey results. Alexa Dehmel has also curated the best of the Innovation zone into a Pecha Kucha format.
The Expert Talks element is its busiest ever, with daily starts at 9.15 am and most presentations just 45 minutes long. In a change from recent Performance Day events, there will be no livestream, but all talks will be recorded and available for playback by the end of the month.
And perhaps most importantly of all, the traditional party with free beer and nibbles will mark the end of day one, and this year with a gin bar too!
Performance Days will take place on Oct. 4 and 5 at Messe München and online. You can register for a free ticket at the Performance Days website now.
