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Ethical Fashion Show Berlin successfully launched by Messe Frankfurt

A successful première for the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin – the trade fair for sustainable casual wear and street fashions got off to an excellent start at Berlin's 'ewerk' building from 18 to 20 January 2012. The presentation by 36 international exhibitors attracted numerous visitors. "The first Ethical Fashion Show Berlin was an outstanding event and we are delighted with the excellent echo from both exhibitors and visitors", said Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt. Together with the GREENshowroom at Hotel Adlon Kempinski, the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin is the main platform for eco-fashions under the auspices of Messe Frankfurt.

The première was a great success for Messe Frankfurt with the 36 international labels fully occupying the exhibition space in the 'ewerk'. The renowned exhibitors presented their green fashion ideas for the 2012/13 autumn/winter season in two halls. One of them was Trigema Change. Pioneer of the sustainability segment, Wolfgang Grupp, proprietor and CEO of Trigema, supports Ethical Fashion Show Berlin: "We cannot dictate to the textile market. However, we aim to fully satisfy the demand for green products and, to this end, we are banking on the cradle-to-cradle principle with our Trigema Change brand. It takes time until new products become widely accepted. However, there is always a small group that leads the way and we are ready to meet the challenge."

Carlien Hellmink of the Dutch Studio Jux label was enthusiastic about the atmosphere and professionalism of the fair. "The Ethical Fashion Show Berlin is extremely well organised and has a very attractive location. We have also received lots of positive feedback from visitors and have not only been able to cultivate existing contacts but also to gain new customers."

Small brands, such as Ken Panda and buttwrapberlin, also took advantage of the great attention attracted by the fair. Daniel Kroh of ReClothing was delighted with the high level of interest shown: "There have been numerous representatives of the press and buyers at our stand. For me, it was a kind of international get-together, which resulted in lots of super discussions. I am looking forward to taking part in the second edition this summer."

Coordinator Magdalena Schaffrin reported a high degree of satis­faction with the fair. "I am very pleased with the extremely positive echo from both exhibitors and visitors. On the one hand, we present attractive fashions here. On the other hand, we provide detailed information about the background to sustainable street fashions and casual wear. This combination proved very popular."

Complementary programme: detailed, entertaining, stimulating

In addition to the presentations by international labels, Messe Frankfurt organised a valuable programme of information at the Knowledge Lounge in Hall C in cooperation with the Blue Angel eco label, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Greenpeace Detox Campaign, Helvetas, International Association of the Natural Textile Industry (Internationaler Verband der Naturtextilindustrie – IVN) and TransFair e.V. One of the highlights of the programme was held in collaboration with Create Berlin on the Friday: the Create Green Breakfast, to which Silke Bücker (Deputy Editor-in-Chief of TM) and Magdalena Schaffrin invited Trigema founder Wolfgang Grupp and Trigema Change designer Mona Ohlendorf for a discussion.

Additionally, a Changing Room, organised by the 'Sustainability in Fashion' international Masters' course of ESMOD Berlin, was held at the 'ewerk' building. Visitors used this knowledge island to obtain in-depth information from experts. Moreover, other activities gave the fair a real studio character. Thus, under the motto, 'more green, less greed', visitors had the chance to have garments they brought with them printed in the Triodos screen-printing workshop and to make them fit for everyday life through 'upcycling'.

On the Wednesday, the programme was dominated by art. Clemens Behr (www.clemensbehr.com) gave an impressive interactive performance with artist friends from Klub7 and 44flavours (www.klub7.de, www.44flavours.de). Surfaces made of cardboard and plastic were covered with graphic art and drawings and put together to create a room-sized installation. Sounds to accompany the event were provided by the internationally renowned musician and sound artist Robot Koch (http://soundcloud.com/robot-koch). The resulting urban art was left untouched for the rest of the fair. At the end of the performance, guests, representatives of the press, exhibitors and trade visitors were invited to take part in a relaxed GET TOGETHER.

The next Ethical Fashion Show Berlin in the 'ewerk' runs from 4 to 6 July 2012.



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