Sustainability was the main highlight of the 25th edition of Inspiramais, an exhibit that brought together solutions in design, sustainability, and innovation for the footwear and components, clothing, furniture, and jewelry industry from 150 national exhibitors. At the event, which took place for the first time in Porto Alegre/RS, on January 25th and 26th, 2022, all exhibition booths were built using reused materials from previous editions, there was the Sustainability Space, with the presentation of over 25 companies with sustainable solutions, among other projects. This edition was strongly focused on sustainability because is the new demand for competitiveness and because the idea is in the future all exhibitors are sustainable.
Flávia Vanelli, a Design Management consultant at the Research and Design Nucleus of Inspiramais, highlighted that the Sustainability Space was created to be a showcase for sustainable products from the basic industry, which combine technology and eco-responsibility. Responsible for curating the exhibited materials, Flávia emphasized that sustainability is about generating positive relationships between the Natural Ecosystem, which is natural capital, Society, which is human and cultural capital, and the Economy, which is productive and financial capital. “The Sustainability Space explored innovations in line with product development with greater added value, combining technology and sustainability”, explained Flávia.
Space
In the Sustainability Space, materials such as packaging with raw materials from renewable sources, 100% recyclable breastplates and buttresses using waste from the footwear industry, recycled single-cut uppers, lines of various components developed with recycled cotton threads, among many others, were presented.
Participants of the space were: Ambiente Verde, Grupo Cofrag, Caimi & Liaison, Bertex, Solus, ITM, Cipatex®, Endutex, OTB, Lebbre, Wolfstore, Brisa Tecidos Tecnológicos, Jomo, Formax Quimiplan, Tricota Têxtil, York, Tacosola, Maxitex Indústria Têxtil, Alta Trançados, JR Soluções, PVC Sul, Grupo Stickfran, Boxprint, Topshoes and Confortin.
Research
Sustainability was part of the Inspiramais Connection research, which released over a thousand innovative materials for the 2023_I season. The Inspiramais Research and Design consultant responsible for the material, Julia Webber, emphasized that the publication offered innovative sustainable products. “These products go beyond aesthetics, they point to a look at the entire process involved, from development to the end of their life cycle”, she added, noting that among the cases that will be presented is a sneaker with a circular design, with mono material. “The entire shoe, from the sole to the upper, is made of polyurethane, which facilitates recycling”, she explained.
The Inspiramais Connection project is an initiative carried out in partnership with Sebrae Nacional that presented, in a prominent space at the event, over a thousand new releases from the 150 exhibitors present at the show. Two important competitive advantages of Brazil are that it has various sustainability certifications, and it is a country with great industrial capacity. Three words that defined the road of business nowadays are transformation, innovation, and sustainability.
Arena Covestro
Still, in the field of Sustainability, Inspiramais had an extensive content program, with over 10 talks by renowned professionals from the most varied segments on design and sustainability. The presentations took place at Arena Covestro, a German multinational company that sponsors the space and has been working hard on developing sustainable raw materials.
The keynote SUSTAINABILITY AS A CATALYST FOR INNOVATION by Julia Webber, Consultant at the Research and Design Center at Inspiramais was very inspiring, the speaker mentioned that is important to know the desires are and needs of human beings and offer them solutions. In fashion companies’ sustainability is the great catalyst for innovation today. Today’s consumer values information about the product’s origin, its process, the consumer does not have that information, the manufacturer does, and the manufacturer must communicate it. The fashion industry is very polluting and is responsible for example, 10% of the greenhouse gas. She shared the 5 attitudes for sustainable innovation:
- Systemic thinking for smarter choices
- Apply criteria for the selection of materials, that is to eliminate toxic processes, restricted substances etc
- Prioritizing investment in innovation
- See the socio-environmental impact
- Understanding the prominence of fashion materials
Finally, she emphasized that we must create a culture of innovation and systematization in business, we must transform the production chain of fashion.
The 26th edition of INSPIRAMAIS already has a confirmed date and place. It will be at Centro de Eventos da FIERGS on July 19th and 20th, 2022.
The decision to repeat the event in Porto Alegre/RS is due to the logistical facilities of being in the state capital, which is the second-largest producer and largest exporter of footwear in the country.
