Visitor numbers up at Ethical Fashion Show Berlin

The green-fashion segment continues to gain momentum”, said Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt, summarising the results of the show. Together with the concurrent GREENshowroom at Hotel Adlon Kempinski, the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin is the European centre for eco-fashion. Altogether, 98 brands from 21 nations provided a comprehensive overview of the latest sustainable fashion collections (July 2012: 83 brands from 18 countries).

Besides shoes and jeans, the focus of this season’s show was on the future-oriented subject of ‘upcycling’. One of the new exhibitors presenting an upcycling line was Globe Hope. “The German market is extremely important for us. We come from Finland but now concentrate fully on Germany.

The Ethical Fashion Show is held in an impressive location and offers a good overview of the eco-fashion market”, reports Taru Aalto, Operating Director of Globe Hope, one of three Finnish labels. Thanks to the increased number of labels from outside Germany, the level of internationality of this year’s event was higher than ever before.

High level of exhibitor satisfaction besides many registrations from new exhibitors, several former exhibitors also returned. Numerous labels, including Sey with its range of environmentally-friendly jeans, were back from last season. “I think it’s fantastic the way a big player such as Messe Frankfurt is investing in green fashions. For us, this is also confirmation that we are on the right track”, says Selma Yasdut, Managing Director of Sey. “The development of this fair is clear to see – the echo is getting bigger from time to time. It is also interesting to see that more and more conventional retailers and wholesalers are coming here.”

Claudia Lanius, CEO of Lanius, was also delighted with her company’s debut at the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin: “Lanius has been making sustainable products from organic raw materials since 1999 and we made a conscious decision to take part in the Ethical Fashion Show. Visitors here are focused on finding sustainable articles. Hence, it is the perfect platform on which to present our innovative ‘ecowool’ range.”

Complementary programme given an enthusiastic reception As in the past, trade visitors and representatives of the press at this season’s show benefited from a varied and interesting complementary programme offering detailed insights into the world of sustainable fashion. For the first time, INNATEX, the GREENshowroom and the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin set up a ‘GreenLounge’ in the ‘Umspannwerk Kreuzberg’ event location. The joint networking event included presentations about the three ecological textile fairs and was very well received by the green fashion scene.