The ‘Textil? Zukunft!’ exhibition in its various guises in Crimmitschau, Großschönau, Chemnitz and the surrounding areas is a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase interesting companies and exciting products. What we see here is the opposite of fast fashion: high-quality textiles for clothing, home and house and above all for technical applications.

Today, corporate customers and consumers are increasingly interested in sustainable and ethically manufactured products and companies are therefore investing more and more in transparent supply chains and certified production processes. Regional production and, where possible, regional supply chains offer clear advantages here. The ecological footprint is minimised and communication and collaboration in the value chain is easy. In addition, regional textile production strengthens resilience to external shocks such as supply bottlenecks or global trade disruptions, as local markets can react better to unforeseen events.

And although there are now also automation solutions in the textile and clothing industry, we still need people who produce textiles with creativity, commitment, skill and diligence. Many companies are looking to recruit young talent in particular. And above all in the region – because production still takes place in the companies.