Alternative materials and recycling technologies are one of the most important future segments and drivers of innovation in technical textiles. Sustainability goals and regulatory requirements increase their relevance, while advances in performance and economic viability enhance their market competitiveness. Taking place from 21 to 24 April 2026, Techtextil reflects this key industry trend with a growing number of specialised exhibitors. With the new “Nature Performance” label, the leading global trade fair bundles relevant market offerings and facilitates access to new solutions – from natural fibres and yarns to bio-based materials and circular approaches.
Sustainable fibres and yarns are among the fastest-growing markets in technical textiles: companies worldwide increasingly turn to natural and bio-based solutions – driven by their performance, CO₂ savings, biodegradability, recyclability and independence from fossil resources. Dr Terry P. Townsend, statistician at the Discover Natural Fibres Initiative (DNFI), explains the current developments: “Fibres such as jute (3 million tonnes/year), coir (1.2 million tonnes), short flax fibres (200,000 tonnes), sisal (300,000 tonnes), industrial hemp (400,000 tonnes), kapok (80,000 tonnes) and abaca (50,000 tonnes) are used primarily in technical applications and have great potential for expanded recovery and recycling. Potential applications for recycled natural fibres range from composites used in automobiles to reduce weight and improve sustainability, to insulation materials made from hollow fibres, to construction materials made with natural fibres as a binder.”
Nature Performance: more than 110 exhibitors with natural and bio-based materials
New material innovations, application possibilities and companies: natural and bio-based fibres and yarns are on the rise, and the market for industrially viable solutions grows. Techtextil brings these developments into focus, enabling visitors to gain a global overview and to directly find suitable partners and solutions. A key tool in this context is the newly introduced Nature Performance label, under which more than 110 exhibitors with natural and bio-based fibres and yarns for all relevant application areas are brought together. International innovators such as Abacell, Basaltex, Cordenka, Karsu Tekstil, Südwolle and Vombaur are among the participants. These companies are clearly marked both at the exhibition stands and in the online exhibitor search with the label – enabling quick orientation, targeted business contacts and room for new discoveries. Hall 9.1 brings together a wide range of innovative solutions and serves as a central hub for suppliers of natural and bio-based materials.
Recycled and recyclable fibers and yarns in focus
Stricter circular economy regulations drive textile recycling in Europe and add noticeable momentum to the market – at the same time, the recovery of high-performance fibres and yarns from post-consumer textiles remains a key challenge. Techtextil 2026 presents around 90 exhibitors offering recycled and/or recyclable fibres and yarns for a wide range of technical textile applications. Renowned companies such as Aquafil, Freudenberg Performance Materials, Lenzing, Nilit, Purfi Manufacturing, Recyc’Elit SAS, Teijin Group and The Lycra Company are among the participants. The growing diversity and technological sophistication of the field is also highlighted by the “Dutch Circular Textile Pavilion” in Hall 9.1: here, for example, SaXcell showcases a chemical fibre-to-fibre recycling process that converts textile waste into new fibres of cotton-like quality. The fashion brand Vodde presents its own fibre-to-fibre supply chain, enabling the production of yarns made from 100% recycled textile waste for its own manufacturing. Additional innovations, as well as a yarn library, are presented by co-exhibitors EECOFF, Materialliance and Tex-tracer.
Texpertise Econogy – a compass for textile sustainability
The cross-trade-fair sustainability programme Texpertise Econogy provides additional guidance in the growing market for sustainable textile solutions. The term combines ecological and economic aspects and identifies exhibitors that have been audited and certified by experts as operating sustainably, ethically responsibly and in an economically viable manner. Around 120 companies at Techtextil carry the Econogy label and can be found in the exhibitor search as well as via the icon at their exhibition stands. In addition, Econogy Talks and guided tours offer business-relevant insights into new developments and best practices.
