Trend Forum Materials & Nature „Sustainability Matters“

The special area on sustainable technologies for the supplier industry.

With the central theme "Neo-ecology", interzum 2023 focused on the transformation of our economy towards a circular economy. As the most important megatrend of the next decade, neo-ecology describes a change in values throughout society towards a circular consumption logic in harmony with the mechanisms of nature.

The focus is on consumer health and environmental awareness as drivers of a social movement that will have a profound influence on the offerings and production mechanisms of the furniture and interior industry. Achieving maximum resource efficiency is just as high on the companies' agenda as the recyclability of the materials used and the reduction of CO2 emissions in manufacturing.

In this context, a multitude of material innovations are emerging that promote the formation of circular business models and make optimal use of the available resources. In this context, secondary materials that have been little used up to now are gaining in importance. Examples include leather alternatives based on residual materials from German hemp cultivation, textiles made from tree bark or biodegradable foams made from cork powder, coconut fibres and biogenic binders.

The future agency Haute Innovation from Berlin presened the latest material innovations of "neo-ecology" in the special area "Sustainability Matters" and prepared the application potentials for the furniture and interior industry. Above all, the realisation of the use of CO2 as a resource in panel and textile production will result in the development of new production methods.