Functional Fabric Fair Fall

Join Hohenstein at Booth #686 to discuss textile testing and performance, from comfort and compression to odor management and ecological impact.

Expert Talks
Tues | Oct 27 | 12:40pm
More Data, More Options: What You Find When You Look at the Full Picture 
The material that's right for your next product may already be in your development pipeline. You just haven't asked it the right questions yet.

Most performance materials are evaluated against a single application. That narrows what you find. When thermal, moisture, repellency and other dimensions are assessed together rather than in isolation, the picture changes. Materials you ruled out become viable. Materials you approved reveal limitations. And often, a material developed for one purpose turns out to be exactly right for another.

But combining methods is only half the work. Knowing what the results mean together - and what to do with that - is where the real decisions get made. These experts will explore a broader, more connected approach to material evaluation: what the methods show, how results combine and what that means for sourcing decisions, product development and performance claims.

Wed | Oct 28 | 12:25pm
Garment Take-Back Laws: EPR Already in Effect and Expanding
Apparel brands now face extended producer responsibility laws on both sides of the Atlantic. Most are underprepared.

In California, textile EPR is already in effect. Producers are required to fund a statewide system for collecting and recycling end-of-life garments. The obligations on brands don't wait for the legal challenges to be settled.

In the EU, the textile EPR directive entered into force in October 2025. Member states have until 2028 to establish operational schemes. Any brand selling into European markets is already in scope. Legal and technical experts will cover what the laws require, where implementation stands and what to do now.